KWINNELLA, Gambia (AP) — Binta Bah met her husband on a dating app last year and instantly fell in love. They were glued to their phones for hours every day and soon got married over video calls.
However, they only met in person once, when Suleiman Bar returned to Japan. gambia Visit a few months after the wedding. he, A dangerous journey to Europecurrently working in a factory in Germany.
Every month he sends money home. he is not alone. Gambians abroad send hundreds of millions of dollars annually. According to the World Bank. Remittances make up a quarter of the small country’s economy, the highest rate on the African continent.
Despite European countries stepping up efforts to keep out migrants, Gambians and other West Africans continue to risk treacherous roadsLocally known as the “back roads,” you can take dangerous boat rides across the Atlantic Ocean or walk hundreds of miles across the Sahara Desert before crossing the Mediterranean Sea.
Almost 10% of The Gambia’s population of 2.7 million people live abroad, most of them young people from rural areas. Their remittances are an economic lifeline for families, but their absence places a heavy burden on communities.
Binta Bah, 24, said of her long-distance marriage: “It’s hard to be apart.” “But it’s good to know that the other person cares about you.”
“Whenever I need something, like going to the doctor, he sends money right away,” added Barr, who lives with his mother-in-law.
In the village of Kwinella, villagers have made a living growing rice, maize, millet and peanuts for centuries, but life is becoming increasingly difficult. However, the ravages of climate change and outdated agricultural practices are making their traditional lifestyle unsustainable.
Mustafa Sabary, deputy chief of Kian Central province, which includes Kwinella, said rains still made agriculture unpredictable and farming was still done by hand without tractors. He said very few young people take up such jobs, and it is estimated that about 70% of them leave the state for the capital Banjul or Europe.
As a result, women and the elderly struggle with long, arduous work on the land, forcing communities to rely on remittances, Sabally said.
Without remittances, “life would be very difficult,” he says.
Gambia, the smallest country on the African mainland, is surrounded by Senegal except for part of the coast where the Gambia River empties into the Atlantic Ocean. According to the World Bank, 75% of the population lives in poverty and industry is virtually non-existent. The economy is dependent on imports and the cost of living has soared since the coronavirus pandemic.
Nearly 60% of Gambians are under the age of 25, and nearly half of them are unemployed. Despite efforts by the European Union to reduce the number of migrants in West Africa, a lack of jobs is worsening the situation. Many are convinced that leaving is the only option.
According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 8,000 Gambians arrived in Europe last year alone.
Many others have died trying. Earlier this year, a boat carrying 300 migrants, mainly from Gambia and Senegal, Capsized off the coast of Mauritania. more than a dozen people were killed At least 150 people were reported missing. Last year, a young man from Kwinella drowned on his way to Europe.
The journey is so dangerous that most young people flee for Europe without informing their loved ones of their departure.
Mouskebbe Mangiang’s 39-year-old husband left Kwinella and moved to Italy 10 years ago because he could no longer earn enough money from construction work. She never advised him to resign, “It was too risky,” she said.
One night, when Mangian was pregnant with her third child, her husband’s brother called from Italy, but Mangian disappeared without saying a word. Then he called to say he was leaving for Europe.
I didn’t hear anything for nine months, and my anger turned to fear. When he finally arrived in Italy, he called and explained what had happened to him. Kidnapped in Libya, which has long been an important starting point for crossing the Mediterranean. To Europe.
These days, Manjan’s husband sends her about 14,000 Dalasis (about $200) a month, enough to cover their children’s school fees, food and clothing. But on a personal level, it was difficult.
“He misses all the important moments,” she said. “He hasn’t even met our youngest daughter.”
Gambia’s central bank says remittances exceeded $730 million last year, but experts warn that rising costs of living will prompt more men to move abroad.
Gambian-born Elliman Jallow, 42, founder of a UK-based company that facilitates remittances to Africa, says his customers range from highly skilled workers to manual laborers.
Ansumana Sanneh’s son was a teacher from Kaif, a village not far from Kwinella. Barely able to make ends meet on his monthly teacher’s salary of 5,000 Dalasis (about $70), he headed to Europe.
His journey was interrupted when he was kidnapped by a Libyan militia, and Sane paid the equivalent of $700 in ransom before his son was released and returned home.
Sanneh believes that the dreams of the village’s young people are fueled by the false idea that Europe is the promised land. But because of the rising cost of living in European countries, immigrants today can send less money back home than before, he said.
Sanneh said the gamble was simply not worth the risk.
But stories of successful journeys and proof that money can be transferred often outweigh such words of warning. The large concrete village houses built with remitted money are sturdy. Images posted on social media by migrants working in Europe have caught the attention of young people still in their villages.
Despite the ordeal, Sane’s son hopes to find a way to leave Gambia again.
Not far from my home, a group of teenagers was practicing dancing in front of a fancy brick house. The driveway was lined with spotless pink tiles. According to them, the teenagers were filming a video for TikTok and chose the most beautiful and large village house as the background.
They say the house belongs to a young family who immigrated to the United States, the most coveted migration destination for many.
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