A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea

The call comes on 6 September 2014. Once again, Bassem and Doaa pack everything they have and travel to a meeting point. They ride minibuses to a larger bus, which takes them to a beach. The smugglers are the “roughest and most cruel” (86) of all those they have met; Bassem is worried, but Doaa is scared that—if they try and leave the bus—the smugglers will attack them. On arrival, they run from the bus to the shore and Doaa has to overcome her fear of the water as she wades deeper and deeper. They struggle through the water toward a set of dinghies; Doaa realizes that her life jacket is fake and no help at all. They haul themselves into a dinghy which carries them toward the horizon. A man onboard demands their SIM cards and Egyptian currency. They have no choice but to hand them over. They arrive beside a decrepit boat, a fishing trawler covered in rust and peeling paint. Hundreds of people are already on the boat and have been there for days. Bassem estimates that 500 adults and 100 children are onboard the boat, $1 million profit for the smugglers.