By Kaddy Jawo:
Ten years ago, Alagie’s life in Banjul was not easy. Still, he had both his parents, a wife, a home, and a dream of making a better life for them all in Europe.
Now the 34-year-old, who asked that his full name not be used to protect his privacy, has lost much of what he had.
Alagie left The Gambia in 2014, taking the irregular “backway” to Europe before he was forcibly returned eight years later.
“I wanted the best for my wife and future children,” he told Al Jazeera about his decision to leave, looking sadly at the wedding photo on his wall.
Although still married, he cannot afford to support his wife and their 10-month-old baby, forcing her to return to her parents’ home.
“My wife loves me deeply,” he said. “If it weren’t true love, she would have divorced me and moved on.”
When Alagie first left for Europe, he travelled to Morocco by boat, then smuggled himself by land through Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, before crossing the Mediterranean towards Italy.
The difficulties started almost immediately.
“Many migrants I travelled with from Libya–mostly from Mali, Nigeria, and a few Gambians– drowned. I was among the few lucky ones who made it to Italy,” he said.
Landing in Italy in 2015, he was immediately placed in a refugee camp for several months.
“The easy life I imagined in Europe was nothing like the harsh reality I faced in Italy,” he said.
Desperate, Alagie decided to smuggle himself to Germany with others from Senegal, Niger and Nigeria. They thought they would find better opportunities, but after crossing the border, they were picked up by German authorities and sent to another refugee camp.
“It was like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. We were packed like sardines, isolated from cities and any social life.”
Later, Alagie found work as a petrol station attendant, the same job he held back in The Gambia. He would send money home to his family every other month while striving to secure asylum.
“Life there was hard, but living in The Gambia is far worse than even the refugee camps,” he said, preferring the hardships in Europe.
But Alagie’s days in Europe were numbered. One day in September 2022, while he was making breakfast in the small house he rented with other migrants, plainclothes German police officers burst in.
“They handcuffed me like a criminal and held me in a [refugee] camp for two months before putting me on a flight back to The Gambia,” he said.
Upon arrival in Banjul, he was left with no money or support.
“I came home empty-handed, to an empty country.”
Migration and return
Irregular migration has long been an issue in The Gambia, with many young people–driven by poverty– risking their lives to get to Europe in search of better opportunities.
More than 35,000 Gambians arrived in the European Union between 2015 and 2022, according to Frontex, the European Union (EU) border control agency. During peak periods, some 7,000 Gambians attempted to migrate annually, driven by dire political and economic conditions.
Under the 1996-2017 regime of President Yahya Jammeh, many people fled autocratic rule and were granted asylum in the West due to political repression.
Since the transition to democracy in 2017, more asylum applications from Gambians have been rejected compared to before, as the country is considered more stable.
There has also been increased cooperation between the Gambian government and the EU on migration management, including the “Good Practice Agreement”, which outlines procedures around the return of migrants.
Since 2017, more than 5,000 Gambians have returned, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Some are deportees, but most are voluntary repatriations, the IOM said.
Some returned because of the severe hardships they encountered in Europe, while others had been stranded in Libya, never making it across the Mediterranean to begin with.
Among the Gambians who leave, many say the dire social and economic conditions make them determined to risk the crossing.
The Gambia suffers from high youth unemployment, at about 41 percent–a driving force behind irregular migration. The economy, which is heavily dependent on agriculture and tourism, also depends on remittances from Gambians abroad.
According to World Bank data, remittances accounted for about 26 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023.
Like many other migrants, Alagie’s parents supported his decision to leave through irregular routes, hoping he would change their lives for the better. Sadly, both passed away while he was abroad, leaving him with a deep sense of regret.
“They died while I was away, without me making their lives better,” he lamented.
‘I thought Europe would be different’
Alagie’s migration journey is echoed in conversations with other people around Banjul.
Musa Faye is in his early 60s. He first left The Gambia at age 38, eventually making it to the United States, where he lived for two decades until he was deported in 2017.
“Life in The Gambia seemed better back then,” he reflected. “Now, it’s a disaster–nothing is functioning, and the country is in a dire state.”
Faye left behind a wife and three children in The Gambia, with the hope of making enough money to take them to the United States–but it never panned out.
“There are no jobs in Gambia; people suffer every day,” the taxi driver said. “I did the same job in America, but here it’s a nightmare. At my age, I should be thinking about retirement, but that’s not an option.
“The American dream didn’t turn out as I had hoped,” he said, “but it’s still far better than life here.”
The allure of life abroad, often amplified by social media, drives many to risk perilous journeys in search of a better life.
Rohey, who did not want to disclose her surname to maintain anonymity, was seduced by the glamorous images she saw posted on social media by a high school friend living in Italy.
“I thought Europe was like jannah [paradise]. Seeing her posts made me think, ‘This is the life I want, too,’” the 36-year-old salon worker said.
So she embarked on the risky journey in 2010, arriving in Libya in 2011, just as the civil war erupted. That’s when her “nightmare” began.
“I was raped multiple times and forced into hard labour without pay,” Rohey said.
Still, she wanted to continue, eventually paying smugglers to cross the Mediterranean to Italy. “I had to hide some money in my pants just to afford the journey.”
In Italy, she worked as a hairdresser but found life far from the paradise she had envisioned.
“I thought Europe would be different – easy money and a good life. I was wrong.” Her room was a tiny, leaking space she describes as a “hell”.
Back in The Gambia since 2019, Rohey works in a salon just outside Banjul. “The salon is almost always empty. Sometimes I walk 6 kilometres home because I can’t even make enough for transport fare,” she said.—Al Jazeera
