Try fate.
For life in Europe.
While they compete in the Dakar run, another "competition" takes place off the coast of Senegal, where fate rewards the winners with life in Europe, and this dangerous sport attracts many wannabes, even though they have very little chance of winning.
Thousands of young West Africans have been trying for years to reach Europe clandestinely along the Atlantic route, mainly to the Canary Islands, in overcrowded and often sloppy boats. In 2024, the number of crossings reached a peak, and then about 10,000 people died at sea.
The wreck of one of these boats took place in northwestern Senegal. The death toll reaches at least 35 people, and only one managed to survive. President Basiro Diomi Pai said the authorities are working hard to find the missing and help their families.
After the authorities of Senegal and Mauritania strengthened control of the coast, the ports moved south to Guinea and Gambia, and the route to the Canary Islands became longer and more dangerous.
In January 2026, a pirogue disappeared with 300 people leaving The Gambia, and in July a boat was found off the coast of Mauritania, from which 37 passengers survived and about 150 remain missing.
- where politics is hotter than the equator.
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