Ghana : mensonge, torture, mort simulée…, un rescapé raconte l’enfer qui a provoqué la mort de Cheikh Touré
In Thursday's edition of Source A, Papa Sarr recounts his aborted trip to Canada. The 26-year-old reveals that he experienced the same atrocities as the young footballer whose death sparked outrage. His aim in sharing his story is to warn young people who might be tempted by illegal immigration, he says.
THE BAIT
“My cousin, Aliou Sarr, worked at the Ocass market in Touba. He called me one day from a Canadian number to tell me he knew someone who could get me to Canada via Ghana. He said I needed to pay 5 million CFA francs to prepare the paperwork. I already had 3 million and took out a loan of 2 million to make up the difference. My cousin assured me that as soon as the money was sent, [a certain] Mbaye would prepare the paperwork and that once in Ghana, I would just need to go to the embassy to have the documents stamped before going to Canada.”
MEET IN… THE FOREST
“ [Upon arriving in Ghana] After three days, I was told I had an appointment. The guy they had put me in touch with asked me to follow him. But instead of taking me to the embassy, he led me to a forest. There, I found many Senegalese and two Ghanaians. They immediately confiscated our phones. I told him I wanted to join my brother in Canada. He replied that I could have everything I wanted in Ghana and that it was better than Canada.”
150,000 CFA francs/week
“He told us we had to convince other Senegalese to join us by making them believe we were in Canada. Each person we brought over would also pay 5 million. They told us we would be paid according to the number of people recruited, up to 150,000 CFA francs per week. That's how my cousin Aliou Sarr came into the room. I was surprised because I thought he was in Canada. He told me that if he had told me he was in Ghana, I would never have come. He explained the same plan to me: recruiting Senegalese to bring them to Ghana.”
THE SHADOW OF SHEIKH TOURÉ
“ [When he started complaining, saying he wanted to go back to Senegal] The other Senegalese told me I was unruly and that once I was inside, I couldn’t get out. They told me it was a 90-year contract. [A man named Baye Karim tries to calm him down] He told me not to raise my voice and to find a way out. He also told me that it was in this room that they had killed Cheikh Touré, the young footballer killed in Ghana. They held me for a week. Then they isolated me in a room. For three days, they gave me nothing to eat or drink. I knew they had already done this to Cheikh Touré. I said I was ready to die here, but I wasn’t going to call my family and ask them for money for my release.”
PRETENDING TO BE DEAD
“They tortured me with an iron bar. I pretended to be dead, lying down without moving. Two men in the room believed I was dead. They placed my phone and identification next to my ‘body’ before leaving. It was three in the morning. I walked all night, following the lights in the distance. At a roundabout, two police officers came to my aid. They gave me water. I called an acquaintance, originally from Thiaroye, who lives in Ghana. He came to pick me up at the police station. The embassy paid for my bus ticket to Ivory Coast.”
RETURN HOME
“ [Upon his return to Senegal] I spent 15 days in the Thiaroye hospital. I was discharged last week. There are many Senegalese people there. They have built buildings and many tell their families they are in Canada. I never imagined I would be treated this way by my Senegalese brothers.”
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