A Togolese immigrant and a Majorcan have created an association, established in Palma, with which they will channel sponsorships to Togolese orphans to provide them with education and prevent them from embarking on a boat, combating "the lies of the mafias."
Accompanied by the Mallorcan Antonio Mir, the main visible face of My Avenir ("my future") is a migrant who arrived in the Canary Islands by boat in 2004 when he was 17 years old, Harouna Garba. In an interview with Europa Press, Garba explained that he wants to warn his compatriots of the risk involved in embarking on a boat: "There were 34 of us and only 17 people survived."
The promoters of the initiative have already acquired land on the outskirts of Lomé, in Togo, and built a school there for orphaned children to whom they want to offer an alternative for the future. Construction began at the beginning of June and on September 25, classes began with a first Primary year with 40 students.
The goal is to provide opportunities to children who are helpless because they have been orphaned or abandoned by their parents, a reality that is not uncommon in the small African country.
In Garba's case, his father died when he was eight years old and he was left in a precarious situation in the care of his grandmother. On the streets of Lomé, children become the target of mafias who force them to steal, sell them as guerrillas or prostitute them. "With the girls, the families are told that there are Europeans who want workers and take them from Burkina Faso to Mali for prostitution, girls of 15 or 16 years old," she said.
At the age of 14, Garba decided to emigrate, but it took almost four more years until he managed to reach Spain. At that time he was in Morocco, saving from a job as a hairdresser to pay the immigration mafias who promised to take him to a European paradise.
That mafia demanded 2,000 euros for the boat trip, but in reality Garba had to pay that amount several times until he finally boarded. "They tell you that when you arrive in Spain you will have a job and earn 1,500 euros a month, so it compensates you because you think you will recover the money quickly," he explained.
Although they assured him that the journey "would be half an hour's journey," since they left one midnight in April 2004, they spent more than 24 hours at sea: "No one tells you the danger of not arriving, they don't talk to you about the cold, or that once there they can expel you.
That night two boats with 17 people each set sail from El Aaiún. "Two people died in mine, 15 died in the other," he recalled. The second boat was damaged by the waves in an area of reefs, and most of its occupants "died by drowning or from blows." 31 hours had already passed since the journey began when the survivors were rescued by the Civil Guard near Fuerteventura.
Garba was transferred by the Government to Valencia, and there, with the support of Mir, he was able to learn Spanish and train. The Togolese is now the head of IT systems at a Vocational Training center. However, he expresses that the boat trip marked him deeply and that is why he has decided to raise awareness among his compatriots so that they do not run this danger.
"Many of those who get on a boat are illiterate, they do not know how to read or write, it is easy to deceive an illiterate person. That is why I want, to those small children, to at least try to teach them to read and write and explain to them that Europe does not It is as they paint it, it is not a paradise. People sleep on the street, they suffer, they work," Garba declared.
With these words he seeks to combat the mafias that recruit young people by telling them "that Spain is a paradise, that it loves Africans, that it wants labor." And, to avoid being deceived, he has stressed, education is vital.
Along these lines, Garba has emphasized that among his traveling companions there were people who had never seen the electric light until they arrived in Morocco: "For these people, if someone arrives in a car and tells them that he is going to take them to Europe "If you don't have training, you follow them like a lamb to the slaughter. Many from my village have left and no one knows where they are today. If they die at sea, no one tells their families."
Therefore, through the My Avenir School, Garba aims to convince young people in his country of origin that there they can "be a very important person" if they train.
My Avenir is looking for people who want to contribute to the project and will channel sponsorships that, for 350 euros per year, will cover schooling - including uniforms and school supplies - and children's meals. With this money, a scholarship is also paid to encourage families from Togo to welcome them into their homes.
Garba and Mir have encouraged the population to become 'godfathers' of the My Avenir students. As Garba has pointed out, 350 euros a year is not a significant amount in Spain but "it is a whole world there." Additionally, remember that donations are deductible.
In future phases, the project plans to expand the school's educational offering with Secondary and Vocational Training courses and open centers in other African countries.
