Potential migrants have had to address three essential challenges for a successful immigration story. Preparing their departure, successfully integrating into the host country, and preparing or planning their homecoming. Usually, none of these three steps is of rest for Senegalese wanting to find refuge in France or anywhere else in the world. 

Sixty-six (66) years old Abdou Salam had been through an unusual migration. Of the three stages mentioned above, he did not succeed in any. And yet, he considers himself happy today after spending 15 years in Europe before returning home with only 50 euros and a few things: a hammer, a pair of pliers and some personal tools. 

A special departure itinerary 

Cane in hand to support the weight of his back pain, Abdou Salam agreed to talk to us after his appointment with a traditional healer. The lines and wrinkles on his face are signalling years of a hard-working life. The man and his journey are worth a bulky book. It takes the stinginess of a freelancer forced to limit his text to a set number of words to summarise his story, full of twists and turns.

 ‘‘Human trafficking network leader had accomplices among the airport police of Roissy Charles De Gaulle’’

This father, in his sixties, took an unconventional route to Italy in 1999. His itinerary was meant to officially take him and his fellow candidates to Bangkok.

‘‘I am a bricklayer. In 1999, I heard about a smuggling network managed by a Senegalese man who lived in Thiès ville (70 kilometres from Dakar). Many Senegalese had travelled through this very well organised network. With XOF 1.5 million (about €2300 today), the guy booked a flight for us to Bangkok. 

From Dakar airport, we didn’t need to get a visa for that city at the time. The key trick was that the flight had to stopover in Paris. And the head of the trafficking network had accomplices among the police officers at the Charles de Gaulle Airport to whom he paid 2000 French Francs each (XOF 200,000 CFA or a little over €300 at the time). 

These policemen would put on a false arrest scene and detain us, as soon as we got off the plane, for whatever reason. Then they would keep us in a large room at the airport. They brought us food and three or four hours later, a French contact of our smuggler took over, together with the police officers, to put us on a bus that took us to the parking lot in front of the airport. There were twenty-one (21) of us. In groups of three (3) people, we boarded seven (7) cabs to go to our different destinations. Some of us stayed in France. Others went to Spain. I was among those who had to go to Italy.”

15 years between Milan and Sanremo

Once in Milan, where his older brother was waiting for him, Abdou Salam did not take long to discover the harsh realities of living as undocumented migrant in Europe. Between the constant controls of the “Carabinieri” (national military police), the arrests, the rivalries between compatriots that went as far as the denunciations to Italian authorities, our interlocutor has suffered many low blows and gone through multiple ordeals that, instead of slowing him down, have forged the “accomplished” man he says he is today.

“Before going to Italy, I also made a career in selling second-hand clothes in Mboro (about 92 km from Dakar). A work that really earned me a lot of income in the 90s. That’s why, when my older brother put me in the business as a street hawker selling counterfeit goods, I adapted very quickly. After a few months of hard practice, I was able to find my way. Thus, every week I could make profits ranging between €6,000 and €9,000. 

There, I discovered the malice of some fellow countrymen who were apparently very bothered by my success in this market. That’s when the difficulties started. The arrests multiplied and to avoid being fined, I paid the “Carabinieri” hundreds or even thousands of euros each time I was caught. It was  later that I found out that my route was revealed to the police. People with whom I shared the same house sold me to the cops. Simply because they didn’t like the fact that I was making so much money only a few months after arriving. Can you imagine?” Abdou Salam said, still very offended by the behaviour of his fellow countrymen.

 ‘‘I sent at least XOF16 million to Senegal after each summer in Sanremo’’

Nevertheless, Abdou Salam did not only have to deal with the “jealousy” of his neighbours and fellow countrymen. He also had to endure the malice and greed of crooked lawyers who several times dangled before him the possibility of getting a residence permit through very expensive appointments with the Italian administration. 

“In order to operate legally on Italian territory, I started a naturalisation process or at least to obtain a residence permit.  But my misfortune was lack of education. I did not master anything of the legal and administrative system. I was therefore at the mercy of the most crooked lawyers. For each appointment with a judge, I had to pay at least €500 to my lawyer. The hearings were systematically postponed for most of the time. And if we managed to get the judge’s attention, my application was always rejected for one reason or another. The lawyer then encouraged me to look for new employment contracts, which was hard to get.  I was put in touch with so-called company managers who produce fake employment contracts unbeknownst to me. I paid thousands of euros for these contracts without any  successful outcomes. 

At some point, I stopped these procedures to focus  on my work. That’s how I discovered the annual Sanremo Festival (editor’s note: since the mid-17th century, Sanremo, a city with a pleasant climate, has been a popular holiday destination for tourists from all over Europe) where millions of tourists gather every year. A gold mine for any street hawker. The unluckiest of the sellers could finish his entire stock in a few days. The potential customer base is so immense. Every summer in Sanremo I made a lot of money. After calculating my income and profits, I sent at least XOF 16 million (€24,400 today) to Senegal,” he pointed out.

 ‘‘I rejected the marriage proposals of an Italian woman for 4 good years’’

Despite his ambitions to become a naturalised citizen, Abdou Salam has remained principled. If he were to take a second wife, it would be out of love and in accordance with his religion (he is a Muslim) and not out of interest. Naturalisation at all costs was not an option for him. Even if it implies returning back home.

“Business was going well for me, but I made the mistake of sending all the income I earned to a friend in Senegal. At the time, I was not happy about opening a bank account and putting money into it for savings. Unfortunately, this was a terrible mistake for me. 

“My friend, who is now my brother-in-law, screwed up everything. And since I couldn’t afford to come on vacation from time to time to check my accounts and the projects he said he had undertaken for me, I had no way of controlling him. I knew belatedly that he had fooled me all these years. It was one of the hardest shocks I’ve ever gone through. And as the financial crises in Europe unfolded, it became more and more difficult to achieve good sales figures. 

“Between 2010 and 2015, many of my fellow migrants hooked up with Italian women to get papers. I was offered the same thing and the cousin of one of my neighbours’ wives courted me for four years, in vain. I categorically refused to marry her for naturalisation. I then continued to deal with lawyers and guys who made employment contracts. But the results were the same: a lot of money spent for nothing. It was in 2015, on an umpteenth hearing scheduled for me that I packed up my stuff, along with a friend who lives in Kaolack, to return to Senegal. We went with his vehicle to Genoa to take the boat. The destination of the boat was Morocco. And from there, we went through Mauritania by land to enter the country. Seeing me, almost 15 years later, my mother burst into tears. I didn’t look in good shape anymore, and worse, I had nothing in my luggage but €50 euros (XOF 32,500) and some tools”.

Homecoming 

Abdou Salam had to face strong social pressure, the looks of some people and his friends, kinsmen and acquaintances in the first months of his return. To make matters worse, he was bedridden for a year with an illness. After that, he decided to face all the prejudices and the gossip when he passed by to accept a job as an assistant mason getting XOF 2500 (€4) daily pay by close of business. 

“Once in the country, I had to keep my head up and face reality, my reality. I decided not to sue my brother-in-law who had taken my entire fortune. Others might have done so, but I would never let material things push me to certain extremes. I still had my construction skills. So I decided to go back to square one all over again in order to provide something to my wife and daughter who came of age when I returned. I was lucky enough to give her away in marriage a few years after my return. But you know, you can’t do anything worthy with a daily earning of XOF 2500 (€4) for such a hard job as a mason’s labourer. I told my boss, but he refused to make an effort. So I resigned. 

“Three months later, I was in charge of the construction of a department store. It’s a deal I lost money on. But the person who had entrusted it to me was very satisfied with the work I had done. So over the next few months, I won several other construction contracts. Things started to go well and I put together a large team and purchased all the materials needed for the construction. 

“Today, I’m thankful to God. Sometimes I even turn down contracts. I was able to complete the construction of my house and put my family in good condition. I do not regret having travelled to Europe and having stayed there 15 years. But coming back home was by far the biggest decision I ever made. Looking back, it was really not easy,” Abdou Salam concluded.