'God will decide' say migrants waiting to make perilous crossing from Libya to Italy

Abiento knows that perhaps 1,000 migrants have drowned in the Mediterranean since Sunday, yet she is awaiting her turn to make the crossing.

"It scares me, but only God will decide," said the 21-year-old Malian. "There's no work here" she added. "Now I want to go to France".

Abiento spoke in the Libyan town of Zuwara, where smuggling migrants to Europe is big business. Almost everyone seems to play a role, whether as driver, shelter-keeper, or provider of boats. The constant flow of desperate travellers from Africa and the Middle East keeps the town alive.

Abiento left her four siblings and her unemployed father in Mali six months ago to hunt for work in Libya. Having failed to find a job, she is determined to reach Europe and support her family – whatever the risk.

"My mother died and my father doesn't work," she said. "I'm the oldest of my siblings, so I'm the one responsible for the family. That's why I left Mali."

Zuwara is the Libyan coastal town positioned closest to Italy, hence its status as the hub for migrants. The traffickers say their business depends on their customers arriving safely.
_{The body of a migrant is carried ashore in Malta (Reuters)}
The smuggler who is arranging for Abiento's passage is in charge of a small stretch of the Mediterranean coast. He is currently expecting another 70 migrants to arrive from the capital, Tripoli, representing a fraction of those who wanted to come. But the trafficker refused to take the rest because his boats do not have enough space.
"I won't send them if it's too dangerous and I know they won't make it," he said. "I have a reputation to keep – my migrants always make it."
The smuggler complained that his competitors "are just addicted to the money," adding: "These are the most lethal – they don't care how many die and send hundreds all the time."