Taxi Drivers

Taxi drivers are my friends. They carry me in safety to where ever I want to go. They show me all the best restaurants and are excellent tour guides. They help carry my heavy boxes and bags from place to place. They almost always have a smile in store, even during a traffic jam. 

In Mauritania, the taxi drivers are all of those things, and more. People come from all over West Africa to drive taxis in Mauritania so it is always a good start of the ride to ask the friendly driver where he is from (all taxi drivers here are men). Recently, I have had drivers from Niger, Ghana, the Gambia, and Guinea. Often, the drivers never intended to be relegated to the road. They came here with the sea on their minds! 

Since Mauritania is near Europe, and the lack of control at the Ports, many young Africans come here to catch boats headed for the coast of Spain. You can read more about this issue here. When I met a taxi driver from Ghana, I asked him what in the world would bring him to Nouakchott. I was surprised when he began recounting his entire ordeal to me. 

Roger arrived in Nouakchott and paid someone 4,000 Euro for a place on a large boat with 100 other people. He was at sea for several days before the ship was intercepted by immigration officials. Everyone on board was arrested and incarcerated for two weeks. When it was finally time to see a judge, Roger's case was denied. Soon after, Roger was on a plane with a one-way ticket back to Nouakchott. 

Now Roger has no money to pay for his return trip to Ghana. He said he didn't want to take another ship, especially after the unfortunate journey of the friend he traveled with from Ghana who decided to try again. He was lost at sea. Even if Roger did want to try, it would take a long time for him to save enough money to make the trip. Roger is stuck in a place that is not home and cannot offer a better life than the one he was desperate to leave behind. 

Since meeting Roger, I have met many more taxi drivers with variations of this story. Despite the dangers at every step of the journey, everyday hundreds of young men risk losing everything for the promise of opportunity. Yet after hearing these stories, I have not gained a better understanding of why intelligent, strong people would take this bold decision. I have, however, gained a clearer picture of the journey and the many obstacles encountered. It has become even more incredible for me to imagine how anyone actually manages to successfully complete their journeys. Of course, a whole new set of challenges awaits the undocumented immigrants when they finally arrive. 

After telling me his story and dropping me off to wherever it was that I was going, Roger offered to show me the market where Ghanaian women serve up the best plates of Red Red, Fufu, and Jollaf rice. I haven't yet taken him up on that offer but I have added it to my list of things to do.


By providing a personal testimony of their lives, taxi drivers can provide insight into issues we may otherwise only read about in the newspaper. In the fascinating country of Mauritania, taxi drivers have astonishing stories to tell!