By Mamadou Thiam
The desperate quest for a better tomorrow pushes thousands of young Africans to attempt the misadventure of illegal emigration.
Modou Thiaw knows what it takes to risk one's life for what might even be unattainable, having made two unsuccessful attempts to cross the ocean in search of a future fraught with more uncertainty than he would have imagined at the time.
Arrested in Algeria after passing through Mauritania, this native of Touba Toul in the region of Thiès lived through hell in the Niger desert before being repatriated to Senegal.
At 40, he is now trying to not only rebuild his life but has also become the voice of repatriated migrants, telling the world of the struggle of thousands of young Senegalese driven by the desire to defy the ocean and its deadly waves.
"Succeed to help our families or die and join those who have gone before us!" this was Modou's motto when he made the decision to leave Senegal for Europe. The year was 2008.
Modou, then a 25-year-old street vendor, was one among hundreds of young people who didn't have any hope for a better future in their native country.
After a brief stint in prison — he had been arrested during a drive by the authorities against street vendors — and a failed attempt at making a living doing agriculture, Modou decided to try defying the odds of making it to Europe as an illegal migrant.
"I was among those arrested in 2008 when the authorities cracked down on street vendors squatting in the Marché Centenaire. I spent a week in prison and then decided to go into agriculture. Thanks to a cousin who is an agricultural engineer, I was able to acquire knowledge in this field, which I like. But to practice agriculture, you need means," recalls Modou.
Besides the challenge of finding land and financing, there were also the realities of the market to contend with.
"We had taken out a loan of three million to start with. But at harvest time, we couldn't sell. We are in a country where small farmers are suffocated by the foreign ones. They export their quality products abroad and flood the Senegalese market with their rottenness. After a time of reflection, I realised that it was not appropriate to remain inactive. The situation of the country obliges us to act and not be observers. Every time you start to have hope, they end up destroying everything. So, we had to leave, at all costs," he tells TRT Afrika.
Small jobs between Richard Toll and Nouakchott
Unlike many who hastily plan their trip out of sheer desperation, Modou decided he wouldn't rush.
The goal was still Europe, but would attempt to reach his chosen destination step by step. The young man left his native Touba Toul first for Richard Toll, in the north of Senegal.
There, he spent a month harvesting rice and saving some money before resuming his journey.
"When I left home, I had about 300,000 CFA franc with me. I had a precise plan — to do the trip in stages and work along the way," he recounts.
"My arrival at Richard Toll coincided with the paddy harvest and I worked as a seasonal worker. From Richard Toll, I crossed the river to find myself in Nouakchott, the Mauritanian capital. Without delay, I extended my journey to Nouadhibou, as I had been informed that it was easier to find pirogues there that were bound for Spain."
On arriving at Nouadhibou, Modou realised he couldn't find a pirogue immediately. "I decided to do odd jobs to earn some money. After having waited so long without finding a dugout, I decided to return to Nouakchott. There too, it didn't work. Tgen I decided to take the land route from Zouerate to Algeria, little knowing that this was just the beginning of our ordeal," he says.
When Modou and his mates left Mauritania, they had all paid for a trip to Algeria. But it was not to be. After hours on the road, he and the rest of the group were thrown 30km from the Algerian border, in the middle of the desert.
They didn't know it yet, but this was to be the start of a long, arduous battle for survival in the face of untold suffering.
"We had hoped that this time it would work. But to our surprise, the couriers abandoned us in the desert. There were guards everywhere. And we had to force our way through the passage in the hope of finding ourselves in Algerian territory. While we made it, exhaustion made us take a short break before moving on. It was during this time that the guards surrounded us. That was the end of our dream," Modou recalls with a faraway look.
Hell of the Niger desert
Any hope of reaching Europe vanished in Algeria. Worse, the path of these young people to return to their country seemed shut. Herded like cattle, they were thrown into the desert along the Niger border.
"Once arrested, the migrants are gathered in a heavily guarded place, located in Adrar. The authorities then organise a large convoy. From Tamanrasset, the migrants are thrown into trucks like cattle. The conditions are inhuman. As the convoy drives towards the Niger desert, you have no other choice but to keep going, hoping to find something," says Modou.
On the way back to their homeland, Assamaka was the first stop for the migrants arrested in Algeria. They would eventually end up in Agadez, after a three to four-month transit period in Arlit. Modou and his friends don't have any good memories of these bases.
"In Niger territory, we were to discover another form of violence. In Assamaka, IOM (International Organisation for Migrants), an organisation financed by the United Nations, supposedly rehabilitates migrants,'' says Modou.
He also recalls the kind of extortion they faced. ''Their method is simple: live on the backs of the migrants. They collect money in the name of migration, but the conditions in which the migrants live are difficult. The food is not good and nobody can talk about it. The longer we stay, the more money they collect. It took a revolt by the migrants for the decision to send them to Arlit. The ordeal otherwise lasts at least a month," he says.
"If I really have one piece of advice to give to young people, it would be to ask them not to sacrifice themselves. I am convinced that if the African youth stand their ground, in five or six years, it is the Europeans who will come looking for them and not the other way around."
The final stopover of the return journey was Agadez, where the migrants could end up spending two to four months before being repatriated to Senegal.
Agonising return to the starting point
With his Euopean dream shattered, Modou resigned himself to returning to his native Touba Toul, and to his family.
Before leaving the Blaise Diagne International Airport in Dakar, he had received, like his comrades, assurances from the Senegalese authorities. These included funding.
"The authorities made a commitment to help the returnees in their respective fields of activity. Until now, no one has benefited from this. No one has had any training or support," he says.
The former street vendor still harbours regrets about not making it to Europe, especially since a lucky few did manage to cross over.
"My first attempt was in 2008. I regret not having persisted, like others. We all love our country, but the situation today does not allow us to hope. We have families, we have wives and children. But our authorities do not give us a choice. Frustration is widespread and we have only two options. We have to succeed and take care of our families or die and join those who have gone before us," he says.
Now a father of two, Modou must reinvent himself to fit into society. "I tried to start a broiler farm. I even submitted a project to the authorities. But so far, no follow-up. They make you run from left to right. I love agriculture, and it is an area I am most comfortable with. But I don't have the land, nor the means to practise it. And in our country, the profession of a farm worker is not valued. Those who make people work, pay between 35 and 40 thousand CFA franc. This is not enough for the fathers of families that we are," laments Modou.
From candidate to ''lawyer'' of migrants
In Touba Toul, Modou's life revolves around small jobs to earn a livelihood. He devotes the rest of his time in campaigning against illegal emigration. Active on social media, where he is known as Baye Fall Thiao, Modou's is a voice that constantly engages with people and invites the government to act to put an end to the recurring tragedy of failed emigration.
"Young people do not take canoes for pleasure. They live in difficult conditions, and nothing is in place to relieve them of their misery. These are young people who love their country deeply. If they take this risk, it is simply to help their families. We are citizens and we have the right to decent jobs. We invite the government to deploy its means to curb this scourge. I think that it is possible, if there the will," says Modou.
"I made two attempts, and I could have died in the sea or in the desert. It is a chance for me to be still here and to talk about it. We must not close our eyes to this social drama," he warns.
Determined to carry the voice of migrants, Modou has set up a discussion group comprising mainly migrants repatriated to Senegal. The platform allows them to coordinate their activities and be in contact with civil society organisations working in the field of migration issues.
"It is not easy to start again, after having failed. Even in your own circle, you are considered a fool. You don't represent anything, unlike those who have tried and succeeded in entering Europe. Frustration is a daily occurrence and it can push you down an unwanted path. So it's important to constantly talk to young people," he says.
Modou focuses primarily on trying to convince young people planning to leave the country not to court the risks that come with it.
"If I really have one piece of advice to give to young people, it would be to ask them not to sacrifice themselves. Staying here with our arms crossed is not the solution. But I think jumping into the unknown isn't an option either. It is difficult, but they should try to build themselves. I am convinced that if the African youth stand their ground, in five or six years, it is the Europeans who will come looking for them and not the other way around."
