Takyi Mensah Johnson, a Ghanaian currently living in Málaga, Spain, shared his incredible migration journey on SVTV Africa’s Daily Hustle Worldwide with DJ Nyaami. He opened up about the long and dangerous path he took to reach Spain and the challenges he faced along the way.
Originally from Bebianiha in the Bono Region, Takyi attempted to leave Ghana in 1995, but his initial travel plans fell through when someone scammed him out of his money. Determined to change his life, he finally left Ghana in 1999. His journey to Spain took four grueling years through several African countries, including Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, and Morocco.
Along the way, he faced harsh conditions in the desert, was scammed multiple times by connection men, and even arrested and deported from Cape Verde. At one point, he was kidnapped by Nigerians while traveling in Senegal and had to rely on a Ghanaian union task force for rescue. The journey involved walking through the desert, being denied food and water, and even drinking urine to survive. He recalls sleeping rough, brushing his teeth with salt, and doing odd jobs like barbering in foreign cities just to earn money to continue moving.
When he finally reached Morocco, he spent time in prison before being pushed to the Mediterranean coast to attempt the sea crossing. On his final attempt in 2003, he joined a group of 144 migrants—only 122 made it onto the boat. He was part of the group left behind, but eventually secured a place after paying $100 to a smuggler. Packed tightly on a small boat with 32 people, they spent three days at sea, sick and exhausted, before being rescued and taken to Fuerteventura, Spain.
Takyi finally received his residence papers in 2009 and returned to Ghana briefly in 2011. He regrets not having children in Ghana and shared how hard life can be in Spain, especially when doing menial jobs like dishwashing. Despite that, he managed to build a self-contained house for his mother in the village. He also learned Italian cooking while working in Spain.
Reflecting on his personal life, he shared that he met a Ghanaian woman in Ghana, took care of her and supported her financially, only to discover later that she had a child with someone else while still receiving support from him. He now lives with a Spanish woman in Málaga and has spent over 18 years in Spain. According to him, not all white women are as interested in secs as people assume—especially Spanish women, who he says prefer intimacy less frequently.
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