Every year, tens of thousands of people risk their lives leaving Senegal. A certain number of them return to their home country after spending just a few months or years abroad.
The reality that migrants encounter on their road to exile doesn’t always live up to their expectations. Returning home, however, whether by choice or due to forced repatriation, is often complicated. With unemployment high in Senegal, many families see migration to Europe as a prospect of a better future. The men and women who return home are often confronted with a complex mixture of emotions, particularly shame and regret. They carry with them the burden, sometimes years after returning home, of failing to live up to the hopes of their families and communities.
These people go from being a solution to feeding their loved ones, to becoming a financial burden. They feel torn between their hope of building a new life and their desire to reintegrate. They struggle with the ‘moral debt’ they owe to their families, who have often invested money in their outward journey.
In this photo series, photojournalist Jennifer Carlos tells the stories of returnees Macoumba, El-Hadj and Moustapha, aiming to show the challenges they face, the dreams that drive them and the inner strength they continue to exude.
De nos jours, lorsque les pirogues prennent la mer, elles le font discrètement la nuit, transportant régulièrement plus d’une centaine de passagers du Sénégal en direction des Canaries. Thiaroyes-sur-Mer. Octobre 2022.
In Thiaroyes-sur-Mer, a suburb of Dakar with a population of 80,000, the subject of undocumented immigration is omnipresent. This former fishing village is now better known for the number of lives lost at sea than for the quality of its fish.
« Le voyage a été très dur, mais le pire, c’est le retour. Ma famille avait mis tellement d’espoir en moi. C’est une honte de partir et de revenir », raconte El-Hadj, 39 ans. Thiaroyes-sur-Mer. Octobre 2022.
With financial support from his mother, El-Hadj made the journey to the Canary Islands in 2006, but his dreams were shattered when he was repatriated 42 days later. Back in Senegal after this first attempt, El-Hadj found himself in debt. Thanks to the support of a fisher friend, he found a job and was able to get married and start a family with two children.
Unfortunately, his financial situation remained critical, forcing him to try his luck again. In 2009, El-Hadj attempted another crossing via Morocco. He was arrested by the Moroccan police and deported to the desert near the Algerian border. Back in Senegal once more, his sense of shame and guilt grew with this second failure and he sank into depression.
« Lorsque je suis retourné au Sénégal après ma deuxième tentative, la honte m’a envahi au point que, pendant deux mois, je rentrais au village uniquement la nuit pour dormir, évitant ainsi toute rencontre, et le matin, je quittais le village pour me cacher », raconte El-Hadj. Ici, il attend, frustré de ne pas pouvoir partir en mer, car la mer est trop agitée de matin-là. Thiaroyes-sur-Mer. Octobre 2022.
“The looks people give you are harsh and there are a lot of rumours. A lot of people say that I left to squander my mother’s money. I feel guilty because I caused my mother a lot of stress. She had a stroke and part of her body is paralysed”.
As the months went by, El-Hadj took up fishing again and was gradually able to regain the trust of those close to him.
Alors qu’El-Hadj passe devant un chalutier chinois, il explique : « Ce sont les accords de pêche qui nous tuent, avant il y avait beaucoup de poissons. Mais là, les chalutiers étrangers raflent tout, avec leurs grosses embarcations. Il ne nous reste plus rien et je n’arrive plus à m’en sortir ». Thiaroyes-sur-Mer. Septembre 2022.
As a consequence of international fishing agreements that allow foreign trawlers to exploit Senegalese waters, many small-scale Senegalese fishers like El-Hadj are struggling to survive.
“I’m powerless because I don’t have enough money to live on, let alone to look after my sick mother. My son has a hernia, and it would cost 250,000 CFA francs to operate”. Despite everything that he’s been through and the debts he still has, his family is urging him to leave again. The financial situation is still too difficult.
À son retour, Moustapha, 54 ans, n’a pas été bien accueilli par ses proches et surtout sa femme : « Ma femme était déçue de me revoir et elle m’a quitté. Elle espérait que je reste en Europe pour lui envoyer de l’argent. » Thiaroyes-sur-Mer. Juillet 2023.
Like El-Hadj, Moustapha was deported from the Canary Islands, in 2006 and 2019. Financial expectations can generate tensions within families, and Moustapha has had to juggle disappointment with the need to reintegrate into his community.
Moustapha (au centre) passe beaucoup de temps avec les jeunes de la ville pour les sensibiliser aux dangers de la migration par les pirogues. Thiaroyes-sur-Mer. Octobre 2022.
As president of the Association des Jeunes Rapatriés de Thiaroyes-sur-Mer (Association of Young Returnees of Thiaroyes-sur-Mer), Moustapha is committed to raising awareness among local young people. He informs them about the risks of migration and helps facilitate access to vocational training.
Moustapha is trying to forge partnerships to finance a variety of training courses, supported in particular by the GIZ and Caritas organisations, in professions including pastry-making, construction and electricity.
Moustapha avec son fils à gauche se retrouve régulièrement avec son ami pour prendre le thé. « J’ai peu d’amis dans le village, les gens ne me respectent pas ici ». Thiaroyes-sur-Mer. Octobre 2022.
Despite his best efforts, Moustapha isn’t always able to convince young people looking for work to stay in the country. Nevertheless, he persists in his commitment and hopes to secure more funds to counter emigration from his village.
Sur la plage, Macoumba, 40 ans, s’entraîne en vue de sa sélection aux Jeux paralympiques 2024, dans la discipline cycliste du vélo à bras. Dakar. Juillet 2023.
In 2002, at the age of 19, Macoumba was sent to France by his father to improve his family’s living conditions. Shortly after his arrival on a tourist visa, he travelled to Granada, Spain, to a migrant house, with the aim of selling wooden sculptures to tourists as a street vendor. He was unsuccessful.
With his visa about to expire, Macoumba decided to join the Foreign Legion of the French army as a last resort to stay in France. His exceptional physical condition quickly set him apart and he became one of the best marksmen in his class. For several years, he was part of military units deployed in various conflict zones, including Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti and the Central African Republic.
During an operation in 2008, he injured his spine in an accident, which left him paralysed below the waist. Despite this setback, he remains resolutely optimistic : “I gave part of myself for France. When I woke up in hospital, I was laughing, I was so happy to be alive. I was so lucky.”
Macoumba s’étend sur le sol après avoir accompli un trajet de plus de 60 kilomètres en handbike dans son village natal dans la région de Kaolack. « Lorsque j’ai découvert le vélo, cela m’a permis d’oublier tous les soucis. C’est comme si plus rien ne pouvait m’atteindre ». Keur Alpha. Juillet 2023.
In 2011, he made the courageous decision to return home to Senegal, despite the stigma attached to his disability. He ultimately went into the property business, got involved in humanitarian work and now competes professionally in hand cycling.
Currently ranked 8th in the world in para-cycling, his ultimate goal is to represent Senegal with dignity at the 2024 Paralympic Games. “I’ll know in May if I’ve been selected,” he says.
Dans leur chambre, Macoumba et sa femme Sophia sont assis ensemble. Dakar. Septembre 2023.
“During my rehabilitation,” Macoumba recalls, “I had to relearn the basics, and I often wondered how I would cope with the way people looked at me. I decided that I wanted to return to Senegal but I was worried about accessibility and the stigma attached to disabled people. Fortunately, my return went very well and I received invaluable support.”
