Journalism of Courage
It took more than a year, thousands of dollars, and even a jet ski for 31-year-old Palestinian Muhammad Abu Dakha to make it out of Gaza and reach Europe. His journey is pieced together through interviews, photos, videos and audio files he shared with news agency Reuters.
According to a report by Reuters, fleeing the destruction of the nearly two-year-old Israel-Hamas war, which Gaza health officials say has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, Abu Dakha first crossed into Egypt in April 2024, paying $5,000 at the Rafah border.
His first destination was China, where he hoped to claim asylum, but after repeated setbacks he returned to Egypt, travelling via Malaysia and Indonesia. Emails shared with Reuters confirmed his contact with UNHCR’s office in China.
Eventually, he reached Libya, where migrants are often abused and exploited by traffickers. After ten failed attempts to cross the Mediterranean with smugglers, he took a different route: buying a used Yamaha jet ski for $5,000 on a Libyan marketplace and spending another $1,500 on equipment.
With two other Palestinians, Diaa (27) and Bassem (23), he set out on the perilous trip from al-Khoms toward Lampedusa, towing a dinghy of supplies.
The trio even used ChatGPT to calculate fuel requirements but still ran out some 20 km short of Italy’s southernmost island. They managed to call for help and were rescued on August 18 by a Romanian patrol boat working under the EU’s Frontex mission. “It was a very difficult journey, but we were adventurers. We had strong hope,” Bassem told Reuters.
From Lampedusa, their odyssey continued through Sicily and Genoa, before Abu Dakha made his way by plane to Brussels and then by train to Germany, where he is now applying for asylum. His family remains in a tent camp in Khan Younis, Gaza, after their home was destroyed.
“I risked my life on a jet ski,” Abu Dakha said. “Without my family, life has no meaning.”
