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Evariste comes from Burkina Faso.
He earned his money for years in Italy where he worked as a seasonal worker.
Oranges, tomatoes, olives, he has picked all kinds of fruits and vegetables.
But now he has come back home.
He is celebrating this with a big party for his family and friends.
The thing I like here most is my freedom. Down there you are not free.
They treat you like cattle and then they throw you out again.
Here I am free, that is important.
I am at home, I am free. I am not rich but I am free.
Now that Evariste is back in Burkina Faso...
he needs to maintain his family with the revenues of his hometown business.
He invested some of his money in training facility equipment to keep the fire burning.
This is my fitness studio. This is my work now.
It is small, but good. You can do everything here.
I can instruct students here.
I am very happy.
Hello, how are you?
Do you want to do a training? Well, that's courageous.
I also want to go to Europe. -You must train before you go there.
Many people here think that Europe is the end of all misery.
For me, it was the opposite. It was the beginning.
Well done.
Careful...
So, what do you want to do in Europe? -Search for a better life.
But here it is better.
But what did you do there for a living? -Anything.
Anything they ask you to do.
It's a bit different there. Here we do what we want.
But not there. Have you seen the photos? They kick your butt to make you work.
Look at these boxes.
Very hard work.
You work in the rain.
You know the icy rain of Europe?
You come home, there's no heating.
You wake up at five in the morning to do the same work as yesterday...
to send a few bucks home.
This is the first time I see these pictures.
He didn't tell me it was that bad.
Look at this.
I thought that going to Europe meant finding work...
and having money at the end of the month.
I didn't know that it would go this way in Europe.
I came to Europe for the money.
You see people with money. That pushed me into going.
But it was not really... It wasn't what I thought it was.
I didn't earn the money to support my family.
Every day when I went to sleep, I could not sleep.
I became aware that the people at home would never understand this.
I was living through this, but how could I explain this to them?
I realized that this road was leading me nowhere.
Evariste advises his fellow countrymen to stay in Burkina Faso.
Together with his brother...
he started an association to inform youngsters about life in Europe.
But not everyone is convinced.
I thought of selling my land and go to Italy.
Don't do it.
I dream of going to Europe.
Even if I die there, I'd rather die in Europe than in Africa.
I want to see it with my own eyes.
You are like Emile who sold water here.
He died in Algeria. He dreamed of going to Europe.
The work we used to do in Europe does not exist anymore.
We'd better stay here and struggle here, so we will succeed here.
In Europe life is hard. I have tried it. I can tell you.
It is no fun.
You will sleep outside in the cold. Everyone will insult you.
It is a dream: The West, Europe...
You watch it on the television and you think: This is it.
But reality is different.
Films and television don't show what it's like there. It's all staged.
It's not reality.
I'll do anything possible, even if I have to walk there barefooted.
And when I return I will know what life is about.
It seems pointless for Evariste to try to persuade his friends...
to stay in Burkina Faso.
What do you think? Should he stop his efforts?
Or should he continue informing our brothers and sisters...
about the dangers of life in Europe? Join the discussion on the website.