The book documents the misery and suffering of African refugees and migrants who have fled war and dictatorship and reached European shores in search of safety. (AFP)
For many young people in West Africa, Europe is a kind of El Dorado.
But Sidi Fall, who attempted the arduous journey to this legendary and wonderful land,
Despite his wealth, he was deported to Senegal and said, “I know hard times are coming.
He is still here, waiting for us at home. But I only want to see the end of this fight.
“By staying alive, I'm helping my family avoid poverty. I'm alive, and that's the most important thing.”
Fall raised 550,000 CFA francs (just over $900) by doing odd jobs, including selling coffee on the streets of Dakar, to fund the journey to Europe by pirogue. He nearly reached the promised land.
But just 500 kilometres from the European coast, the pirogue he was travelling in with dozens of others was intercepted by the Moroccan coast guard and taken into the desert.
A detention centre called Bir Ghanduz in Western Sahara.
The European Union provided Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia about 450 million euros ($480 million) between 2015 and 2021 for border controls and “migration management.”
This “contributed significantly to the voluntary repatriation of more than 52,800 migrants from North Africa,” the EU reported.
The European Union has ignored how these “voluntary returns” are carried out, but numerous media outlets have reported that they often involve intercepting migrants and holding them in isolated desert areas until they agree to return home, which is exactly what happened in Faure's case.
Faure was held for weeks at Bir Ghandouz along with 27 other Senegalese migrants, where video footage from the facility showed a squalid prison with dirty toilets and migrants complained they were not given enough food or water.
Ten of the Senegalese managed to escape, but one never found his way through the desert and eventually returned. Those who couldn't escape posted videos pleading, “We just want to go home with dignity.” They say they were beaten by security guards for posting the video. Fall is currently undergoing treatment for an injured ankle.
After three weeks, Moroccan authorities sent the migrants back towards Senegal, a journey that Faure described as “an indescribable ordeal”.
The buses, hired by Moroccan authorities, were carrying people with a range of injuries, including shattered noses, swollen faces and broken legs. They had only dry bread to eat and were still wearing the same clothes they had been wearing when they were arrested about a month earlier.
“I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt,” Fall said. They were all handcuffed.
At the Mauritania border, they were removed from the bus, handed over to local authorities, and then put, still handcuffed, onto new buses that took them to the Senegalese border.
“We expected a proper welcome, but when we arrived home, our compatriots handcuffed us, registered us, and questioned us. Then we were released without money or phone credit. We all begged for credit to call our relatives,” Fall said. His father sent him money, which he used to buy sandals, trousers and
Some people bought new T-shirts on the street, others used the money to buy food.
Weeks after returning to Senegal, Faure still hasn't seen his family. “The only thing I can do is take care of myself, recover and wait for the commotion surrounding my forced return to die down,” he said.
He lives with other relatives and is looked after by a marabout (traditional healer) who provides treatment for his injured ankle.
Though he has a high-school diploma, Faure had given up hope of finding a permanent job in Senegal, and although the hardships of migration have made him reconsider heading north, he remains skeptical about prospects back home.
“Young people are used to organizing and winning elections, but they are often left behind.
“I was so excited after the election,” said the 30-year-old, who voted for Senegal's President Bachir Diomae Faye in April's election.
And many of Senegal's young people feel the same way, continuing to make the dangerous journey to Europe. According to the European Border and Counterterrorism Agency (Frontex), the number of migrants arriving in Europe via the West African route increased by 510% in the first quarter of 2024, most of them from Mali, Senegal and Mauritania.
Spanish sources say hundreds of migrants continue to arrive every week. The results of last weekend's EU elections indicate that the situation will change little: the center-right parties, the guardians of the EU's already brutal immigration policies, will remain in power, and the increasingly powerful far-right will join them in the European Parliament.
These are parties committed to keeping people out of Europe.
This article was first Continenta weekly newspaper distributed across Africa. Mail & GuardianDesigned to be read and shared on WhatsApp. Download the free version. in about this website
