When Lamin Ceesay, an energetic 25-year-old from Gambia, arrived in Guangzhou last year, he thought his life had made a turn for the better. As the oldest of four siblings, he was responsible for caring for his family, especially after his father passed away. But jobs were few in his hometown of Tallinding Kunjang, outside of the Gambian capital of Banjul. After hearing about China’s rise, his uncle sold off his taxi business and the two of them bought a ticket and a paid local visa dealer to get them to China.
“It was very developed—the tall buildings, everything was colorful. I thought, okay my life is going to change. It’s going to be better. Life is good here,” Ceesay tells Quartz, describing his first impressions of Guangzhou, a hub for African migrants in China.
Gambia, a small country of a just under 2 million people in West Africa, has been losing
entire villages to migration mostly to Europe, but also to China. Chinese border restrictions have been easier than in Europe or North America and the southern city of Guangzhou has become a hub for African migrants, traders, and businesses. In Gambia, youth unemployment is high,
almost 40%, encouraging people like Ceesay to look east.
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“The dream that you hoped for—the better job, better life— is not there. It’s just a dream that is nowhere to be found in Asia,” Ceesay says.
Ceesay’s warning is for other African communities, many of whom have had similar experiences. “What happened to them has happened to Africans of other nationalities earlier,” says Østbø Haugen, “but their desire to prevent others from ending up in the same situation is unique.”
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