Desperate dreams

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Desperate dreams

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Group of men

Every year, thousands of young people from sub-Saharan Africa set off across the desert dreaming of a better life in Europe.

Many fall prey to ruthless smugglers or find themselves stranded in a foreign country without the means to continue or return home.

In this series, Jenny Cuffe meets the people involved - those who facilitate the human trade and those who gamble all in pursuit of their dreams.

She follows the journey of two migrants, Alfred Kofi, a 25 year old from Ghana and 19 year old Fereinatu Amedu from Nigeria.

She finds out why they risk their lives and what happens to those who never reach their destination.

Programme Two - The Journey

On the edge of the Sahara, Alfred Kofi is among a group of young men who wait nervously to set out across the sand to North Africa.

They will be travelling in the back of an overloaded truck, with no protection from the sun.

Two months later, we meet Alfred again in Libya and he tells the story of his journey.

He describes the moment when he was robbed at gunpoint in the desert and when his childhood friend died, begging him for water.

First broadcast 21 January 2008

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