Bamba Susso revealed how he went through hell to come to Europe: “4 months in prison! They released me when they realized I didn’t have money.”

Published on 28. November 2023 28. November 2023

Foto: Danilo Vezjak

Bamba Susso is proving himself once again in Slovenia this season. After playing for Bilje in the 2nd Slovenian League previously, he is currently a member of Aluminij. He regularly appears in the Prva Liga Telemach and has made 14 appearances so far. What’s missing are goals – he has only scored once. However, Bamba Susso has no doubt that he will succeed. After all, the battle with defenders is one of the simplest things for him, especially compared to what he had to endure to come from his native Gambia to Europe.

His childhood was full of sadness and challenging trials. Better times started for him only after a true journey when he finally arrived in Italy, which offered him shelter and a new home.

“I grew up only with my mother because my father passed away earlier. Then my mother passed away when I was thirteen, so I ended up with my sister, who was twenty at the time. It was tough because I don’t even know how to tell you this story because it’s so long. I just wanted to get out of Gambia because it couldn’t have been harder at home, right? I got in touch with someone who then took me to Senegal, where I worked with a bus driver. He wasn’t the only one. Then I went to Mali, where I made new connections and went to Burkina Faso, then I went to Niger, tried to make a living and work until I finally ended up in Libya. Once you know truck drivers and carriers, you meet many people. But in Libya, it was really tough, there was a war, the situation was even more difficult,” explained Bamba Susso in an interview for Navijaška cona.

Bamba Susso: “On a ship with 110 people”

However, the above was just the beginning of the calvary that the 20-year-old forward experienced on his way to the Old Continent: “I wanted a safe environment, but unfortunately, Libya was the worst place for that. I even ended up in prison for four months; they released me when they realized I had nobody and no money. They treated us very badly. Then I could leave, the goal was Italy, and I found myself on a ship with 110 people. At three in the morning. On the coast. We knew nothing; I thought they were going to kill us smoothly. In the end, it turned out, they saved us, and we landed in Calabria at a refugee camp, where I stayed for nine months. When I left there, they explained to me that they sent me to a house where other refugees were, but in the end, I got Italian parents who really wanted to help me. And then I finally started playing football again.”

The robust striker resumed playing football in Italy and made his way to Pisa, a club where Jan Mlakar plays. Bamba Susso is on loan at Aluminij, precisely from this Serie B member. “I didn’t kick the ball for at least a year, but somehow I’m naturally quick and manage. When I arrived in Rome, I went to Romuleo, where I started playing after a trial, left a good impression, had a good season, moved up to Pisa, and played in the Primavera. Then I was loaned to Villa Valle, followed by Bilje, and now I’m here in Kidričevo,” Bamba Susso added.