‘Don’t Leave Me’: Survivor Recounts Lebanon Boat Sinking

Jihad Michlawi, 31, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at his home in the northern Beirut suburb of Burj Hammoud, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. (AP)

Jihad Michlawi, 31, has struggled to makes ends meet as a chef in crisis-hit Beirut. The Palestinian had never considered taking a perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe until friends who successfully did so convinced him.

Now, he's one of dozens of survivors from a capsized migrant boat that left Tripoli, Lebanon last week heading toward Italy carrying some 150 Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians.