Torture in Libya, war in Darfur, a home village in southern Sudan and the emblematic baobab tree in Senegal – the drawings displayed on the bridge of the Ocean Viking rescue ship tell of the lives of the migrants on board.
As they wait for a welcoming port in Europe, the 356 migrants plucked by the ship operated by SOS Mediterranee and Medecins Sans Frontieres were invited to take some crayons and paper and draw their worst nightmares and their best memories.
Surrounded by his countrymen, Arun Mohamed explains his images to an AFP correspondent aboard the vessel.
Sudan’s Darfur region was in flames when he fled in 2011 during the conflict to go to the capital Khartoum and then on to Libya. His drawing showed planes targeting his home, the roof on fire and his family fleeing.
A sketch by Adam, 18, who dreams of becoming a professional footballer, depicts a young man in Libya hanging from the ceiling, his feet and hands tied, as two men thrash him before other prisoners lined up.
“Yes, it was like that – we waited in a line, each one facing his turn,” murmurs some in the crowd who had gathered around the artwork.
Another image was a map of Libya in blood red. “Goodbye hell,” says the artist Allahaddin, smiling and making a V sign for victory.
Some like Ezzo prefer to remember good things: his bucolic village on the banks of a lake where he learned to swim not far from the Nuba Mountains in Sudan.
The drawings also tell how the migrants floundering at sea in small, flimsy boats were saved 10 days ago and taken aboard a big red rescue ship, as the Ocean Viking remains stranded in the Mediterranean waiting for a European nation to allow it to pull into port.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Abramovich London
A Kensington Palace Gardens house with 15 bedrooms is valued at more than £150 million.
A three-storey penthouse at Chelsea Waterfront bought for £22 million.
Steel company Evraz drops more than 10 per cent in trading after UK officials said it was potentially supplying the Russian military.
Sale of Chelsea Football Club is now impossible.
If you go
The flights
The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings
The stay
Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.
Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
