Four brodas decide to travel through one ogbonge migration route. Na only one come back alive

Adama and Moussa Sarr bin don lose track of di exact number of days dem bin don dey at sea.

Di brodas bin just dey drift somewhere off di coast of West Africa, inside one traditional Senegalese fishing canoe wey dem dey call pirogue. Dem be two of 39 passengers in total - all of dem dey malnourished, many close to death.

Wen one fishing vessel appear for di distance one day, Adama, 21, bin dey so weak na only look e fit just dey look, e tok. Moussa, 17, enta di water to swim.

E for drown, if no be say di fishing crew spot am inside di water and carri am to safety.

Wen dem near di pirogue, dem find Adama and di rest of di survivors and seven bodies. Di pirogue bin set out from Senegal five weeks earlier, with 101 souls on board.

Di survivors bin drift hundreds of miles on one of di most dangerous migrant routes in di world - di North Atlantic sea passage from Senegal to di Canary Islands, wey be Spanish archipelago about 1,000 miles away by sea.

Dem comot on 10 July, from di coastal village of Fass Boye. Adama and Moussa come from a long line of fishermen for di village. Di boys learn to fish togeda and work for one pirogue togeda.

But like many young pipo for Senegal, Europe bin dey call dia name. "Everyone wan travel on di boats," Adama tok. "Na di tin you suppose to do."

E siddon for im family home compound, afta e safely return to Senegal but e don lean pass before. Di journey start in di evening, e tok. Im and Moussa, along with two cousins, Pape and Amsoutou, wey be 40 and 20 years, join di pirogue and dem set off into di night.

Unlike di Mediterranean, patrols no dey on di North Atlantic route - no one dey steadily search for boats wey lost or dey in danger. E dey easy to lost without being seen. If you miss di Canaries, or Cape Verde, you fit lost enta di Atlantic and disappear.

For di first three days, Adama and Moussa pirogue, wey dey powered by an outboard motor, battle against strong headwinds. But on di fourth day, di wind die down and di boat begin to progress, Adama tok. Di passengers believe say dem bin get only a few more days at sea.

Wen di sixth day pass with no sight of land, argument burst out over weda to push on or turn back.

"Di captain rule say make we push on, because we get enough food and water and di wind dey quiet," Adama tok.

Di passengers grow confident again and begin to eat plenti food, e tok, and dem use drinking water to wash dia hands for prayers.

Na around day six na im di food and water begin to finish. Four children bin dey on board, and some older pipo give di last of dia food to di young. Some hoard am even afta pipo begin to die.

Adama no fit remember di exact date of di first death, but e be shortly afta di first week pass, e tok - a fishing captain, wey dey used to being on di water but wey no young. Na six more days until di next pesin die. Den the deaths begin happun every day.

"At first, we go pray for each dead pesin and lay dia body into di ocean," Adama tok. "Den later we just begin throw di bodies into di water because we no even get di energy to pray. We just need to get rid of di corpses."

For Fass Boye, news begin spread through di village say di boat never arrive. "We all know say e suppose be five or six days by boat to Spain," Adama mama, Sokhna, tok."Wen one week pass with no news I stop to dey eat. I become sick from stress."

Nearly everyone for di pirogue come from Fass Boye or nearby, and everyone for di village be like dem bin know someone on board. Di families began to do anytin dem fit, alerting local authorities and migration NGOs. Di founder of one NGO even tweet a warning say di boat dey miss, two weeks afta di departure, but di warning no do anything and the boat lost for three more weeks.

Inside di pirogue, the four men from di family bin stick togeda, but dem dey grow weaker and weaker. Di eldest cousin, Pape, die first, Adama tok. "Before e pass, e say, "If death must happun, I wish say I die and you three survive'."

Den Adama younger cousin, Amsoutou, disappear. One morning dem wake up and Amsoutou don simply go.

Adama and Moussa hang on, dey sip seawater and dey bake under di sun. Each night dem go look for lights from di Canary Islands but the lights no dey ever appear.

Nobody for Fass Boye seem to blame di migrants for taking di risk. More dan one third of di kontri dey live in poverty, according to di World Bank. Di young see few opportunities at home. "Macky Sall sell di ocean," Assane Niang, one 23-year-old fishing captain tok, e dey refer to di Senegalese president. Fishermen for Fass Boye say di goment don grant too many licences to foreign trawlers, wey dey overfish dia waters and reduce di catch.

Niang bin siddon on di beach under di shade of one pirogue, e dey knit generator covers wey e fit sell to help make ends meet. "If we get oda alternatives we go stay, but we no fit siddon here and do notin," e tok. "We dey try to support our families."

Social pressure dey on di young to try to leave on di boats, and dem fit even stigmatise those who fail or never try.

So much so say di sea route to Spain don earn im own slang in Senegal Wolof language: "Barcelona or death."

Di wooden pirogues di smugglers dey use no dey suitable for di journey, Dem often dey poorly constructed. Dem lack navigation technology and fit run out of petrol and dey pushed off course. And yet di number of migrants wey dey use di route to reach Spain dey rise every year.

According to di International Organisation for Migration, about 68,000 pipo don successfully reach di Canary Islands by boat from West Africa since January 2020 and about 2,700 don dey recorded dead or disappeared. But di number of casualties dey likely significantly higher, because fatal accidents dey more likely to go unrecorded on dis route.

"We call dem invisible shipwrecks," Safa Msehli, spokeswoman for di IOM tok. "Boat go wash ashore with no bodies aboard, or a body go show for di shore wey no dey linked to a known capsized boat."

Part of di problem be say pipo wey dey comot Fass Boye, particularly fisherman, dey too confident in dia chances, na so Abdou Karim, wey be lifelong fisherman and di father of Pape Sarr, wey die for di boat tok.

"Di fisherman tink say if dem enta trouble dem go dey able to swim," e tok. "But limit dey. You no fit swim forever. Di ocean no go hold you."

And yet, young fishermen for Fass Boye say dem still dey willing to take di risk.

"I dey tink about going on a boat right now," Niang, di fisherman on di beach tok. "Di tragedies no go stop us from trying."

About one month into Adama and Moussa voyage, one large ship appear for far and more dan 20 pipo decide to to take dia chances inside di water, Adama tok. But e know say e dey too far.

Many of di remaining survivors bin dey barely able to move, e tok. Den on 14 August, exactly five weeks afta dem depart, dem sight di Spanish fishing boat wey go rescue dem.

Di Spanish crew help dem aboard and put di seven bodies inside plastic sheets. Adama and Moussa lay togeda on di deck of di fishing vessel.

Dem don survive di pirogue. But Moussa bin dey too weak. E be di last of di 63 pipo wey die on di voyage.

"E die right dia on deck," Adama tok. "In front of my eyes."

Dem take di survivors to Cape Verde and dem spend six days receiving medical treatment, before dem fly di majority back to Dakar. Dem give those wey fit waka prescriptions and send dem back to Fass Boye.

Wen news break of di number of pipo wey die, small violent protest break for di village wey bring di police to town. Dem arrest some relatives, including a member of Adama and Moussa family.

Di survivors bin dey face harassment for dia homes by curious residents and relatives of di dead, families tok. So one day afta dem arrive home, dem send all of dem back out of Fass Boye to recuperate elsewhere. Adama and im mama Sokhna go stay with close relatives nearby. Dem spend dia days resting, praying, and avoiding asking Adama about im ordeal.

Di family bin lost three sons and get one back. Fass Boye see 101 pipo set out on di journey through di water and only 37 come home.

"E dey change place," Abdou Karim, Pape father tok, as e silently dey count prayer beads for one hand.

"Even one soul plenti," e tok. "And dis na more dan 60. E too much for one place."

Additional reporting by Sira Thierij. Mady Camara contribute to di report. Fotos by Joel Gunter.