Born in France but searching for a future in Africa

Menka Gomis was calved successful France but has decided his aboriginal lies successful Senegal, wherever his parents were born.

The 39-year-old is portion of an expanding fig of French Africans who are leaving France, blaming the emergence successful racism, favoritism and nationalism.

BBC Africa Eye has investigated this improvement - being referred to arsenic a "silent exodus" - to find retired wherefore radical similar Mr Gomis are disillusioned with beingness successful France.

The Parisian acceptable up a tiny question bureau that offers packages, chiefly to Africa, aimed astatine those wanting to reconnect with their ancestral roots, and present has an bureau successful Senegal.

"I was calved successful France. I grew up successful France, and we cognize definite realities. There's been a batch of racism. I was six and I was called the N-word astatine school. Every day," Mr Gomis, who went to schoolhouse successful the confederate larboard metropolis of Marseille, tells the BBC World Service.

"I whitethorn beryllium French, but I besides travel from elsewhere."

Mr Gomis’s parent moved to France erstwhile she was conscionable a babe and cannot recognize his information for leaving household and friends to spell to Senegal.

"I'm not conscionable leaving for this African dream," helium explains, adding it is simply a substance of work helium feels towards his parents’ homeland and besides opportunity.

"Africa is similar the Americas astatine the clip of… the golden rush. I deliberation it's the continent of the future. It's wherever there's everything near to build, everything near to develop."

The links betwixt France and Senegal - a chiefly Muslim state and erstwhile French colony, which was erstwhile a cardinal hub successful the transatlantic enslaved commercialized - are agelong and complex.

A caller BBC Africa Eye probe met migrants successful Senegal willing to hazard their lives successful unsafe oversea crossings to scope Europe.

Many of them extremity up successful France where, according to the French Office for the Protection of Refugee and Stateless Persons (OFPRA), a grounds fig sought asylum past year.

Around 142,500 radical applied successful total, and astir a 3rd of each requests for extortion were accepted.

It is not wide however galore are choosing to bash the reverse travel to Africa arsenic French instrumentality prohibits gathering information connected race, religion and ethnicity.

But probe suggests that highly qualified French citizens from Muslim backgrounds, often the children of immigrants, are softly emigrating.

Those we met told america attitudes towards migration were hardening successful France, with right-wing parties wielding much influence.

Since their assignment past month, Prime Minister Michel Barnier and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau person pledged to ace down connected immigration, some ineligible and illegal, by pushing for changes to the instrumentality domestically and astatine the European level.

Fanta Guirassy has lived successful France each her beingness and runs her ain nursing signifier successful Villemomble - an outer-suburb of Paris - but she is besides readying a determination to Senegal, the birthplace of her mother.

"Unfortunately, for rather a fewer years present successful France, we’ve been feeling little and little safe. It’s a shame to accidental it, but that’s the reality," the 34-year-old tells the BBC.

"Being a azygous parent and having a 15-year-old teen means you ever person this small knot successful your stomach. You’re ever afraid."

Her wake-up telephone came erstwhile her lad was precocious stopped and searched by the constabulary arsenic helium was chatting to his friends connected the street.

"As a parent it's rather traumatic. You spot what happens connected TV and you spot it hap to others."

In June past year, riots erupted crossed France pursuing the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk - a French nationalist of Algerian descent who was changeable by police.

The lawsuit is inactive being investigated, but the riots shook the federation and reflected an undercurrent of choler that had been gathering for years implicit the mode taste minorities are treated successful France.

A caller survey of achromatic radical successful France suggested 91% of those questioned had been victims of radical discrimination.

In the aftermath of the riots, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) called connected France to code "issues of radical favoritism wrong its instrumentality enforcement agencies".

The French overseas ministry dismissed the criticism, saying: "Any accusation of systemic racism oregon favoritism by the constabulary successful France is wholly groundless. France and its constabulary combat resolutely against racism and each forms of discrimination."

However, according to French interior ministry statistics, racist crimes roseate by a 3rd past year, with much than 15,000 recorded incidents based connected race, religion oregon ethnicity.

For schoolteacher Audrey Monzemba, who is of Congolese descent, specified societal changes person "become precise anxiety-provoking".

Early 1 morning, we articulation her connected her commute done a multicultural and working-class assemblage connected the outskirts of Paris.

With her young daughter, she makes her mode by autobus and train, but arsenic she approaches the schoolhouse wherever she works, she discreetly removes her headscarf nether the hood of her coat.

In secular France, wearing a hijab has go hugely arguable and 20 years agone they were banned successful each authorities schools - it is portion of the crushed Ms Monzemba wants to permission France looking to determination to Senegal wherever she has connections.

"I’m not saying that France isn’t for me. I’m conscionable saying that what I privation is to beryllium capable to thrive successful an situation that respects my religion and my values. I privation to spell to enactment without having to region my veil," the 35-year-old says.

A caller survey of much than 1,000 French Muslims who person near France to settee overseas suggests it is simply a increasing trend.

It follows a highest successful Islamophobia successful the aftermath of the 2015 attacks erstwhile Islamist gunmen killed 130 radical successful assorted locations crossed Paris.

Moral panics astir secularism and occupation favoritism "are astatine the bosom of this soundless flight", Olivier Esteves, 1 of the authors of the study France, You Love It But You Leave It, tells the BBC.

"Ultimately, this emigration from France constitutes a existent brain-drain, arsenic it is chiefly highly educated French Muslims who determine to leave," helium says.

Take Fatoumata Sylla, 34, whose parents are from Senegal, arsenic an example.

"When my begetter near Africa to travel here, helium was looking for a amended prime of beingness for his household successful Africa. He would ever archer us: 'Don’t hide wherever you travel from.'"

The tourism bundle developer, who is moving to Senegal adjacent moth, says by going to acceptable up a concern successful West Africa, she is showing she has not forgotten her practice - though her member Abdoul, who similar her was calved successful Paris, is not convinced.

"I’m disquieted astir her. I anticipation she’ll bash OK, but I don't consciousness the request to reconnect with anything," helium tells the BBC.

"My civilization and my household is here. Africa is the continent of our ancestors. But it’s not truly ours due to the fact that we weren’t there.

"I don't deliberation you're going to find immoderate ancestral culture, oregon an imaginary Wakanda," helium says, referring to the technologically precocious nine featured successful the Black Panther movies and comic books.

In Dakar, we met Salamata Konte, who founded the question bureau with Mr Gomis, to find retired what awaits French Africans similar her who are choosing to settee successful Senegal.

Ms Konte swapped a high-paying banking occupation successful Paris for the Senegalese capital.

"When I arrived successful Senegal 3 years agone I was shocked to perceive them telephone maine 'Frenchie'," the 35-year-old says.

"I said to myself: 'OK, yes, indeed, I was calved successful France, but I'm Senegalese similar you.' So astatine first, we person this feeling wherever we accidental to ourselves: 'Damn, I was rejected successful France, and present I'm coming present and I'm besides rejected here.'"

But her proposal is: "You person to travel present with humility and that's what I did."

As for her acquisition arsenic a businesswoman, she says it has been "really difficult".

"I often archer radical that Senegalese men are misogynistic. They don't similar to perceive that, but I deliberation it's true.

"They person a hard clip accepting that a pistillate tin beryllium a CEO of a company, that a pistillate tin sometimes springiness 'orders' to definite people, that I, arsenic a woman, tin archer a operator who was late: 'No, it's not mean that you're late.'

"I deliberation we person to beryllium ourselves a small more."

Nonetheless, Mr Gomis is excited arsenic helium awaits his Senegalese citizenship.

The question bureau is going good and helium says helium is already moving connected his adjacent task - a dating app for Senegal.