MAMADOU SOW & AZOUZ BEGAG

A teenager’s journey from Western Africa to France in search of cancer medicine for his dad

By The Immigrant Times’ Literary Editor*

Mamadou Sow, an African immigrant in France, and Azouz Begag, a renowned French writer, at the launch of their co-authored book Né pour partir (Born to leave)

September 2025: Né pour partir (Born to leave) is the story of a teenager's migration through Guinea, Mali, Algeria, Libya, Italy and France. A true story told in the first person, which reads like a novel. A testimony reported by the renowned French writer Azouz Begag. A true and terrible story, but one with a happy ending.

This book tells the story of Mamadou Sow, a young Guinean who left home alone on a Thursday in November 2015 to find medicine in France to treat his father, who was suffering from cancer. His journey was a terrible one, like that of many migrants. He travelled through Guinea, Mali, Algeria and Libya in unacceptable conditions before arriving in Brindisi, Italy, in June 2016, then in Lyon in 2018.

In a Peugeot 505 estate car with nine people on board, in packed coaches, on foot in the middle of the desert, in the boot of old Mercedes cars and, finally, in a Zodiac dinghy with 122 passengers, some of whom did not survive.

His journey will take him past slave traders, child soldiers and many traitors. But also a few kind and generous people, with courage and tenacity, his story has a happy ending. During his ten thousand kilometres and five border crossings, Mamadou braved many dangers, but although he encountered cruel and greedy human beings, he was also fortunate enough to meet caring and concerned people who helped him

Azouz Begag was one of them.

This committed writer, politician and researcher in economics and sociology is sensitive to migration issues. He met Mamadou in a writing workshop in Lyon, France, and wanted to tell the incredible story of this young boy. Over the weeks and months they spent together, he realised that this story could become a book.

During the workshops, Mamadou Sow recounted his adventure, his joys, his sorrows and his unacceptable suffering. Azouz Begag wrote fragments of the story on the board, then read them aloud to an increasingly attentive class. The resulting book is for them, for these young people who love to listen to stories and who are ready to be enriched by the incredible experiences of some of their peers, for these young people who fight against racism and intolerance and who would like France to be a land of welcome and asylum.

Né pour partir is more than a migration tale; it’s a meditation on courage, dignity, and the human cost of borders. Mamadou’s voice, raw and unfiltered, invites readers to confront the realities faced by thousands of minors who undertake similar journeys. Begag’s framing lends socio-political depth, situating Mamadou’s experience within broader debates on asylum, integration, and France’s role as a host country.

This book is especially poignant for young readers and educators. It speaks directly to adolescents, those who may feel disillusioned or disconnected from global issues, and offers a mirror of empathy and empowerment. As Begag and Sow write for those “who fight against racism and intolerance,” Né pour partir becomes not just a story, but a tool for dialogue and change.

The first three paragraphs of Né pour partir

(Translated from French)

My name is Mamadou Sow. I was born on 31 December 1999 in Guinea. That's in Africa. I mention this because, in my class at the technical college in Lyon, where I'm studying logistics, most of the students don't know where Africa or Guinea are located. When the teacher asked them to draw a map of the world with the continents on a piece of paper, they were lost amid the water, sky, and land, unsure of what to do with their pens, unable to even point to the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, or France. Space, distance, near and far mean nothing to them.

They live in a bubble as if they had no connection to reality. It's curious. You can tell they've never found themselves like I did, alone in the Sahara desert between Gao in Mali, surrounded by Tuaregs with shining eyes, in the middle of the night, with nothing around me but shadows, sand, more sand as far as the eye could see, and the Milky Way above my head, where my eyes love to lose themselves in the milky patches dotted with stars. And the silence, immense, piercing, which makes you dizzy and makes your ears whistle like the sirocco in the gorges between the swollen bellies of the dunes.

In front of the teacher, uncomfortable, they laugh, scratch their heads, start talking about the rain falling or the price of tacos at the snack bar in the neighbouring town, just because she asked them to draw the continents on a piece of paper.

About the authors

Azouz Begag, born in Lyon in 1957 to Algerian immigrant parents, is a sociologist, economist, and prolific writer. He served as France’s Minister for Equal Opportunities from 2005 to 2007 and has authored over twenty books, including the acclaimed autobiographical novel Le Gone du Chaâba. His work often explores themes of identity, integration, and multiculturalism in contemporary France

Mamadou Sow, born in Guinea, one day before the beginning of the 21st century, arrived in France in 2016 as an unaccompanied minor. His story, told in Né pour partir, is not only a personal testimony but also a symbol of resilience and the human cost of migration. Sow’s voice, shaped through workshops and collaboration with Begag, brings raw authenticity to the narrative and offers a rare glimpse into the lived experience of young migrants.

_______________________

*Please note: Our article was originally written in French by The Immigrant Times’ Literary Editor, using several French sources.

'Né pour partir' can be obtained from bookshops in France, online booksellers or directly from the publisher Editions Milan.

People: Ardem Patapoutian, Nobel Prize winner || Aissata M B Camara, NYC Commissioner || Ryyan Alshebl, German Mayor || Yusuke Nakano, Mayor of Hamamatsu, Japan || French immigrant writers Mamadou Sow and Azuz Begag || Paris's last newspaper haker || African countries divided over deals with the US ||

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