Former street vendor Serigne Mbaye who became the first black deputy in the Madrid Assembly

Serigne Mbaye became, in May, the first black deputy of Madrid Assembly, in Spain. A status that has earned him a rain of attacks. During a parliamentary session in June, a member of the far-right party Vox launches, against her, from the rostrum: “This is a person who entered our country illegally, bypassing the queue many illegal migrants who were waiting and had taken all the steps “to be regularized.

Serigne Mbaye, originally from Senegal, does not allow herself to be intimidated and asks her to “withdraw the racist remarks she made to [son] respect and with regard to all migrants. “” Racism has no place in this Chamber and has no place in Spain, “he replied, before raising his fist in the air, anti-racist symbol.

Now a Spanish citizen, Serigne Mbaye does not forget where he comes from. Born in 1975 in Kayar, the young man lives a “happy childhood” in this coastal town located about fifty kilometers from Dakar, he explains in perfect French, reached on the phone by InfoMigrants.

Fisherman in Senegal

After the baccalaureate, he stops studying to financially help his relatives. He continues the family tradition and works as a fisherman.

Every day, for 10 years, he climbs into his canoe and sets out to sea in search of fish to feed his family. But, over the years, the task has become more and more difficult. “At first, it was fine because there were a lot of fish near the coast, but with climate change and the presence of European ships offshore, the fishery resources were reduced and the distances to be covered to find fish were becoming too great. we had to go on the high seas, so use more fuel and take the risk of being hit by one of these ships, ”he recalls.

The lack of resources and prospects pushes him to try his luck in Europe. One day in 2006, he took his place in a canoe from the Senegalese port of Saint-Louis to reach the Canaries.

That year, the route from the West African coasts to the Spanish archipelago saw a peak: more than 31,000 migrants landed in the Canaries on board frail boats. The following year, there were only 13,000 arrivals. This route will be gradually abandoned in favor of northern Africa (Tunisia, Morocco, Libya) due to major maritime controls along the West African coasts, then will be reactivated in 2018, a few months after the signing of an agreement. between Italy and Libya to stop the departure of migrants.

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Serigne Mbaye remembers his crossing of the Atlantic, a week long, as if it were yesterday. From “this very hard trip”, he remembers the tensions on board between the 95 passengers caused by stress, the scarcity of fresh water and the need to drink the salt water of the ocean so as not to become dehydrated. , of the death of one of the migrants, who fell into the water “like a stone”.

Street vendor in Madrid

Arrived on the island of Tenerife, the 31-year-old Senegalese was quickly transferred to the Spanish mainland, to Madrid, where he was staying “with a friend of a friend”. Without papers, Serigne Mbaye, like many migrants from West Africa, will become a street vendor in the capital. “From the first day, I was arrested by the police and spent three days in custody. I still continued to sell records in the streets because it was my only means of subsistence. J ‘I was arrested several times, sometimes three times a day, and I had to pay fines, “he says.

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For four years, Serigne Mbaye divides her time between street vendors, Spanish lessons and all kinds of training (electricity, hotels, computers), “to get off the streets and have a real job”. In 2009, he ceased his activity as an itinerant salesman and worked in construction or in agriculture, still illegally.

The following year, the Senegalese regularized his administrative situation and quickly obtained an employment contract as an administrative assistant.

Activist

However, he does not give up the fight for the rights of undocumented migrants. Serigne Mbaye remains active in his association, founded in 2008 and which in 2015 became the Manteros union – named after the blanket (‘mantera’ in Spanish) that sellers use to display their items on the sidewalk.

“The aim is to help migrants to get out of sales and raise awareness in society about the suffering endured by undocumented sellers,” explains the one who obtained Spanish nationality in 2018. “Some have been there for 10 years and they have not ‘still have no papers although they have never stopped working. Spanish law criminalizes Africans, whose only offense is to sell objects in the street “.

In Spain, to apply for a residence permit, you must be able to prove that you have been in the country for at least three years and that you have a one-year employment contract. A process that is an obstacle course for these migrants: they cannot work legally without a valid document, and cannot obtain a residence permit without a contract.

Deputy

Serigne Mbaye is also campaigning for a change in Spanish and European migration policy. This Europe, which according to him, “assassinates African youth”. “To close the borders, not to issue visas, to plunder the resources of African countries… all this contributes to the massive departures of young people and to deaths at sea. This unequal relationship between the European Union and Africa is devastating the continent”, estimates he does.

His commitments to human rights (and the environment) make him a key figure in the activist sphere in Madrid. No wonder, then, that he caught the eye of the left-wing Podemos party in this year’s parliamentary elections. Initially, Serigne Mbaye refused the proposal, thinking “to be well where [il est], namely in the street to denounce what does not work “, but he finally agrees to stand after several reminders of the party.

>> To (re) read: “As a black person you always have to prove that you are part of society”

Today, despite the recurring attacks on his skin color and his migratory past, he does not regret his choices and assumes to be the spearhead of the anti-racist fight. “I realized that the job of deputy was important, all the more for a person like me. There will always be attacks but now a black is in the chamber. Whether people like me or not, they now know that I am part of society, that there is diversity in Madrid and in the world “.