Tired of deportation, Senegal’s youth turns to fishing

RNW - In December 2008, Mamadou Gaye and dozens of other youth from the northern Senegalese fishing village of Kayar set for a ‘do or die’ boat trip to the Spanish Canary Island.

By Sheriff Bojang Jnr

It was Gaye’s third unsuccessful trip and it took his family six months to raise the boat fare of nearly US$1500 which they borrowed from relatives and local fishermen. They’ve agreed to pay the debts within six months as they were hopeful that Gaye would make it to the Spain, start work and make enough money for that.

False hope
But like in many other cases, Gaye and his family’s project was based on false hope. After ‘very difficult’ weeks in the dark, cold and quiet ocean, Gaye and his fellows made it to the Canary Island. But only three weeks later, he was sent back to Senegal by the Spanish immigration authorities.

"I was so proud to have made it to Spain but considering the huge amount of money that was borrowed for my trip, I thought I was a liability to my family. They thought I was a loser. They preferred I die trying to succeed than to be sent back home empty-handed."

Besides the fact that dozens of youth from the small village of Kayar embarks on the boat trip to Europe each year, the sea at the village is a popular starting point for hundreds or even thousands of youth from all over the sub-region bound for Europe.

In December 2009, a boat with nearly hundred young people left Kayar for Spain. Everybody on the boat, except three who died on the way, were sent back home by the Spanish authorities.

Why not stay?
After that trip, the youth of Kayar started a project to campaign against clandestine boat migration to Europe. Under the project, they decided to dedicate their time and energy to fishing and environmental protection.
“We wasted our times and created problems for our families. So why can’t we stay here and make the best use of our sea, fish and environment rather than going to Europe only to be sent back?” Gaye said.

Recently, Diana Mrazikova, an award-winning Slovakian photojournalist organised an international outdoor photo exhibition in Kayar to promote the village for tourism.

‘Turning Oppression into Opportunity’, was the theme and Diana installed images on the same pirogues used a few years ago as means to get to Europe.

"It was a way of showing the local people that the white girl who was taking pictures in their village was not shooting postcards as they thought. On the contrary, she wants to promote their extraordinary village around the world."

And for Gaye, “the clandestine migration mentality is quickly fading away and we are hopeful that we can make a difference without risking our lives to go to Europe. Our fish will see us through.”