Gironde: Retraces his journey from Africa to Cadillac when he was only 13 years old

Saturday April 6 from 9:30 am, Aboubacar Kaba – The Best of Kaba will be signed at the Jeux de mots bookstore in Cadillac. The young man has just published a collection of poems “Mi-grand” with editions of “Plume libre” where he recounts his amazing journey, from West Africa to France, especially in the Gironde, to Cadillac.

The event will be held in two stages: from 9:30 am to 1 pm, there will be a signing session and from 4:30 to 6:30 pm, a round table will be organized. Through his poems, Aboubacar refers to the eventful journey he made almost alone at the age ofage 13, from West Africa to France.

Aboubacar nicknamed “Abou” was born in 2003 in Abidjan in the Ivory Coast, to an Ivorian mother, his father’s fourth wife. The political turmoil that was going on at that time made the family move quickly to Guinea-Conakry, his father’s country. When Abou was 13 years old, his father died. “Polygamy is an epidemic in Africa. My father’s polygamy encouraged me to come to Europe,” explains Abou.

A tiring journey

Abou left Guinea-Conakry for Mali with his brother, thanks to the help of “Tonton”, a family friend. “He paid for us to travel to Mali. Then we left for Niger” informs Abou.

We walked at night to avoid the heat of the day and the police.

It is in Niger where his brother falls ill and Abou must continue alone, going to Algeria, Morocco, Spain and finally arriving in France, in Bayonne. “I wanted to go to Paris but I missed the bus! The next bus was leaving Bordeaux, I took it and it was in this city that my journey ended,” says the young man.

Constant fear of the police

It was without papers and very little money that Abou made this journey that lasted two years. “The crossing of the Sahara was made by smugglers and we walked at night, to avoid the heat of the day and the police. Sometimes we were surprised by the police but I was lucky to always slip through the cracks,” explains Abou.

Thanks to the French associations “Pausa” in Bayonne, “Asti” and “Tremplin” in Bordeaux and the family that welcomed him in Cadillac-sur-Garonne, Abou, now 21 years old, benefits from a renewable residence permit and is in the last year of the professional baccalaureate as a gardener. His older brother is doing well and has returned to Côte d’Ivoire, along with their mother and younger sister.

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