A Gambian man has been left heartbroken and hopeless since his deportation from Germany. 

Alex, not his real name, was picked up from his workplace by German immigration officials in late 2023. 

He was flown back to the country along with dozens of other Gambian migrants despite living in the European nation for close to a decade.

Alex said he is still shocked and baffled at the reason for his unceremonious deportation despite having a legal residence permit to live and work in Germany.

Since his deportation, Alex has decided to stay indoors, living with the trauma that his colleagues and neighbours might laugh at him when he goes out.  

“I have been in Germany for nine years and I have been doing my job well and my boss liked me. But I was reported to the German Police who embarrassed me in front of my working colleagues,”he told Gambiana.

“I feel betrayed by my own government and I feel betrayed by the German government. Because my government went and took money from the German government for them to send us back home. I have been working in Germany and paying taxes. I don’t know what to do; I just don’t know what to do now.”

More than 100 Gambian migrants have been sent home from Europe amid claims that the Gambia government signed an agreement with the European Union to send undocumented Gambians home. The government has since denied the allegation and promised to resolve the matter.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba