How I escaped Eritrea and got to Germany
- Published
Migrants arrive at Munich train station
A teenage refugee who spent four months making his way from Eritrea to Germany says he feels "lucky" after arriving in Munich.
The 18-year-old didn't want to be named because he's scared the government in his home country will target his parents.
Newsbeat spoke to him at the Bayernkaserne refugee centre in Munich, Germany, where he was watching five-a-side football.
Newsbeat's Steffan Powell plays football with migrants at Bayernkaserne refugee centre in Munich
The teenager's journey began in Eritrea, 3,000 miles from Germany. It then took him through Sudan and across north Africa to Libya.
A recent report by the United Nations found it was "not law that rules Eritreans - but fear".
It details extrajudicial killings, sexual slavery and enforced labour.
Hundreds of thousands of people - like the teenager we spoke to - have been forced to flee the country.
He started his journey in, travelling in a pick-up truck crammed with 30 people across the Sahara desert.
The teenager travelled with 30 others in car across the Sahara Desert from Khartoum to Libya
"Many people had a shortage of water and a shortage of food." he told Newsbeat. "One of my friends died when we crossed to Libya."
The teenager also came up against the so-called Islamic State and, as a Christian, was fearful of his life.
The group managed to escape the fighting and made it to the port of Tripoli, where the teenager paid traffickers $2,000 to get him on a boat across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy.
It's a risky journey and more than 2,000 migrants have lost their lives trying to cross so far this year.
Migrants pay hundreds of pounds to traffickers to cross on boats from Libya to Europe
Libyan authorities caught the boat he was travelling on and took it back to port.
But he managed to find another crossing, paid another $2,000, and travelled for eight hours in cramped conditions with 400 other people on what he describes as a "small boat".
After arriving in Italy he caught a train to Munich where he's now waiting to be granted asylum.
In total, the teenager's family paid $10,000 to get him to Germany.
He says his family is poor and can't afford to make the same journey.
Many are stuck in Eritrea because of they have to do national service, but the teenager we spoke to says he was able to leave before his national service kicked in.
Migrants queue at Munich train station waiting to be taken to refugee centres
He's now alone in Germany and hasn't spoken to his parents in four months, but an uncle in America has passed on the news that he's safe.
His future is now in Germany and he says he wants to study, learn German and work.
He told Newsbeat: "I'm lucky. I'm very, very lucky. My god has helped me."
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