Sometimes you see bones by the roadside. They are all Africans heading for Europe, said Umoli. The journeys of refugees to Tangier start in countless places around Africa, from the villages of Nigeria to the slums of Senegal and the war zones of Sierra Leone. The lure of getting to Europe and securing a job in its buoyant economy is a powerful attraction to Africa s millions of poor and needy. The routes they follow are tortuous and varied.
Thousands simply walk.
They always head north, usually passing through Mali and its capital, Bamoko, before attempting the deadly Sahara. Many die on the way. They fall victim to bandits, or merciless smugglers who steal their few possessions and take their lives. Or, like Umoli s friend, they fall victim to the heat, perhaps getting lost in the shifting sands, their bodies never found. Their relatives back home will never know if they achieved the dream of a better life or died on the way.