If you have ever holidayed in the Canary Islands, you'll know that the islands belong to Spain, and Spain is part of the EU with open access across EU borders. Yet the Islands are close to Senegal, and an ideal entry point for those leaving Senegal in the hope of finding work either in Spain or elsewhere in the EU. Over half the illegal migrants who reach the Canary Islands are from Senegal. The reason so many want to leave the country is not because of internal strife like in so many other African nations, but the high unemployment rate of some 14.66%.

Yet even for those working, earnings are low, and the prospect of working in Europe and sending money back home to support their families is enticing. So enticing, in fact, that many risk their lives in their attempt at migration in addition to those who leave legally. Recent figures from 2010 advise that overall 4.9% of the population emigrated from Senegal, however this figure rises alarmingly for qualified people. 17.7% of those with a tertiary education migrated whilst over half of all nurses did so to destination countries in Africa including the Gambia, Mauritania, the Ivory Coast, Mali and Guinea-Bissau as well as the United States, France, Italy and Spain.

Of course this only represents legal migration. Many more try their luck in getting illegally into Europe through the Spanish enclaves in Morocco of Ceuta and Mellila. But, as one would be migrant reflected "''The smugglers at the Spanish-Moroccan border who we trusted ripped us off and abandoned us to our fate. So, the only choice we had was to get in, by force, or go back home and become the butt of jokes."

This video documentary explores attempts at migration from Senegal driven by what one young potential migrant states "All the youth here have one common goal. Leaving the country."