s-1
| I am happy to reunite with my family, and I look forward to expanding my bicycle business. |
s-2
| For two years, I was in Congo (Republic of the) doing business. |
s-3
| I had a grocery shop there, but I decided to come back home because business was slow. |
s-4
| When I returned, I went back to my hometown of Basse and engaged in farming activities. |
s-5
| I was desperate. |
s-6
| I wanted to get to Europe. |
s-7
| Three months later, I decided to embark on the backway journey. |
s-8
| I left in December 2016 and got to Libya in January 2017. |
s-9
| I started having financial challenges in Agadez, Niger, so my family supported me. |
s-10
| My brother had to send close to GMD 25,000 (approximately USD 500) for me to reach Libya. |
s-11
| My main goal was to get to Italy. |
s-12
| I tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea on five occasions, but all attempts proved futile. |
s-13
| In one of our attempts to cross, our boat had a problem, which resulted in many losing their lives. |
s-14
| I will never forget that day. |
s-15
| We spent the entire night at sea but luckily got rescued by the Libyan Coast Guard. |
s-16
| Throughout my stay in Libya, I was imprisoned twice. |
s-17
| Each time I went to jail, I had to pay a huge amount of money. |
s-18
| For two months, I was not able to talk to my family. |
s-19
| They thought I was dead. |
s-20
| When the opportunity came to return home, I did not hesitate. |
s-21
| The situation in Libya is unexplainable—all you face is imprisonment and forced labour. |
s-22
| I returned to The Gambia in February 2018 with the help of IOM. |
s-23
| Through the reintegration assistance I received, I started selling bicycles. |
s-24
| I got into the bicycle business because I have friends who are in it and are making a living out of it. |
s-25
| It is indeed a lucrative one. |
s-26
| They guided and supported me from the start, and now I am established. |
s-27
| I have customers that usually buy in large quantities and take it to rural areas. |
s-28
| When business is booming, I sell about five bikes per day. |
s-29
| I wish to expand my business and hope that other partners would come on board to help me achieve my dreams. |