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WHEN LAMIN CEESAY, an energetic 25-year-old from Gambia,
arrived in China 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 the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
Gambia, a small country of 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 Guangzhou
has become a hub for African migrants, traders, and entrepreneurs.
In Gambia, youth unemployment is high,almost 40%,
encouraging people like Ceesay to look east.
“All I knew is that China was a world-class country and the
economy is good,” he said.
But Ceesay’s new life didn’t turn out quite how he imagined.
The job that visa dealers promised would help him pay
off his debts in three months didn’t exist. Ceesay struggled
even to feed himself. When he tried to move to Hong Kong
where he had heard work was better, he was escorted back to
Guangzhou by police. Ceesay ended up in Thailand for three
months, unsuccessfully looking for work, before coming home.
Determined not to let his experience be in vain, Ceesay
has turned into a campaigner against the myth of China as
a promised land for Africans seeking work. “I told my uncle,
I’m going back to Gambia, and I’m going to tell this story and
explain what’s happening.”
Ceesay went on local radio shows answering questions from
callers about life and work in China. He started a Facebook
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