the promise of the west

Here is an article that I feel very much reflects the attitude of folks in my village concerning emigration as a means to escape poverty. As the article states, those who have emigrated to richer areas such as Europe, the US, or even neighboring Ghana, are hailed as success stories by their peers. The article also mentions that the "well to do" families in Africa are supported by money sent back by relatives that have emigrated to Europe or the US and this is also the case in my rural village of 3,000. In the article a man is quoted saying: "Many young people think they have to pass through Europe in order to succeed in life," this is also the belief of most all of the youth here. I have conversations everyday with youth who tell me about everything they have tried in order to succeed and they say that they would jump on a row boat and paddle into the Atlantic to reach Europe even if there was a 50 percent chance of death: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56132&SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=SENEGAL In addition I have added a link to “IRIN news from West Africa” to the side bar on the right-hand side of this blog. I find that many articles on the IRIN site reflect my daily experiences here.