Pape Dieye tells individuals it is not well worth the danger to attempt to take a ship from Senegal to Europe.

Ricci Shryock for NPR

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Ricci Shryock for NPR

Pape Dieye tells individuals it is not well worth the danger to attempt to take a ship from Senegal to Europe.

Ricci Shryock for NPR

SAINT-LOUIS, Senegal — By day, Saint-Louis native Pape Dieye is a ship captain-turned-tour information for a elaborate lodge that caters to Westerners. By night time, he’s a sought-after captain who vehemently turns down requests to smuggle human beings throughout the ocean.

The variety of individuals making an attempt to make the perilous journey from West Africa to Spain has risen lately, and so has the demand for captains from Saint-Louis.

These searching for to depart are principally younger and male, pushed by the dearth of jobs and a promise of alternative on the opposite facet of the ocean.

Captains in Saint-Louis have spent centuries mastering the ocean. They’ve constructed a popularity for expertly navigating harmful waters and massive waves of their lengthy, slender boats referred to as pirogues.

“As a result of [captains] know the ocean, they’ll cross when the wave is so huge. They’ve a whole lot of expertise,” Dieye says.

Dieye can inform how deep the water is simply by the colour of the floor. He would not use GPS or a phone. He is aware of find out how to discover a faculty of fish with nothing however his fishing line. And he isn’t bothered by towering ocean waves or the black of night time.

“They must [teach] you find out how to drive a pirogue within the night time as a result of it’s so darkish,” he says. “As a result of different occasions we [don’t have the] expertise. It’s important to know the celebs.”

Dieye says learning Saint-Louis’ topography can also be a should.

“It’s important to know find out how to cross the mouth the place the river and sea meet,” he says.

The island rests alongside an estuary the place the Atlantic Ocean and the Senegal River come collectively, and Dieye thinks that is why his hometown produces these giant and highly effective waves.

Rising seas threaten Guet Ndar and Saint-Louis in Senegal, prompting some to journey elsewhere in quest of houses and work.

Ricci Shryock for NPR

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Ricci Shryock for NPR

Rising seas threaten Guet Ndar and Saint-Louis in Senegal, prompting some to journey elsewhere in quest of houses and work.

Ricci Shryock for NPR

When individuals ask him to captain a ship to Europe, Dieye says no.

“I did not wish to take individuals at risk, as a result of when an individual dies, it’s my duty,” he says.

“I did not wish to take some individuals that did not know the ocean.”

Lengthy days within the sea can result in fatigue, seasickness, and even hallucinations. Having little to no expertise on the ocean can increase these dangers. Individuals who tried the boat journey to Europe instructed NPR that passengers on their boat skilled psychotic episodes.

Years in the past, one among Dieye’s pals knocked on his door at midnight. He was going to Spain, regardless of Dieye’s warnings.

“I attempt to handle him to not go, to remain right here. However he was so offended with me,” Dieye says.

His refusal makes lots of people offended. He instructed his pal what he tells everybody: that it was not well worth the danger. He fears individuals might die at sea, or he might be arrested attempting to smuggle them into Europe.

“I work right here; I’ve my household, my life is right here,” he says.

Dieye is a self-described optimist. He thinks issues will get higher, particularly if younger individuals make investments time in their very own nation.

“With the hassle they made so as to go to Spain, in the event that they stayed right here, with good coaching for instance, they’ll reach one thing,” he says.

For now, he hopes to share this message with anybody who listens.