DJIBY: “WE MUST DEVELOP PROJECTS IN AFRICA AND STOP DREAMING OF EUROPE”

November 08, 2017

Credits: Djiby Dia

At 24, Djiby Dia left everything to try to reach Europe. After a month the journet of the Senegalese stops in a detention center in Libya. Back in his country, the young man tries through his songs to discourage other migrants to leave.

The trip from Senegal to Libya lasted a whole month and was very difficult. I saw people starving because they did not have money with them. During the journey, you must know that they will take your money using the force. As a consequence, some are forced to work, in Niger or Burkina Faso for example, to pay the smugglers.

The desert route - from Niger to Libya - was very gruelling. There were about thirty of us in car and the overwhelming heat was extremely hard to bear. It was necessary to be discreet and to find tricks not to be spotted by the Libyan authorities. I feared to be arrested several times.