The second episode explores the material and symbolic motivations for Gambian youth choosing the backway to Europe, contrasting the modern, individualized pressure to provide for family through remittances with the more communal and respected social status of “semesters” (emigrants) from previous generations.
Transcript of Episode 2
Footnotes by Viola Castellano
My name is Tijan Jerju, Fatou Cham, my name is Fatou Darboe, Fatou Bojang from Gambia, Lamin Kotta, my name is Saikou Tunkara.
Viola
I am Viola Castellano and this is Backway to Europe: Talking Borders and Migration with Gambians on the Move.
This podcast series is produced in collaboration with Gambian advocates and activists. It centers their analyses of the border regime through their direct experiences of “the backway”—the local term for the illegalized route to Europe. These experiences resonate with many who have attempted to reach Europe across West Africa and beyond.
In the next seven episodes, you’ll hear from members of Youth Against Irregular Migration (YAIM), an advocacy organization founded by young Gambians who met in a Libyan detention center. The topics and discussions emerged from years of collaboration and are rooted in their advocacy work. I use my research as an anthropologist working on border externalization to provide context and put my findings in dialogue with YAIM’s reflections.
In the previous episode, we broke down what the backway means and why it is the only option the majority of young Gambians have when thinking of moving to Europe. In this episode, we are going to talk about the reasons behind the decision to leave and how those living abroad are perceived in Gambian society.
It was 2016 and at that time Tijan was working as an electrician together with a friend, when the friend proposed to him to take the backway together. He refused, saying he would have gone only with the plane and if properly documented. A few weeks after the conversation he received a phone call. It was his friend.
Tijan
And then I said, where are you? I told him, where are you? He told me that, yeah, I’m in Italy now.
He said, Italy. I said, yeah, you are told him, you are lying. He told me, just hang up the phone and then you see the number that was calling you.
Then since I hang up the phone and I see it was plus three, four, I said, wow, then I get mad.
Viola
After the phone call, he started to question whether he should have joined his friend, struggling to make a final decision.
Finally, he decided to go.
Tijan
It was in April 4, 2016. It’s where I take this journey with my younger brother.
Because I told my brother that you can stop going to school and I go with you because you know how to play football. If we reach Europe and then you can be able to play football, so I would be your manager.[1]
Saikou
Yeah, for me, the reason why I left this country to go to back way to Europe is because of the family.
In Gambia, If you are a son of the family, you have to provide something for the family.
So I feel that I am not providing what I am supposed to provide, because of lack of the job opportunity and my income was not that much strong.
Viola
Like Tijan, Saihou was also working at that time, teaching in a Dara, a koranic school[2]
Saikou
It is Dara. We call it Gambia here. Dara. So I was having 70-something students.
So the money I used to get at the end of the month. So that is the money I used to go to this journey. So I also leave this country in 2016 to go to Europe.
Lamin Kotta
My way of going to back way journey is because of friends’ influence.
Because one of my friends took this road and went to Back way after he went to Europe.
Then I also became mad and I decided that one day I will also live in Babylon.
Because I believe that one day I become a responsibility man and I am the first son of my mother and both my father
Viola
Let’s take a moment to unpack a word that Lamin just used, Babylon. I heard this term a lot when I was in The Gambia. It’s used to refer to the West, and it actually comes from Jamaican Rastafari culture and reggae music, which are hugely popular there. In that original context, Babylon[3] has a pretty negative connotation, it stands for colonialism, oppression, and all the systems of control associated with the West. But what’s interesting is how young people in The Gambia relate to it. For them, Babylon is both something they dream of and something they push back against. That tension really struck me, it captures the complex, often contradictory feelings many have about Europe.
Lamin
Okay, Babylon for me, what I used to hear about Babylon is like, you know, like Europe, any part of Europe, if like, you know, if somebody is there much of time, we used to say this word, you know, my friend went to Babylon, you understand. But when it comes to maybe the Jamaicans, the way they define it, maybe the Babylonians, sometimes they even call the cops, they are Babylonians, you understand.
Tombong
Yeah, for me, you know, the word Babylon and everything around Babylon, you know, is something that we the Africans believe, you know, Babylon contain everything, you know, it could be life of, you know, it could be a change in life, or it could be a moment you know, play a good part in your life, you know, because we always see Babylon is a place where, they are more developed in terms of infrastructure, in terms of education, in terms of everything that, you know, people need in their daily life. To keep people moving like Babylon is a life-changing thing, you know, it’s a place where people can at least easily have access to develop their self to have a better life and also, you know, to explore more, you know, in their life, right?
Viola
Let’s go back to Lamin’s story. After deciding to take the backway, he asked his grandfather if he could support him in the journey
Lamin
So he told me I have little money here, 10,000 dalasi. So you can go and research how you go and research how this road is.
Viola
Thanks to his grandfather’s support Lamin bought a bus ticket to Mali, the first stop of the backway journey. The day of the departure, he arrives in the Banjul bus station in the early morning
Lamin
So, you know, I go there after two and I meet people there. They are all young boys and girls. They were all ready to go to this back way and I have hope and believe that, yeah, I can also make it because, you know, there is a lot of Gambian youths. So that is the time that we embark in this journey.
Tombong
Yeah, basically why I took this journey because I’m from a family which is an extended family and also my father has, you know, two wives and then I was the fourth male child of my mom and then, you know, things were not easy on us. You know, it goes down to years where, you know, my mom is providing everything for us in the family, considering that we are not,having any source of living, paying my school fees, going to school and then, because of the family pressure and everything around it, you know, pushed me, you know, to take this journey[4].
Because considering the country we live in, we are very vulnerable, because we don’t have so many working places where you can easily get access and have a decent job and everything.
So it was not easy. And then the only option that we can decide on is to take this journey,
Viola
As for the others, Tombong was also encouraged by seeing his friends reaching European shores every now and then
Tombong
You hear that, okay, Lamin has entered in Europe, Lamin has entered in Germany, Saikou is in Italy, you know, so this keep me moving like, you know, you know, then it’s fine, you know.
Viola
But he could not imagine the kind of violence he would have faced in the backway
Tombong
You will be beaten and then, you know, they will smuggle you, they will even traffic you.
And then most of your human right will be violated along this journey. So it was very hard. And then it was just unbearable for me to realize this is the actual backway
Fatou Cham
I was working with my uncle here to take the mangoes and banana in Gambia here to go with them at the Kaulak, Senegal. So one day, I told myself that this money I get to this business is not enough to do all my needs. So I have to do something so that can better my future. So one day, I said, I think, what am I going to do with this money I have here? So I think I have, I was thinking that I have to take this back way journey. But before I started the journey, I asked one of my brother, he also took this back way journey to Italy. So I called him, asking him that, how about this journey? So he told me that the journey is not easy.
„You have to stay back. You can do your business. You can make money in Gambia.“ So I told him that, but you went to this, the same way you now enter in Italy. I told him that I will also try my best.
So anything happen, I will know that what God desire for me.
Viola
In a matter of a week, she prepared the required documents to proceed towards her first stop, Mali. But she did not talk through her decision with her parents
Fatou Cham
If I do that, they will not agree to let me go. So I will do it by myself. So anything, I know they will support me when I leave Gambia here.
Viola
Talking about the quest for realization, I also shared in the group why I decided to move from my home country, Italy, to the various places where I lived in the last 15 years: the US, Germany, Brasil and also the Gambia. Despite my struggle to obtain a US work visa, we acknowledged how being European granted me with a freedom of movement unthinkable for the others at the table. Another difference is that I did not move because I needed to support my family back home, but only based on my personal aspirations and life projects. For young Gambians things are not exactly the same.
Lamin Kotta
I believed that if I go to Europe, my life can be changed, you know, because I hear that there are so many opportunities of job opportunities and, you know, in terms of your health also, you know, you can have good health there[5]. And of course, I learned from my own friends who left this country and go to Europe, where by the time they was in Gambia here, we eat the same food, you know, we do things together, we are all suffering, you don’t have nothing, you understand. Sometimes we eat bread and butter.
So those people, when they left and go to back way to Europe, after they become between two to three years, they start buying compounds and building compounds, you know, buying their cars, you know, you will see their family life is changing.
That’s why people cannot stay anymore. Because much of them, when they go, they start helping their own people and their wives and children.
So that’s why I took this journey to go. But obviously, I cannot make it. Then I come back,
but, you know, still I believe that Europe is a land of opportunity, whereby even the currency
is more healthy than our currency. So that’s why, you know, that one is contributed also.
Viola
The dalasi, which is The Gambia’s currency, has lost a lot of its value over the past decade. There are a bunch of reasons behind that – from rising public debt owed to international donors, to a heavy reliance on imported goods, and exports that are in the hands of foreign companies. All of this makes the country especially vulnerable to global economic shocks. And in the past four years, that’s really hit hard. Inflation has skyrocketed, and for about half the population, even buying basic necessities has become a serious struggle. In a country where there is massive unemployment and the average salary is around 70 euro per month, it is not surprising that the diaspora contributes to almost half of the national GDP.
Tombong
You know, you talk off, because comparing our currency to European standard, you know, it’s huge gap, and then, you know, the equivalent is huge, you know. So and then believing it,also, the remittance that normally comes to Africa every year or even months is huge.
Tijan
Yeah, the expectation was, you know, in Gambia here, if you see someone driving a very expensive car, know the person is from Europe, if you see a mansion, building here, very nice mansion, know the person is from Europe. And then if you see something, someone so healthy, know the person is from Europe. So here in the Gambia here, you cannot work, you will work up till you have pension, but you cannot able to buy your own compound or you cannot able to buy your own car. So that’s why the expectation was so high in Europe because the currency that you have, the little currency that you have from Europe, if you send it here and they convert it to dalasi, the amount is so higher than the salary that you grab every month.
So this is why the expectation was so high people to embark in this journey, so that you need to sacrifice, either you sacrifice your life, so you reach to Europe so that you can able to change
Viola
Let’s take another moment to think with another crucial world to understand migration in the Gambian, the world “semester”, that doesn’t indicate a period of the year, but a specific kind of person, the one Tijan just described
Tijan
Yeah, the character of semester is, it is someone who came from Europe, like if you embark on this journey, or you buy, take a European, you go to Europe, you have documents, and then you come for holidays to your country, people determine you as a semester, so that you can, those people will come with different things, like they will buy cars, buy houses, building houses, very nice houses, and then wearing very expensive clothes, and then you cannot compete them with something. If you are wanted to compete with them something, you will be the loser,because if they come and say that this thing is costing 5,000, why is you are negotiating the price so that they can bring it down to you, they will not hesitate to pull out this 5,000 to pay it, so you cannot compete with them. So obviously, that’s their character, yeah.
What I’ve noticed about semesters is that when someone returns from abroad, relatives and neighbors come to greet them, often bringing gifts – like a hen or other items – to show respect and acknowledge their success. This makes the semester feel appreciated. And in return, they often give something back – maybe 200 or 300 dalasis – as a gesture of thanks. It’s a common practice and an important part of how semesters are seen in society.
The first character that you observe from that individual person will be like the change of his behavior towards the society itself, not as individual, both the society itself but even the appearance of that individual person, you know, because the expensive clothes that he wears, the jewellery and everything, you know, those are what, you know. So, and also, the other thing of them is, you know, their investment areas. Some semesters they have established business here that, you know, for like second hand clothing, you know, that you will import to Gambia to say, like, okay, you have someone here who is running the business and not only stopping at that, some will invest in buying land trying to build that land to ensure, like, they can use it for rental and everything, you know. And then also the other side of it is, like, they want to live in a better life, better country. I would say, like, luxury life, you know, compared to European standard or American, but at least at African standard or Gambian standard, they would like, to be in a better life.
So, you always want to be there so that people can still have that expectation on you, even not satisfying everyone’s needs.
Another example is a woman I know from Bantangto village. She’s around the same age as my mother. Before she left for Europe, people didn’t treat her well; they saw her as a nobody. But after she went abroad, made money, and came back, everything changed. People respected her. She bought land, even started a football team. So for many of us, traveling to Europe is about more than money – it’s about dignity, respect, and changing social status.
Viola
The term semester isn’t new – it goes back generations, to a time when traveling to Europe was much easier. But things have changed. With globalization and the shift of industrial production to countries in the Global South, Europe started needing less foreign labor. At the same time, the creation of the Schengen zone made European borders a lot harder to cross for non-European citizens.[6]
But have these new barriers to mobility also changed how semesters are seen in The Gambia?
Tijan
For me, before the semesters, when they came here, they don’t have aim.
Anyone you see, you will see the person having earrings, bling-bling watches, and then everywhere when they are going, they just play music, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. So, anywhere you are, you will know the person is from Europe. He’s a semester. But these back-ways semesters. The majority, they are working hardly because they know what they left behind. They have, they say that they are going there and hustle for myself and my people and my relatives.
Saikou
For me, I will maybe talk about the respect, you know, what they have, before those semesters and compared to now, because before, in Gambia here, you can go to many compound, you will not find someone who is in Europe, you know, so we don’t have that much semester compared to now, you know, so those days is, if you have a semester, you come to Gambia here, many people will respect you, some will bring chicken for you, you know, some will bring goat, they have goats to give it to you.
But now it’s very rare to have those things because now many people have semesters in their compounds, you know, maybe your brother or your son or maybe some siblings, you know, it’s a semester, you know, and then, yes, the respect before, the semesters, the respects and the Taranga, I don’t know what to call Bhunya in English, can some helps me/explains?
Tombong
Yeah, it’s the dignity[7].
Tombong
For those days, like he said, there is, you know, more of respect and then more of, like, you know, that dignity and everything around it, you know, because the travel in 90s and 80s was, like, very more easier in America, in Europe, especially in Germany and also, you know, even in UK, you know, Gambian’s travel there in those days, our fathers will tell us that, you know, those days traveling was very easy and then people travel and then it was, like not compared to now when, you know, there are more restrictions around everything. So but it all comes down to that respect that, you know, people have for those semesters in those days compared to now, now it was, it’s form of, like, in a civilization to say, like, I also have a semester in my compound, but not compared to older, you know, time, it’s more of competition, you know, around, you know, like to say, so that’s not enough respect. The respect was before, but now it’s more of civilization in a form of competition to say, like, I also have semester, and also people believe that, like, okay, having those fancy house in that particular compound, meaning they have a very relative semester, you know, so you can see people’s perception to exaggerate things and then everything around it. So this why, like, I rather die being hungry or everything, but not to beg my neighbor to say, like, okay, you guys having semester, can you please help me with this and this, you know, because what, they will not gonna do it, you know, so everyone feel very pride on whatsoever you’re doing.
At some point, they will even say, like, okay, you don’t see these people compound, they have a very luxury car, you know, their semester brought this car to them, you know, so at that moment, everyone will be talking about Jajukunda, you know, you know, their semester has brought a very, fancy car that is not even, found in Gambia here. So more or less, semesters are, the respect is, is, is way before but not now.
Viola
But it’s not just values or the economy that have changed: technology has also transformed how all of this plays out.
Lamin Kotta
Before the semesters, they don’t have, you know, that access to these mobile phones, you know, like the communication, it is very hard, you know, and the dependence, a lot of people depend on them because those years is, there is no, like, you count compounds who have semesters, if like, if this compound have a semester, before you have a semester, you count more than 20 compounds, there is no semester. So all the families will depend on this one semester who is in Europe.
So that’s why for them to make it is very hard. And sometimes also, when they send a money to come to their brothers or their uncles to build their house, so those people will use that money and eat it, whereas there is no telephone contact, you know, they will, you cannot even see your compound that you are sponsoring or using your money, you know. So that makes a lot of semesters, they fail,you understand. But nowadays, you can be a semester, anything, anything that you are doing here in the Gambia, there must be evidence.
Viola
It seems to me that in the past, semesters were fewer in number – and more respected. These days, they’re more common, and in a way, more ordinary. The focus has shifted. It’s less about who they are as individuals, and more about what they can provide for their families. And that success is often translated in concrete and visible outcomes – through houses, businesses, or shops. Globalization has played a big role in this shift, raising aspirations toward new standards of living, especially for those who’ve left the rural areas of the country’s interior.
Tombong
Because even us in our village now, you know, in those days, you know, we are more of like this, you know, houses that are not that much standard at some point, if the rainy season, you will see in a family home, that will all come down, you know, but now they are all, you know, building fancy houses and fancy compound, fencing their compound, having a gate there, you know, each compound, you know, they have a semester, so it’s more of competition within those semesters, but in those days, this will not happen, because what was happening is like we are farmers, what we know is farming and everything, we only sit for like, running season after running season, we just disappear, but now that has changed, you know, at least my mom, my dad, they are no longer working, you know, at least every month I am sending something for them.
Viola
There is no welfare state in the Gambia, and with farming becoming more tiring and less lucrative, current semester represent the only form of social security for their families.[8]
Tijan
Yeah, before, like, before those semesters, before, recently semesters, they are different because, like how Lamin has mentioned here, the technology was not advanced, before those semesters, when you go and reach to Europe, before hearing your people back here, it will take time, some people, they just make tape to post it and then your people, when they get that tape from the post, they just play it and hear what you say and then they just respond to you and then post it back to you and then you go, by that now, the moment you enter to Europe, it will take you one week and your people know where you are.
[..] my uncle was in France, it had maybe 45 years in France, but he never built a house, but when he have his nephew, went to his back, this back way and then the nephew went to
Spain and he started building the family house, is the time he started making some offer to the family, because of that guy, wake him up, yeah, that’s why I say those semesters, they were sleeping, so recently semesters wake them up
Like others have said, the semesters of the past are not the same as the ones we see today. Back then, many went abroad just to make money for themselves – to buy flashy things, long chains, big trousers. But today’s semesters often leave with a different mindset. They’re thinking about how to improve their lives and support their families back home. That’s why you sometimes see someone who’s only been in Europe for two years, yet they’ve managed to provide things their families never imagined possible.
I’ve even seen this happen in my own village. There’s a man who’s been living in Sweden for over 30 years. When his older brother passed away, he was expected to care for the family, but he barely checked in. Eventually, his nephew – the son of the deceased – made the journey to Europe through the backway. And in just a short time, he built a big house in the village. News of this spread quickly, thanks to modern technology. When the uncle heard, he suddenly reconnected with the family he had neglected. People had even assumed he was dead. Now, inspired by his nephew’s achievements, he started building his own house and even plans to visit after three decades away. This is the difference between the old days semesters and the current ones in my view.
Viola
Lamin father’s instead was the malama, the mandinka name for semester, of its village, and he assured his presence there sending tapes from Europe which were shared and cherished by entire villages. In these tapes, he gave life updates, shared advice, and provided instructions for managing the money they sent home.
Lamin
yeah, you see, but for me, I can take the example from myself, because, you know, my father was an old-time semester, you know, he was living in Germany for more than 10 years my father will record just this tape, this small talk on his tape, then he will send it, when the tape comes, so in the compound there, everybody will sit and listen to my father. So there is nothing like your secret will never hide, just like, that’s why it’s different with today, today you can call your father, nobody will even know that you talk to your father, you tell him all your problem and all what you need, nobody will hear about it. But before, if anything you are saying, people will be, because they will pray like everybody said, even though you want to talk they will tell you, shut up, listen, the Malama is talking.
Saikou
But I want to go back to the elder generation semesters, you know, they also try a lot, honestly speaking, they also try a lot, but they are trying of course on the feeding side and those things for the family [..] Because for me I can say during my childhood time, if my uncles they came in, when they are there, I do not used to speak with them in telephone because I do not have that access, but when they came for the holidays in Gambia, you know, that during that period we are all enjoying the family, you know, everything you need, you go there, they will give you money, buy this, buy this, some will even take you to the market, to buy shopping, to buy clothes with you and some of the other things. But very rare now, the semesters do those things, you know, so now the semesters even can come, I will not even go there to give them and those things, because the time you are, you are not considering me that very much, so because of why you are considering with your small families and those things. So it will be difficult for me also to leave my work, you know, all my time and those things to go, just to go there to sit with you and things, you know, so that’s why things are changing, now people don’t have the time.
Viola
People don’t have time to celebrate the return of semesters as much as in the past, and this goes hand in hand with a more individualized sharing of resources. It ties back to the competition that Tombong mentioned before, competition that fuels conflictual relationships
When you try to do something good, people will try to destroy your life with jealousy and bad intentions. It’s too much in our society – you wish to do something, but you find you can’t.
If someone is in Europe, they may want to do something back home, but people will be doing black magic on them. In my village, there was a semester who was one of the first to travel to France from our area. He had good intentions to help his family. He even started fencing their compound, but he couldn’t finish it. People were doing black magic on him[9].
And it’s not only outsiders – even the people you share the same mother and father with can work against you. You beg them today, tomorrow they’ll say you’re lying. Even my brother in England blocked my number just because I told him: “If you’re something today, it’s thanks to our mother who gave birth to you.” Many times, when you ask for help, and they block you – that’s why I prefer to swear and earn for myself.
Lamin
There is more spiritual fight before than now, because before our elders, so like they say before, if you are a Malala or you come, all the community will come and greet you, because my father experienced it, and he called, you come to my village, even today you go to my village, all the village will tell you that, oh, your father first coming in Jomar, it was like, it is just like a ceremony, everybody come out, all the village! Some will bring too many things to come to greet him, and they expect something in return, you understand, so my father, since he come and know all the problems here, and go back again, he decided now to plan his life. Because like Saikou said before, you will consider the family, or else you will have a problem, because they will tell you, if you don’t consider this family, you will see yourself in Gambia, without knowing how do you come here. Yes, that was a signal from my father, so, since he get back and start trying, and he make a record that, you know, when he come back again, he wanted to buy 10 compounds, and that 10 compounds gave him a big, big problem, because of this problem of having two wives[10]. His father was having two, two wives, so his, his auntie was listening to the record, and he hate that. So his auntie, her father was a big, big marabout[11] in our nearest village, there is one village there, so she goes there, you know, to explain the matter to his father, and he told him that, you know, I don’t want this, this, this man to come and buy 10 compounds.
Viola
The envious second wife of Lamin’s grandfather then asked the marabout to curse his father’s fortune. Marabout are religious figures who are believed to have supernatural powers, and who are often consulted for the most disparate life matters.
Lamin recounts how after this his father, who was living in Germany, started to act irrationally and catching the attention of the police, who then deported him back to the Gambia.
Lamin
The police comes and arrests him, took him to jail, more than three years he’s in jail, you know, so he face lot of difficulties there. After they deported him back, you understand, so that’s why I also want to contribute that thing there, because nowadays people are fighting each other, but it’s not like before, because before your secret will never hide, but now you can be a Malang[12], you know, whereas you are talking to only your mother, nobody will know your problem. Let’s say you can buy a compound here, live with your family there, it’s only your that small family that you will take their responsibility, but not everybody. So that’s why these people are trying to make development, and they are working hard to change the country, so they make the old Malama to wake up and open their eyes, like, you know, the system change, so that’s why.
Viola
In this episode, we explored why – both materially and symbolically – Europe often appears as the only way out for young people facing low wages, unemployment, and limited opportunities. For this generation, shaped by growing inequality and global aspirations, reaching Europe isn’t usually about starting a new life – it’s about quickly improving the lives of those they left behind in a more competitive and individualized society compared to the past.
But now the doors to Europe are largely closed. And for many, the only option left is the illegalized journey – one marked by danger and violence.
Next time, we’ll break down what that violence actually looks like — and shine a light on the remarkable resilience of those who endure it.
This podcast series is made possible thanks to the participation of Fatou Bojang, Lamin Bjang, Fatou Cham, Madou Cissey, Fatoumata Darboe, Tijan Jerju, Lamin Kotta, Tombong Kuyate, Saikou Tunkara. It has been funded by the German Research Foundationand the Outreach Program of the University of Bayreuth. Editing and storytelling codevelopmentby Daniele Lucchini and sound design by Ismael Lo and Daniele Lucchini.
Conceptual guidance from Ian McCook. The voices in English when Fatou Bojang and Fatou
Cham speak in mandinka are those of Samira Marty and Julia Leman. We warmly thank all
colleagues and friends whose invaluable advice helped shape this series. Thank you for
listening—we hope you’ll continue the journey with us.
[1] Aspirations towards sport-related migration in Europe in West Africa have developed in the last decades together with an increasing recuitment of West African players in European teams, see KOVAČ, Uroš. The promise of empowerment: football migration brokerage between west Africa and Europe. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, v. 51, n. 11, p. 2715-2733, 2025. Available online at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/1369183X.2025.2462247
[2] Koranic schools, locally known as dara or daara, are widespread in The Gambia. Beyond memorization of the Koran, schools teach Tafseer (interpretation), Fiqh (jurisprudence), and Sunnah. Many modern Daras, such as Daru Sunna, are integrating or aligning with Ministry of Basic & Secondary Education (MoBSE) standards.They often function as boarding facilities (Talibes) where children live and learn under an Oustaz (teacher).The dara system is integral to Gambian society for religious education and character building.
[3] On the etimology and religious entanglement of the word Babylon in Rastafarian culture see Davidson, S. (2008). Leave Babylon: The Trope of Babylon in Rastafarian Discourse. Black Theology, 6(1), 46-60. For a decolonial critique on the ethnographic works on these topics see Greenidge, A., & Gahman, L. (2020). Of “madness,” against Babylon: a story of resistance,(mis) representation, and paradox in the Caribbean. Political Geography, 80, 102188
[4] The necessity for male firstborns to provide for the family, and especially for women and small children, is a cultural trait of Gambian families which make mobility an intersubjective experience, see Gaibazzi, P. (2019). Moving-with-others: Restoring viable relations in emigrant Gambia. Migration and Society, 2(1), 26-39.
[5] On the insufficient health care system in the Gambia see Afrobarometer report Gambians endorse universal health coverage as medical care remains elusive for many available as pds https://www.afrobarometer.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/AD1106-Health-care-access-remains-elusive-for-many-Gambians-Afrobarometer-7jan26.pdf
[6] In this article you can find some more context on the link between these phenomena: https://ecfr.eu/publication/road-to-nowhere-why-europes-border-externalisation-is-a-dead-end/
[7] Dignity/respect, taranga in wolof, bunyaa in mandinka, is another key term to understand what migration stems from and entails in Gambian society. It is interesting to notice that both refer also to hospitality, when referred to a stranger.
[8] On how international economic organizations like International Monetary Fund influenced post-colonial states enacting forms of financial imperialism that eroded the possibility of building robust public services, see Moyo, G. (2024). World Bank, IMF, and WTO as agents of financial imperialism. In Africa in the global economy: Capital flight, enablers, and decolonial responses (pp. 41-59). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. (open access)
[9] Anthropological literature analyzed accuses of witchcraft and raising inequalities as two entangled phenomena, see Geschiere, Peter (2013), Witchcraft, Intimacy, and Trust: Africa in Comparison, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
[10] Polygamy is legal and common in The Gambia, especially in rural areas and older generations, with no legal restrictions prohibiting men from taking up to four wives, in line with traditional Islamic and customary laws.
[11] Marabouts are revered as custodians of sacred knowledge and often credited with supernatural healing powers. Many people consult marabouts for healing, protective charms, or insight into the future. Marabouts can also be consulted to put a curse on an enemy
[12] Another name for semester in mandinka, like malama.
llustration by Daniele Castellano, suggestion of scene depicted:YAIM
Abstract: Backway to Europe is a podcast series produced in collaboration with Gambian advocates and activists. It centers their analyses of the border regime through their direct experiences of “the backway” — the local term for the illegalized route to Europe. These experiences resonate with many who have attempted to reach Europe across West Africa and beyond. Episode 1 begins where the story itself begins: with the hyper-restrictive European visa system for Gambian nationals that renders the backway the only viable option for many. It explains why obtaining a visa is almost impossible and sets the stage for later episodes, which show how European influence on Gambian national politics operates through global and historically layered inequalities that perpetuate neocolonial dynamics. The second episode explores the material and symbolic motivations for Gambian youth choosing the backway to Europe, contrasting the modern, individualized pressure to provide for family through remittances with the more communal and respected social status of “semesters” (emigrants) from previous generations.
