After I listened to David’s story, I was deeply affected. Not because I had never heard stories like his before, but because of how closely his experience reflected realities I already knew too well. Hearing his account confirmed that the violence, torture, and abandonment migrants face are not isolated incidents. They are part of a system that operates openly and repeatedly.

David’s testimony was difficult to hear. The details of kidnapping, torture, ransom, and being left to die in the desert were not exaggerated. They were precise and factual. What struck me most was not only what happened to him, but how easily his life could have ended without anyone knowing or caring.

As someone who works closely with refugee stories and lived experiences, I recognized the patterns immediately: the trafficking networks, the ransom system, the denial of medical care, and the assumption that migrants are disposable. David’s experience reinforced the reality that many migrants are not moving by choice, but are being forced into situations where survival depends on chance and outside intervention.

Listening to David also strengthened my sense of responsibility. Stories like his cannot remain private or unheard. They must be documented accurately and shared publicly, not to shock people, but to confront false narratives about migration and expose the human cost behind them.

After hearing David’s story, it became even clearer to me that storytelling is not just about memory. It is a tool for accountability. When survivors speak and their stories are recorded, it becomes harder to deny what is happening and harder to look away.

Claudia Koehler conducted and led the storytelling session with David Amos. She works in the field of migration and has been involved in several refugee-focused projects that center lived experience, documentation, and public awareness.

Her work includes participation, collaboration and organising in initiatives such as Voice of Refugees, refugee storytelling projects, and Culture of Refugees. Across these projects, she has focused on creating spaces where refugees can speak for themselves, without their experiences being simplified, distorted, or reduced to statistics.

Through her engagement with survivors of migration routes, detention, and displacement, Claudia has developed a grounded understanding of illegal and irregular migration. Her insight is based on direct contact with refugees and long-term involvement in storytelling processes, not on assumptions or abstract policy discussions. She emphasizes that illegal migration is often the result of forced circumstances, including violence, persecution, trafficking, and the absence of safe and legal migration pathways.

During the interview with David Amos, her approach was structured, attentive, and respectful. She allowed space for difficult details to be expressed clearly and without interruption. Her role was not to dramatize the story, but to document it accurately and responsibly.

Claudia’s work challenges dominant narratives that portray refugees only as economic migrants or passive victims. By focusing on testimony and first-hand accounts, she contributes to a more realistic understanding of migration, one that reflects coercion, survival, and the long-term impact of displacement on individuals and families.

After everything David experienced, he does not encourage others to follow the same path to Europe. His advice is direct and firm. He states clearly that Europe is not worth the journey when measured against the risks, suffering, and loss involved.

David explains that many people leave their home countries believing that Europe guarantees safety, dignity, and opportunity. Based on his experience, this belief is misleading. The journey itself exposes people to kidnapping, torture, extortion, sexual violence, and death. For many, survival depends entirely on luck.

He emphasizes that even those who reach Europe alive often face new forms of hardship. Long asylum processes, detention, isolation, trauma, and uncertainty replace the expectations people had before leaving. For him, the physical injuries and permanent damage he suffered cannot be undone by any future stability.

David advises those considering the journey to think carefully about what they are risking. He urges them not to rely on stories of success shared on social media or by smugglers. According to him, these stories hide the realities of abuse and loss that most migrants experience but rarely speak about openly.

His message is not meant to discourage hope, but to present reality. He believes that no destination is worth a journey that treats human life as expendable. His warning comes from experience, not fear, and it is meant to prevent others from repeating the same suffering.