{"id":15832,"date":"2023-01-05T13:11:17","date_gmt":"2023-01-05T13:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/selfhelpafrica.org\/uk\/?p=15832"},"modified":"2023-01-05T17:10:22","modified_gmt":"2023-01-05T17:10:22","slug":"making-it-at-home-in-the-gambia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/selfhelpafrica.org\/uk\/making-it-at-home-in-the-gambia\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Making it at Home’ in The Gambia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ambitious entrepreneur Buba Saidykhan left The Gambia for Europe, determined to fulfil his dream of building his painting and design business. Like thousands of young men from The Gambia, Buba risked his life attempting to make the journey from his home country to Europe in search of new opportunities. But he was jailed and forced to return home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Buba Saidykhan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We expected the road to be smooth for us to enter Europe but it was really hard. Some lost their lives in the desert, for myself it was jail after jail. It was a hard and rough journey.<\/p>\nBuba Saidykhan<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Buba\u2019s story is not an isolated one. Between 2014 and 2019, approximately 40,000 Gambians, primarily young men aged 16 to 25, entered Europe the \u2018back-way\u2019, via the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea. Many others died on route or, like Buba, were forced to turn back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those returning home, reintegrating into their communities is often a challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you go the back-way and get deported, it\u2019s quite painful after having spent all your resources and your family\u2019s resources,\u201d said Alagie Jagne, a Gambian returnee. \u201cYou will find it difficult when you come back to be part of the people again. Because what they expected and what happened, are not the same.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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