Ibrahima Balde

If you look at a map of Africa, you can see how far Libya is from Konakry. But you cannot know all that lies in between. In Guinea, West Africa, Ibrahima works tirelessly to support his family. When he discovers that his little brother has secretly run away from school and is heading to Europe, he drops everything to follow him. Travelling the harsh migrant routes of the Sahara towards the Mediterranean, Ibrahima encounters the best and worst of humanity along the perilous road. Amets Arzallus Antia and Ibrahima Balde's memoir has been adapted for the stage by Timberlake Wertenbaker. This modern odyssey, an astonishing true story of grace and resilience, was first performed at Jermyn Street Theatre in May 2025.

Le pr sent ouvrage met en lumi re les attributions du Conseil constitutionnel s n galais en mati re de contr le des lections nationales ainsi que les limites du dispositif juridico-institutionnel associ ce contr le. Dans la premi re partie, Monsieur Ibrahima BALD examine les diff rents types de contr le exerc s par la Haute juridiction dans le domaine lectoral, en sa qualit de juge constitutionnel, et plus sp cifiquement en tant que juge lectoral. Dans la seconde partie, l'auteur explore les limites du dispositif juridico-institutionnel du contr le lectoral par le Conseil constitutionnel. Cette analyse r v le que tout syst me de contr le juridictionnel est intrins quement perfectible. Monsieur BALD met ainsi en vidence les diverses contraintes qui nuisent l'effectivit du contr le juridictionnel des lections nationales et propose des pistes pour am liorer ce dispositif.

Kirja, joka antaa kasvot siirtolaisuudelleMitä sinä tekisit, jos pikkuveljesi katoaisi? Lähtisitkö etsimään häntä toiselta puolelta maailmaa? Vaikka sinulla ei ole passia ja välissä on autiomaa? Vaikka joutuisit kulkemaan sota-alueiden halki? Kestäisitkö kidutusta Libyassa? Nukkuisitko puistossa marokkolaisessa kaupungissa? Ylittäisitkö Välimeren kumiveneessä? Ibrahima oli pienestä kylästä kotoisin oleva guinealainen teini vailla suuria tulevaisuudennäkymiä. Kun Ibrahiman pikkuveli Alhassane jätti koulun ja lähti kohti Eurooppaa, Ibrahima hylkäsi kaiken hakeakseen hänet takaisin. Matka oli hengenvaarallinen, mutta toive pikkuveljen löytymisestä sekä tuntemattomien ihmisten ystävällisyys auttoivat häntä eteenpäin. Ibrahima Balden elämäkerta Pikkuveli antaa ihmisen kasvot uutisille, jotka kertovat Välimerellä kaatuvista veneistä, ihmiskaupasta ja siirtolaisten massoista. Teoksessa kuuluu Ibrahima Balden ääni ja Amets Arzallus Antian sanat. He tapasivat pakolaisleirilla Espanjan ja Ranskan rajalla, missä Arzallus Antia, kirjailija, toimittaja ja bertsolari (baskilainen runonlaulaja) toimi vapaaehtoisena avustusjärjestössä.”[Pikkuveljessä] on vanhojen seikkailukertomusten ikiaikaista runoutta, mutta se on myös koskettavan ajankohtainen. Ibrahiman matka kuvaa sitä karua tietä, jota köyhien on kuljettava ylittääkseen rajat, autiomaat ja meret.” - Irene Vallejo“Pikkuveli kertoo siirtolaisten Via Cruciksesta.” - Paavi Fransiscus”Ibrahima kertoo tarinansa tunteilematta. Muutamilla sanoilla hän puhuu vastuusta ja syyllisyydestä, siitä, mitä ihminen voi kestää rakkaudesta toiseen ihmiseen. Hänen ystävänsä Amets Arzallus sanoo, että kirjan tarkoitus on kertoa lukijoille samaistuttava tarina kaikkien tilastojen ja kylmien lukujen taustaksi.” - Süddeutsche Zeitung

A heartbreaking account of a poor and illiterate young West African’s odyssey to Europe, translated by one of Britain’s most celebrated playwrights. Ibrahima, whose family live in a village in the West African country of Guinea, helps his father sell shoes at a street stall in the capital, Conakry. At the sudden death of his father, he becomes the head of the family and picks up various skills, always alone and away from home, although his dream is to be a truck driver in his country. But when his little brother, Alhassane, suddenly disappears, heading for Europe in a bid to earn money for the family, Ibrahima leaves everything behind to try to find him and convince him to go back to their village and continue his education. In an epic journey, Ibrahima risks his life many times searching for his little brother. Each waystation that Ibrahima passes through takes him to another world, with different customs, other languages, other landscapes, other currencies, and new challenges to overcome. His willpower is astonishing, and the friendship and generosity of strangers he encounters on the way help him to keep going. After enduring many trials and tribulations, he learns of Alhassane’s fate. Unable to return home, he embarks on the journey to Europe himself. Little Brother is a testimonial account that gives a voice, heart, and soul, and flesh and bones to the seemingly nameless masses of people struggling and dying, trying only to achieve a better life for themselves and their families.

"I recommend a book, Little Brother. . . . It makes us understand what the desert crossing is like: the trafficking of migrants, imprisonment, torture, the sea journey" (Pope Francis, quoted in La Civilta Cattolica). This heartbreaking story about an African migrant takes you inside the refugee crisis and is based on the author's own life. Ibrahima is still a boy when his father dies, but as the eldest son he must leave their home village in the Guinean countryside in search of work to support his family. Eventually apprenticed to a trucker in the capital, he learns that his younger brother has dropped out of school and fled to Libya to pursue the dream of finding work in Europe. Leaving behind everything, Ibrahima sets off with the aim to convince his little brother to return home and complete his education. His journey, full of hardships and sometimes on foot, takes Ibrahima north to Mali and across the Sahara Desert to the refugee camps of North Africa--to Algeria, Libya, and then back west to Morocco. Stopping along the way to recover physically or earn money, he encounters untold cruelties as well as kindness. His savings are taken at gunpoint. In the desert, he is held in a prison that serves as a slave market. In Libya, imprisoned again, he is sold to a chicken farmer but escapes for the second time. Only then, in a camp in Algeria, does he learn that his brother may have drowned attempting to cross the Mediterranean. Grief-stricken, burdened by guilt, and unable to face his mother, he too arranges passage across the sea in a Zodiac. The author, Ibrahima Balde, was rescued at sea and found refuge in the Basque Country of Spain. Based on his true-life story told to a traditional bard from the Basque Country and retold here, Little Brother is a deeply moving, eye-opening novel that gives voice and a face to the refugee crisis, illuminating the plight of migrants from many lands.