Agbor Emmanuel

Beyond the Sahara Agbor Emmanuel

Migration through the Sahara and the Mediterranean has been going on for decades. It was brought to the limelight by political upheavals in the Maghreb and Syria. Beyond the Sahara tells the story of a young Cameroonian who dreams of playing professional football in Europe. Not having the means to pay for a visa and an air ticket, he decides to defy the Sahara and the Mediterranean. The journey takes him from Cameroon through Nigeria in Boko Haram territory. He is rescued by Nigerian security forces and he enters the Republic of Niger. From there he enters Algeria and from Algeria they move on to Libya after losing a friend in the desert. He and his friend smuggle themselves into a merchant ship bound for Barcelona. They are identified and his friend is killed while he jumps into the sea in a desperate attempt to escape. Some of his companions are arrested and deported to Nigeria. The story criticizes the socio political situation in Africa and depicts many aspects of the African tradition. The man from Australia is your brother; the woman from Afghanistan is your sister; the man from Syria is your brother; the woman from America is your sister and the man from Africa is your brother too.