Aya in the desert

2026-07-22

Aya (13) is an Ivorian girl who arrives on the coast of Cadiz disguised as a boy. She has crossed the Strait of Gibraltar with a pregnant Senegalese woman, Nadima (25), and a small group of migrants. The Spanish Civil Guard and Red Cross volunteers attend to the exhausted migrants, taking them to the municipal sports centre to spend the night. From there, Aya will try to contact her cousin Konan, who lives in Seville, while recalling the most relevant episodes of her migration and taking refuge in the story of a legendary Ivorian warrior to overcome adversity. This journey begins a year earlier, when she escapes with her mother Amenan (32), and a young man from the village, Koffi (17), to Ghana, shortly before the 2010 elections triggered the second Ivorian civil war. Although their intention is to reach Spain, where their cousin lives, their asylum application is denied and any legal route seems impossible. AYA IN THE DESERT was born from the interest of one of the authors, Julia, upon encountering one morning a boat on the shores of the beach of Zahara de los Atunes, Cádiz, where her parents reside and where she has spent many years of her life. With this project we try to convey these stories through fiction, raise public awareness of the difficulties that migrants suffer and make their situation visible: show the itinerary they have to follow, the reasons that drive them to undertake this journey and the sacrifices it entails. We intend to oppose the Eurocentric vision of the press, narrating the lesser-known episodes of this type of migration and focusing on the personal story of the protagonist. Aya is not only defined by her circumstances, but by her desires, emotions and will. It is a dramatic but not sensational story; serious and sober, not exaggerated. To do this, we have resorted to extensive documentation, references, testimonies and memories of migrants, from which we have created a common and representative story.

Spain

2025-10-15