‘If Allah permits, we shall reunite in Libya.’ A migrant family’s narrative unveils turmoil at the Tunisian frontier

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When Mbengue Nyimbilo Crepin came to, having fainted in the barren desert, dusk had already fallen. He recounted how Tunisian officials brutally expelled him, his wife, and their 6-year-old daughter back to Libya on foot, in the searing heat, bereft of any water supply. An exhausted and dehydrated Nyimbilo fell to the ground but urged his wife to press on with their daughter Marie, striving to reach the group of migrants that had moved ahead.

“Inshallah, we shall see each other again in Libya,” he told them.

However, he discovered days later that his wife and daughter likely never made it.

A chilling image circulated widely on social media displays a deceased Black woman with braided hair lying in the sand beside a little girl, their faces buried in the sand. The child is nestled beside the woman, her bare feet red and swollen, possibly from traversing the blistering desert.

Nyimbilo immediately identified his wife’s yellow dress, pulled up on her frame, and his daughter’s black sandals, placed beside them. He shared recent photos with The Big Big News featuring them in the same attire. He reported not having any contact with his wife, Matyla Dosso, also known as Fatima, or their daughter since that fateful day in the desert on July 16.

Nyimbilo is of the belief that Matyla and Marie are amongst the over a dozen Black migrants that Libyan border officials say they’ve discovered lifeless in the desert border zone of the North African nations since the Tunisian authorities began mass deportations in early July. Nyimbilo hails from Cameroon; his wife from the Ivory Coast. They spent years in Libya, nurturing dreams of ultimately reaching Europe via the Mediterranean Sea from Tunisia.

Major Shawky al-Masry, a spokesperson for the Libyan police border guard stationed at al-Assa, close to the Tunisian border, declared that the woman and child featured in the July 19 photo were found dead. He refused to provide additional information or disclose the current location of the bodies.

Different border units have uncovered at least 10 bodies on the Libyan side since the previous week, including another small child.

Black Africans in Tunisia have faced escalating discrimination and aggression following President Kais Saied’s February declaration that sub-Saharan migrants are implicated in a scheme to alter the country’s identity and demographics. He described them as “masses of irregular migrants” who brought “violence, crime, and unacceptable behaviors.” His comments to his security council fueled existing tensions, particularly between Tunisians and migrants in the port city of Sfax and other eastern coastal towns.

According to United Nations and other reports, Tunisia has now overtaken Libya as the primary departure point for those risking the perilous Mediterranean crossing to Italy. By July 20, over 15,000 foreign migrants were intercepted by Tunisian authorities — more than double the number for the same period the previous year, stated Interior Minister Kamel Fekih to the Parliament. He criticized the surge of sub-Saharan migrants, asserting that Tunisia could not become “a transit nation.”

The Tunisian authorities have countered the rising tensions by clamping down on Black migrants and refugees, with some forcibly removed from coastal cities and deported to Libya or Algeria — nations notorious for their extensive history of serious human rights violations, abuses against migrants, and collective deportations.

Tunisia has been accused of contravening international law with its mass expulsions across its borders by human rights organizations, Libyan authorities, and the migrants themselves. Tunisian authorities have long evaded a direct response to these allegations, but the Interior Ministry refuted any accountability for “Africans outside its borders,” an apparent reference to those in the desert. The ministry emphasized Tunisia’s right to safeguard borders and claimed it fulfills its “humanitarian obligation.”

The officials also cautioned against publishing content from social networks and in news outlets, cryptically referencing potential imprisonment of up to 10 years for anyone spreading misinformation.

This week, hundreds of individuals, including pregnant women and children, are still stranded in the border region between Tunisia, Libya, and the Mediterranean Sea, with others stuck on the Algeria side, stated U.N. agencies, who called for their immediate rescue.

Libyan authorities have reinforced security near Tunisia and discovered hundreds of migrants stranded in extreme temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). They’ve disseminated distressing photos and videos on social media of their desert encounters with weary migrants desperate for water, and graphic images of the deceased.

Libyan guard Ali Wali reported witnessing through binoculars Tunisian security personnel driving migrants toward Libya. He said his team comes across more than 100 daily: “Some migrants spent up to three days with no food and water in the desert.”

Wali stated that those found are handed over to relevant authorities, without providing additional details. U.N. agencies and the Libyan Red Crescent reported that they’ve provided food, water, and other assistance.

However, according to another anonymous security official, the migrants were taken to detention centers overseen by Libya’s Directorate for Combatting Illegal Migration, infamous for its abuse. The official remained anonymous as he was unauthorized to speak to the press.

Despite mounting evidence of maltreatment of certain migrants in Tunisia and problems at the border, European leaders have doubled their support for Saied, pledging hundreds of millions of euros to stabilize the nation with the expectation of reducing migration.

This did not deter Nyimbilo and his family.

Nyimbilo and his wife had previously attempted to reach Europe. Their previous five attempts to cross the Mediterranean, from Libya to Italy, all resulted in failure. Each time, they were intercepted by EU-equipped Libyan forces and imprisoned. Nyimbilo told AP his wife was raped twice in front of their child in detention.

“We had no more hope,” said Nyimbilo of their time in Libya, where Marie couldn’t even attend school as she’s the child of immigrants. “This country has traumatized us so much.”

On July 13, they departed the coastal city of Zuwara and journeyed through the desert with other migrants, reaching the border in the early hours of July 15. They proceeded to the town of Ben Guerdane, approximately 30 kilometers (18 miles) into Tunisia.

The group split up to avoid drawing attention. But desperation for water set in. Nyimbilo and his family made their way to a main road seeking help. That’s when a police car pulled over and detained them, he said, and officers found their registration papers.

“When they saw it and realized we had left Libya, they beat us,” Nyimbilo said. The following day, they were loaded onto a truck with other migrants and dropped at the border, without water.

Now, he struggles to come to terms with his loss and the harsh reality that he will never see his wife or daughter again. They had survived so much — failed attempts to reach Europe, assaults, even the 2019 bombing of the Tajoura detention center. The thought that Matyla and Marie perished in the desert is almost unbearable.

“A bottle of water could have saved my family,” he lamented.

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Brito, Ganley, and Magdy reported from Barcelona, Spain, Paris, and Cairo respectively. Sarah El Deeb contributed from Beirut.

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More about Migrant crisis in Tunisia

• The Migrant Crisis in Tunisia
• Human Rights Violations in Libya
• Treatment of Migrants in Tunisia
• EU’s response to the Migrant Crisis