Meet Baye
Baye (Senegal) a few weeks after rescue. Lampedusa, Italy. November 2016. ©Pamela Kerpius/Migrants of the Mediterranean
by:
Pamela Kerpius
Recorded:
November 2016
Published:
2017
Revised:
1/13/25
Meet Baye.
20 years old and from Dakar, Senegal.
To reach Lampedusa he crossed five countries: Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and the most dangerous of all, Libya.
His trip took one month, 15 days. A shorter trip than most West Africans because his brother was able to provide more money to expedite the journey. He crossed the Sahara Desert in a vehicle with 25 people; everyone received 5 liters of water, and there were extra canisters kept on hand if their bottles ran out, which they did.
Baye kept decoy money in his pocket, about 15 dinars, so when they were stopped and robbed along the way, he was able to continue his journey with the true stash of money he kept hidden in his bag. Around six or 7 o’clock in the evening the car would stop so everyone could sleep.
Baye speaks French and some English. To help, Amadou (24, from Guinea, and a French-only speaker; pictured at bottom) helped to guide the conversation using Google Translate. We would type phrases in English and he would read it aloud in French; he was able to adjust the phrasing to mirror how people really talk. It also helped because Baye didn’t have to think about translation while trying to recount an already stressful story.
Amadou helps translate, in Lampedusa, Italy. November 2016. ©Pamela Kerpius/Migrants of the Mediterranean
We talked more after Baye’s interview. Amadou eventually hoped to go to the United States, “because it is a country of peace.”
Baye spent six days in Tripoli, Libya, in unknown conditions, then moved onward to the Libyan coast.
He crossed the Mediterranean Sea in a rubber dinghy with 150 others at midnight on a moonlit night. He spend 6-7 hours at sea, straddling the edge of the inflatable raft with one foot dangling into the water. He was rescued by a German ship and later landed in Lampedusa, Italy.
He wants to go back to school. He is a plumber and wants to work. He would really like to go to New York, Florida, or Texas.
Baye is an amazing human being.
Read Baye's two-year followup story, recorded May 2018 ›