What is Migrations?
Migrations is a chronicle of what happens when young Westerners set out on a radical journey in a radical world. The story began rather whimsically, when I heard that my wayfaring friend Wes was planning a trip to West Africa in an old, beat-up van. He barely spent any time in the States anymore and when he did, it was in quick bursts, usually until he went mad with malaise. It was always about up ahead and somewhere else. When the time was right and only to those closest to him, he’d talk for hours about that time he spent outside La Paz learning Spanish over two-dollar wine jugs, or the vacuous glitter over the beach in Bali. And then Africa, always and again, Africa.
This is the story of our bohemian life on the road, of a reverse migration from Holland, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, to Mali, the fourth poorest. The quest offers a kaleidoscope of supporting characters from every reach of life, from the son of a Fes hostel owner thrown in jail for one night of casual drinking to the German psychiatrist drifter to the young and tortured Muslim homosexual who falls in love with me. There is the bigoted Dutch raver who gets a taste of his own medicine, the Cameroonian George Bush-loving Christian refugee, and the Dogon Country guide who instructs us on the origins of death.
While depicting a humanity split apart by borders and riches, Migrations tells a moving tale of friendship, mortality, and the responsibilities that come with freedom. It is a how-to for shoestring travel, an adventurous coming-of-age memoir, and a touchstone for a new generation.
