During the COVID-19 pandemic, Salif Thioune took time to write down his story in great detail. The autobiography was now presented at the national exhibition of small and medium-sized publishers "Più Libri, Più Liberi" in Rome in early December.

In the detailed work, Thioune recalls his yearlong experience migrating to Europe -- but his story really begins, he told ANSA, with his upbringing in West Africa: "I was born in a village in a rural area of Senegal and always wanted to leave, though I didn't even know what country was closest to me."

"My father told me that if I wanted to go away, I had to study. My teachers liked me a great deal because I was good at school," he remembers.

"We were peasants, so I worked during the holidays to afford to go to school. I attended school while selling clothes in the street with the aim of saving money and being able to leave without having to ask for help from anyone.

"My father told me I could go wherever I wanted but that my family could not help me."

This was the beginning of Thioune's journey, which started full of hope but later would include painful experiences at one of Libya's notorious detention centers.

Stuck in Libya

Crossing several borders, Thioune got on his way one day and eventually reached Cameroon, where he had to work to save up more money to continue his migration. He remembers how it was there that he "met some young people who had fled prison in Libya."

He recalls hearing horrendous stories about Libya, but decided to continue his journey north anyway. Eventually, he made his way to Tunisia, when things took a turn for the worse:

"One night we left for Italy. They took us while we were at sea off Tunisia and put us in prison. In Libya."

Death and destruction

This would become the most painful part of his journey: "I saw some of my friends die. They killed senselessly. There were conditions I can't even describe. They tied us up with chains, tied us to walls, didn't even allow us to go to the bathroom alone, and there was no privacy.

His captors wanted ransom to be paid for his release: "The only important thing [for them] is to have people in order to profit off of them.".

"Fortunately, when I was in Cameroon I had worked a great deal and earned well. So I asked my brother to give me the money needed to get released," he said.

He sent them money for the release -- and for another attempt to reach Italy: "I was afraid since I didn't even know how to swim. However, I had no choice."

"On the second try I entered [Italy] -- but my friends died at sea."

Creating opportunities back home

Thioune eventually arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa, where he recalls receiving a warm welcomed before being transferred soon thereafter to Alasso in Italy's northern region of Liguria.

"I met someone working with migrants that spoke French, and they helped me to learn Italian," he explained. Once he arrived and got settled, he continued focusing on his academic progress: after studying accounting, he is now studying agriculture in hopes of "opening a farming business" -- back home.

"I know many youths who want to do what I did, so to prevent them from leaving we need to give them other options, by creating jobs back home," he stressed.

"This is why I thought of founding an agricultural business in Senegal, thanks to my studies as well as the knowledge accumulated in my family of rural origins."

Before he can do that, Thioune will still present his book in other stops across Italy, after receiving an award as part of the Dimmi project -- a national competition to collect and spread autobiographical stories of people of foreign origins.