Over 400 years, more than 12 million
Africans were sold into slavery as part of the
Transatlantic slave trade. Today human
traffickers are still profiting from the many
young Africans who hope to migrate, and resort to doing it
through illegal channels. Everybody say:
we are not slaves. We are not slaves! Don’t forget I’ll be
teaching you some songs. What can I do
for you guys? We want to talk to
you about emigrating. Some of our guys over
there told us you helped them. My brother’s been duped
by fixers a couple of times. And this will be my second
time trying to go to Europe and we don’t
want to fail. People have told us we’d
be in good hands with you. I’ve been duped by
fixers many times. You give them money, and
don’t hear from them again. We can’t talk here. Take my number and call me later
so we can arrange where to meet. No problem,
we’ll call you I’m a fisherman. I live in Nouakchott and, if Allah
wills it, I’m a really good skipper. After 20 years of fishing, I
still didn’t earn enough money. I don’t even own a house even
though I’m very good and experienced. I heard about the migration
business and how lucrative it can be. I decided to stop fishing, so I
could get into smuggling as a skipper. I decided to go to
the port of Nouadhibou with the hope of
joining the smugglers. As soon as I got to Nouadhibou,
the fixers recognized me and offered me a job taking
their migrants to Spain. Son, you need to take
your education seriously. You do. So you don’t end up
a fisherman like me. When you’re away, he
doesn’t take anything seriously. Follow your
sisters' example. Please tell him... he’s not taking
it seriously. As a boy, you need to be
careful, you need to study hard and also be here for
your mom all the time. I was born in Keidi but I
grew up in Nouadhibou. I’ve been working
as a fixer since 2006. It’s not bad. Yes. Leave him alone. Why don’t you listen?
I don’t want him crying. Hello?
Hello, Amuni. How are you? He doesn’t like
that type of yoghurt. He prefers the one
with the red packaging. I’m not opening it. Don’t open it. Don’t open it. Here, take
this glass. Why are you
interfering in their game? Play your own and
leave them alone Papa, it’s
not your turn. To be honest, working as a fixer hasn’t
had a positive effect on my life. We still live
hand to mouth. We still live in
abject poverty. Where’s the carton
for the sheep? Gone. All gone? Yes, they
ate it all. Let’s make
some new cartons Working as a fixer seems to
be a lucrative business at first. You think you’re
making lots of money. When you get home and consider
the conditions and risks involved, you realize what you
earned isn’t worth it. It’s not enough money to invest in any
other business, or anything worthwhile. The last smuggling trip
was from Nouadhibou. We put the migrants
into a big boat and moved them about 30 kilometers
off the coast of Nouadhibou. We asked them to sleep
on the bottom of the boat. We covered them with fishing
nets and fishing materials so the coast guard
wouldn’t get suspicious. So if they saw our boat, they’d
think it was a fisherman’s boat and not smugglers. After two days at sea,
the second captain suggested throwing a
few people off the boat. I told him I
wasn’t a murderer. He said the boat
would sink, but I refused. I promised to take all the
migrants to Las Palmas in Spain. I’m a fisherman,
not a murderer. We continued the trip and
after a couple of kilometers, the engine cut out. I went to check it and
heard whirring noises. The coast guards were approaching,
I tried to keep out of sight. They told us to stay calm
and asked if I was the captain. I said no, but they
said they knew I was, because they’d been following
us for the past 100 kilometers. At that point, I realized
I had to come clean. We’re ready. Stop the boat, this
is a routine check. Please give
me the rope. Please take it easy, our
boat is not very strong. Take it easy
or we’ll sink This is a routine check —
we’re looking for smugglers. This is just an
old fishing boat. Hey, please don't do
that, don't push our boat. Don't tell us
what to do. Where are
your papers? Are you all
from Mauritania? Yes. Okay, go on. Coast guard. Stop the boat. Get closer. Captain. Who’s the captain? Captain,
your papers. Don’t hit our boat. Hey, watch out. Calm down. Why should I? You’re outside
your fishing zone. Back off Captain. ... Are
you the captain Yes. Where are
your papers? Your papers! Hey! Please
be careful. Give me
your papers. We’re not doing anything illegal,
we’ve been fishing all morning. We are not
afraid of you. Take them
to the station. Welcome to my home. Thank you. A trusted friend told us your boat is
ready and will soon leave for Spain. We want
to join you. We depart
in a few days. The price is
760 euros. No additional
costs? No, everything’s
included. We’re in business
once you’ve paid. We’ve done
the preparations. The rest is in
God’s hands. No problem. We’ll pay tonight. Tonight? Yes, we’ll bring
the cash round. Okay, no problem. No problem. We’ll bring the
money later. Call before you come, and
I’ll tell you where to find us. As skipper, I usually start the trip
from Nouakchott to Nouadhibou. In Nouadhibou, I make sure
everything’s ready for the trip. I confirm arrangements
with the fixer. I check the boat and make sure that
it’ll be able to take us to Europe. Once everything is set, the migrants
are informed when we’ll set sail. Once they’re on board at night, we
move quietly away from Nouadhibou. To steer clear of
the coast guard, we sometimes move up to 70
kilometers away from Nouadhibou. Once we’re sure that we're past the
coast guard, we set our GPS for Spain. Once it’s set,
there's no going back. This is the most
critical point of the trip. The route’s
very dangerous. I can’t even go back if
someone falls off the boat. Then for two days, we battle the
waves and nature as we follow the GPS. After two turbulent
days, we can relax and plan on how to avoid
the Spanish coast guard. By this time, we start
lowering our speed and turning off the engine at intervals
until we arrive in Las Palmas. Hey! Throw
the rope. Get up, let’s go. Please sit down
closely, quietly. We've informed
the Red Cross. They should be here
soon with some doctors. Right now, everything that
is needed for the trip is ready. All you need to
do now is be ready. You’ll get a phone call any moment
with more details about the trip. You understand
how dangerous it is? If you don’t get
a call, don’t panic, it might be due to high
seas or the coast guard. With me, you’ll
have no problems. If Allah wills it. The payment covers
transport, food and drinks. Apart from that, the other
thing you’ll get is a phone call with the date and
time of the trip. Many thanks. We’ll cross
our fingers. You don’t
have to worry. One more thing: always
be careful whom you talk to. I warn you, if you get into
trouble, I don't know you. And there's no
refund after payment. So keep quiet. I hope we
are clear? We’re here to
pay for the trip. We can count
together. Expect my call. Hello,
Captain Abou. Praise be to God. I’m Abderahman
Latoto, from Nouadhibou. I have a business
proposition for you. We are fully prepared and ready,
but we’re in need of a good skipper. Can we meet as soon
as possible, to talk? Tomorrow at the latest. Money’s not a problem, just call me on this line as soon as
you arrive in Nouadhibou tomorrow. Alright no problem,
goodnight and have a safe trip. Hello. Please bring the big
vest and tea for me. I need to go to Nouadhibou
and I’m already running late. Quickly. I hope it’s a
good journey. Thanks. Do you know yet
when you’ll be back? I’ll be back very
soon, if Allah wills it. Where are the kids? Let me call them. Kids, come and wish
your father a safe trip. Sometimes when I’m alone,
I worry about my family a lot because on my first trip to Europe,
my wife was heavily pregnant. The guilt of leaving her alone
like that, and telling her lies, worried me a lot. But since then, I made
the decision to go, and the best thing is to finish and
get back to her as soon as I can. That decision was very difficult
and I never talked about it. I just live
with the guilt. I’ll be back
in no time. If Allah wills it. Take care of yourself
and the children. Safe journey. Okay. Bye bye. Your name, please? Sit properly. What’s your name? Mado. Sorry? Mado. Mado. Second name? Mado? Nakour. Name, please? Ibrahim Dembele. Ibrahim Dembele. Thank you, and
you are welcome. There are still more people to
document over there in the tent. How are
you feeling? Very tired. You want to
drink water? We’re very hungry,
water’s not enough. Yes, we are hungry. Do you understand the
gravity of what you've done? It takes you a least five
days to get to Europe. You would have died in that
sea before arriving in Europe if your boat hadn’t
been intercepted. Look at how tired you are, you wouldn't
have lasted for days on that boat. Seriously, you wouldn't
have made it to Europe, you would have
died on the way. Do you understand how dangerous
it is? This is very dangerous. This ambulance can
only take one person. We need to bring another
ambulance for the second person. Yeah, hello Mister Abderahman, how are
you? I’m on my way to Nouadhibou. See you soon. What’s your plan? What should
we be expecting? I don’t know what
I’m getting into. As I told you, I’m
bringing eight people. Three of my people and
five migrants from Nouakchott. You’ll get money
from two migrants and I’ll keep the money
from the other three. If I agree, I don’t need
to pay you anything. No, you
will pay me. How much? If you can pay me 2000
euros, then I’ll get ready to go. This is where we have a problem
- your price is too much for me. It’s a fair price. It’s a lot
of money. I won’t have enough
to pay the others. It’s not too much. If I give you what you
want, I’ll be making a loss. But I can give you two
migrants who will pay 1800 euros and I’ll keep the fare
from the other three. It’s not
easy for me. I have to pay so
many other people, the marabouts, the
authorities and so on. Let’s make it
easy for both of us. We don't need to waste time
bargaining. Please accept my offer. Listen to me, I’m
not just any skipper. I have my reasons for
charging that amount. It's not just for money but
for security and other reasons. Many of your colleagues call
me but I don’t accept their offers because I
don't trust them. Thank’s for
your respect. Please understand, you left everything
in Nouakchott and you're here. Don't let one passenger
fare ruin this opportunity. I’ll let you have
two passengers. You can ask them to pay you any
amount, it's none of my business. I’ll pay you your money
quickly, if Allah wills it. One... Two... Three...
Four... Five, done. Is that all? Yes, that’s it all. Let’s get ready
for tonight. Everything’s been sorted, and you’ll
sail freely without any problems. If Allah wills it,
it’s a win-win. Like I've told you guys
before, everything is ready. The boat is
anchored close by. You’ll go out in groups of five
and please, no noise, no running. Don't push anyone,
there's space for everyone. No one’s allowed
to sit on the edge. We’ll get there,
if Allah wills it. Right now, you
don't need to worry because it looks like you’re
practically already in Spain. How many days will
it take to get there? Don’t worry about all that now,
relax and we’ll be there in no time, if Allah wills it. As a good skipper, my duty is to
get you to your destination safely, by God's grace,
I've been good at it. Spain, here
we come. No need to worry. We’ll stick
to your rules. And remember the
boat doesn’t have a toilet, I hope you didn’t eat anything
other than biscuits and water
