The story started when I saw Abd Al Mageed sitting alone at Misrata
port. Visibly shaken, and rejected by everyone, he stared blankly
at me. Having been beaten and tortured he was mentally destroyed
and physically weak.



They killed my shadow

"They killed my shadow and now they want to kill me." These were
the only words he spoke. Abd was referring to either pro or anti
Gaddafi fractions in the Libyan city of Misrata.

After the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt were overthrown,
neighbouring Libya staged their own protests to demand change in
February 2011. Faced with overwhelming force, conflict broke out in
the capital of Tripoli. Misrata was also badly hit. Pro-Gaddafi
forces took control of the city and held it under a violent siege
for three months. Hundreds of civilians were killed.

Abd, a 24-year-old Ghanaian from Accra who came to Misrata to
work in construction, suffered beatings and torture. He had been
working for less than a year when the conflict started.

After his torture, Abd refused to trust anyone. Homeless for
over two months he went to the port. He had been sitting there ever
since. IOM had a boat ready to take migrants out of escalating
conflict and back to their homeland. We thought it would be easy to
take him on board. We thought wrong.

Military fire

The boat was leaving in one hour. Shelling started at the port.
It was the closest I have ever been to military fire. What could I
do? Abd refused to trust anyone and I couldn't force him. The
engines on the boat started and it was time to leave. We pleaded
with him one last time, but Abd stood motionless.

I remember him standing at the gate while it was closing, but
then he hesitantly entered the boat just as it was leaving. He was
our last passenger on board.

However, the challenge was not over. Abd refused everything;
food, medication, water. He thought everyone would treat him the
same way his attackers did. Distrust was his only protection.

Abd continued his food and medication strike into the next day
and refused to travel onwards to El Salloum, Egypt. We tried
everything and even called Ghanaians in El Salloum to reassure Abd
that it was safe for him to go there. 48 hours later and he was
still without food or water so we administered an anxiolitic to
keep him hydrated and energized.

He asked to have a private talk with a female IOM doctor, the
only person he had begun to trust. Abd gave her everything he had;
a one $100 note. He asked that should he be killed, she must give
this money to his family. He repeated how important it was that his
family received the $100. Abd then got in the IOM car and left for
El Salloum.

Received by two IOM physicians, two nurses, and one psychosocial
worker, Abd was assessed and referred to a tertiary psychiatric
hospital in Egypt's capital, Cairo.

Specialized treatment

IOM ensured Abd received specialized treatment at Cairo
University Hospital. After two weeks, he begun eating full meals
and taking all the medicines required to keep him healthy. Finally,
he was strong enough to complete his final journey home to
Ghana.

We ensured a medically trained IOM escort accompanied him on his
flight to Accra. Upon arrival he was admitted to a psychiatric
hospital where he received treatment for two months before he was
discharged. I travelled to Ghana to see him upon his discharge. He
was smiling for the first time since I had known him. He was a new
man.

Abd Al Mageed's shadow was finally brought back to life.