Rania Abu Aoun anxiously awaits news about her son Ramy, who disappeared while attempting to reach Spain from Algeria by boat. Ramy’s family paid a smuggler named “Latifa” $4,000 for the journey, but after arriving in Algeria, communication ceased. Rania and other families of missing migrants are frustrated by the lack of support from authorities in their search efforts. Bianca Carrera reported
At her home in the Syrian town of Daraa al-Balad, Rania Abu Aoun waits anxiously for news about her son, Ramy. Ramy’s phone has been off since January 3, 2022, when he embarked on a boat journey from Algeria to Spain. He disappeared during the journey, leaving his family in agony. Ramy, a 30-year-old father of three, left Algeria with the hope of reaching Europe and providing a better future for his children. He had been living as a refugee in Lebanon with his family, but financial difficulties and the ongoing economic crisis in Lebanon pushed him to seek a better life elsewhere.
Ramy’s mother describes him as a quiet and studious person who had always dreamed of studying commerce and economics. Before the war in Syria began, Ramy had moved to Lebanon to find work and pursue higher education. However, when the war broke out in 2011, he was unable to return to Syria. In 2013, his family home in Daraa was hit by an air raid, and his mother, wife, and children moved to Lebanon to be with him. However, the economic situation in Lebanon was dire, and Ramy struggled to support his family with his job at a restaurant, which only brought in $50 a month.
Ramy had been considering migrating to Europe for some time, hoping to provide a better life for his children. In May 2021, he met a woman named Latifa who arranged his trip to Spain. Ramy never met Latifa in person but paid her $4,000 through intermediaries. He believed she would arrange his travel from Lebanon to Libya, then Egypt, and finally Algeria, where he would board a boat to Spain. Ramy’s family sold an inherited apartment to pay for his journey, trusting that the money would cover everything. However, after Ramy arrived in Algeria, Latifa stopped responding to his messages.
On January 3, 2022, Ramy made his last call to his family from Oran, Algeria, before setting sail on a dinghy with other Syrians, Moroccans, and Algerians. Since that night, there has been no sign of Ramy or his companions. Desperate for answers, Ramy’s mother reached out to Latifa, who never responded. The families of the missing Syrians decided to search for their loved ones themselves, but their efforts have been fruitless.
Anouar, the wife of one of Ramy’s companions, also reached out to the Spanish Red Cross and filed a complaint with the Spanish Ombudsman. However, the investigation yielded no information about her husband. Rania received an anonymous tip in November 2022 suggesting that Ramy and his companions were being held in a prison in the Spanish province of AlmerÃa. However, when contacted, the Spanish authorities denied any knowledge of their whereabouts.
Rania and Anouar are now in contact with hundreds of other families whose loved ones have also gone missing during sea voyages to Spain. They are frustrated by the lack of support from the authorities and believe that the responsibility for searching for the missing should lie with the police, not NGOs. Helena Maleno, founder of Caminando Fronteras, a human rights organization monitoring violations at Euro-African borders, criticizes the government for outsourcing the responsibility of caring for migrants and handling cases of death and disappearance.
The plight of Ramy and his companions is just one example of the dangers and uncertainties faced by refugees and asylum seekers attempting to reach Europe. Shipwrecks and disappearances are all too common, and thousands of people have lost their lives or gone missing during these perilous journeys. Rania and Anouar’s tireless search for their loved ones highlights the desperate situation faced by many families affected by migration..