Clandestine migration from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe is not a recent phenomenon, but an increasing trend.
In The Gambia, many young men see life in Europe as their ultimate dream destination.
Despite the European policies and regulations, large numbers of young Gambian men continue to migrate legally or illegally to Europe.
In 2014 at least 3,500 people died in the Sea, many refugees in search for asylum, but also others who are not fleeing war but poverty.
The number of migrants dying at sea has increased every year since the early 2000s.
Many young men see life in Europe as the ultimate dream, and the issue of clandestine migration through the Sahara is a growing problem.
Earlier research has shown that prospective clandestine migrants from West Africa are prepared to risk their lives in order to get to Europe, and that over-expectations about what life in Europe is going to be like are important in the migration decision-making process.
Not much is known about clandestine migration from The Gambia. Since most young men who migrate from The Gambia are not refugees but economic migrants, it is interesting to investigate what drives them into the dangerous route through the desert.
The aim of this thesis is to explore the stories of Gambian clandestine migrants in order to investigate the expectations and ideas about Europe, as well as the gendered aspects of this type of migration.
April 2015, a boat carrying about 550 clandestine migrants capsized on its way from Libya to Lampedusa. The Italian coast guard rescued 144 people of whom most were believed to be from sub-Saharan Africa.
Clandestine migration from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe is not a recent phenomenon but an increasing trend where people risk their lives in order to reach Europe.
Many clandestine migrants come from countries in West Africa and travel through the Sahara to Libya where they get into the boats to reach Europe.
The Gambian society relies heavily on family structures, and family is a diverse concept where many relatives could be included in an extended family. Polygamy is common and therefore one man might have two or in exceptional cases three or four wives who sometimes also share the same compound.
The relation between men and women are characterised by a patriarchal structure and strong traditions like child marriages and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
When the father and head of the household grows old this responsibility is usually passed on to the eldest son.
