The Story of Suhan: A Libyan Child's Tragedy at Sea Reveals Healthcare Collapse in Libya

In a heartbreaking scene that embodies the depth of the humanitarian and health crisis in Libya, the image of the Libyan child "Suhan" topped social media platforms, as she was aboard an illegal migration boat in the middle of the sea on her way to Italy, fleeing from illness and neglect, not from war.

The child, who suffers from a rare disease related to high "liver enzymes", prompted her family to make a harsh decision to embark on the sea, after the doors were closed to them inside the country, in a desperate attempt to save her life and secure the necessary treatment outside the homeland.

The spread of Suhan's image on the migration boat quickly turned into a public opinion issue in Libya, causing a wave of popular anger and sharp debate about the performance of the healthcare system in the country, and the wasted responsibilities.

Activist Youssef Haroun angrily wrote:

"Is this how we have reached? .. Libyan children boarding death boats not in search of a better life but seeking treatment? This is a humanitarian tragedy and an ethical condemnation of the state and society."

He continued:

"The healthcare sector is collapsing, people are dying slowly in treatment queues, families are crowded, medicines are missing, and mistreatment is eroding the dignity of patients ... Where is the oversight? Where is the accountability? And where have the budgets gone?"

Activist Saad Al-Mashati commented:

 "A child fleeing the country not out of fear of war, but out of the pain of neglect and corruption. In Libya, known for its wealth, citizens are forced to ride death boats only to get treatment. It is a shame and a moral decline."

On the other hand, activist Mariouma Arhumah expressed her sadness by saying:

 "Suhan is not just a case, she is a wake-up call ... the pain of an entire nation. This child screams with her pain: Libyan children deserve life, treatment, and education, not death on a boat in the middle of the sea."

In response to public anger and the story's spread on social media platforms, the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid al-Dbeibah, issued urgent instructions to fully take care of treating the child "Suhan". He also directed coordination with the Libyan embassy in Italy to secure all her medical needs and to start immediate treatment at a specialized hospital.

Al-Dbeibah did not stop there, but ordered the formation of an urgent investigation committee to find out the reasons for the delay in identifying her condition and not taking the necessary medical measures earlier.

The story of "Suhan" shed light once again on the reality of migrants from Libya, but this time from a more painful angle, when migration becomes a medical option rather than an economic ambition, and the boat becomes a means of rescue rather than a search for luxury.

A small child, with a frail body and a painful disease, cried out from the heart of the sea, not just to seek help, but to remind that in Libya there are children who deserve a homeland that embraces them, not expels them.