This is an authorized translation in English of a post in French by @terresco: Rencontres avec l'Afrique - La terre promise

^{As my primary language is not English, there are probably some mistakes in my translation.}

Remember that the person who speaks here is NOT me, Vincent Celier (@vcelier), but @terresco, a French guy.

Return to Ivory Coast

In Part 1, Juste, a young Ivorian, influenced by the father of one of his school friends and encouraged by his family, had taken the road to Europe. A difficult road full of pitfalls that was not open to him. Four years and thousands of kilometers later he finds himself at his starting point, Abidjan.

Part 2 tells how his responsibility to his family prevents him from following the path of his heart and returning home to his family, his friends, his life in the village. He tirelessly looks for a way to get away, going from odd jobs to odd jobs to save the colossal sums, destined for his next departure, very soon, he is sure.

Last part of the saga of Juste, this article tells the realization of his dream.

* * * * *

The big departure

Juste start working in Abidjan. It's his country, it's easier. He is rebuilding a little life. A healthy break in these years of wandering. A little home, friends, life could become normal again. But the mission he has set for himself, his obsession, even more powerful that it has been denied him, is omnipresent.

He explores the possibilities, relentlessly. He is studying every means to reach Europe without dying in this desert that has frightened him so much. There would be this way already taken by Mauritania and Morocco, a long way with the risk already experienced of a betrayal in Tangier. It is at the port, while he is working on unloading the containers, that he will finally catch a glimpse of luck.

Cargo ships regularly leave Abidjan for Europe, loaded with raw material of which the country is a producer. Juste get on with making himself useful to everyone. He sympathizes with the crews, bringing them to the party districts he knows well. Buying rounds, introducing people, he earns their trust. He visits boats, learns about the isolated places where he could hide. Finally, one day, he is ready. He foils surveillance and hides in a cargo ship.

In his uncomfortable nook he spends bad moments, finds time long. Let's not go into details. He will eventually have to go out for lack of food. The crew makes it work, to pay for its passage, without reproach nor punishment. He is treated as correctly as his stowaway situation allows by rough but humane men. When politics are not there to induce hatred, men often get along better than we think.

Arrival in the promised land

The boat arrives in Hamburg, Juste do not know it's in Germany and it does not matter to him. He made friends in the crew that will probably close their eyes when he lands in secret and dodge the controls.

He finds himself walking alone in the night. It's cold. Juste do not know the cold, it's the first time in his life that he sees the snow. He only has his own T-shirt. He does not know where he is going, he is getting scared despite the 6 years of unintentional adventures he just lived. The cold prevents him from thinking serenely, to keep his cool, funny expression in this case. Desperate, he ends up approaching a big building, knocking on the door is taking a big risk. Too bad for the consequences, he will see, that's it or die of cold.

He's lucky this time, Juste. He knocked on the door of a monastery and the monks welcome him. He will be fine, he will learn to garden, to speak German, to cook. He enjoys this break, does some music, regains his strength, his confidence in life. But the environment seems very masculine to him, he starts to skip and to do small tricks in the nearby city. The charm of German blond girls will make him err on the side of trust, once more he is arrested. He will end up on a plane, direction Abidjan.

When I met him in Abidjan, Juste had abandoned his dreams of departure. He kept a good image of Europe, which he now knew a little. It was not bad but knew it was not the paradise of Aboubacar's father. He had perhaps found, over these difficult years, a certain type of wisdom that had nothing to do with resignation.

* * * * *

The neighbor's garden is always prettier, some know it instinctively, others admit it intellectually, others still need to verify it by themselves. As part of, without a doubt, the last category, I often wondered myself. The meaning is not in the point of destination which once achieved loses its interest. The important thing is the steps that lead to it, generating a questioning often rich in learning.

* * * * *

The story is entirely in line with what Juste told me over the years together in Abidjan. I changed his name and the photo is that of another friend of the same age, made at the same time. He could have been another Juste, this friend, but chose another course. He made his life in the Ivory Coast, survived the bad years. I lost track of Juste in the years of war, often watching, even today, the Ivorian artists in case I see him appear one day. I hope he has also spent the dark years and found his way in his life.

-- @terresco

From Cape Town to Mombasa series:

Encounters with Africa: The Promised Land, by @terresco (translated from French)

This is an authorized translation in English of a post in French by @terresco: Rencontres avec l'Afrique - La terre promise

Remember that the person who speaks here is NOT me, Vincent Celier (@vcelier), but @terresco, a French guy.

The big departure

Arrival in the promised land

From Cape Town to Mombasa series:

All pictures are property of @terresco