MESSINA, Sicily (AP) — As the weary passengers aboard a rescue ship approached Sicily at the end of an agonizing journey from North Africa, 30-year-old Seke Awa called a friend back in Libya the moment she got cellphone reception.
"I told her we are on the big boat and sent her courage, that she needs to have hope. One day her suffering may end," said Awa, a native of Cameroon. "She was crying."
A total of 182 people, rescued a week ago from fragile boats off Libya's coast, arrived in Italy on Tuesday, filled with excitement and hope, but also myriad questions about what comes next.
Will they be allowed to stay in Europe? If so, in which country? And will they have a choice? Can they go to school even if they are adults? How much does a SIM card cost?
Nelson Oyedele, 37, said he fled violence and poverty in Nigeria with his wife and four small children.
"I don't know where I'm going to end up, I'm just going," he told an Associated Press reporter on the Ocean Viking, a Norwegian-flagged rescue ship run by the humanitarian organizations Doctors Without Borders and SOS Mediterranee. "My daughter says she wants to become a doctor. She could never become a doctor back in our country. Maybe here she will."
Oyedele was the only man on the ship traveling as part of a complete family. The rest had left behind wives, husbands, children and parents in their home countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.
Abdul Kerim, 20, said he fled persecution in Togo and wants to reunite with brothers and aunts living in Germany. He hopes to be granted asylum and is open to any kind of work, though he dreams of having his own construction company.
"I will work for Europe and give all I have," he said. "If possible I would like my family to join me." His wife and 2-year-old son are still in...
