Bitim Réew: (Abroad)

By Edrissa Ken-Joof

A Shattered Dream. A Frozen Crucible. The Unflinching Truth of "Abroad."

In the icy grip of the American Midwest, the promise of a new life cracks like thin ice.

Kawsu Sam arrives in Wisconsin clutching a first-class degree and burning ambition. Instead of tech glory, he finds predatory landlords, lethal winters, and the crushing weight of his Gambian family's desperate hopes. His meticulously planned American dream shatters instantly. Cast out by his uncle Kebba - whose own fragile stability is crumbling under ICE fears - Kawsu is abandoned on frozen streets with $20 and a suitcase.

His descent is visceral: Scavenging for food. Battling hypothermia. Surviving on invisible labor as a night-shift custodian, scrubbing the gleaming tech temples he once aspired to conquer. Kawsu clings to hope through meticulously staged lies for his family back home. His fight for mere survival-and the profound triumph of a lock on his own door-becomes a searing testament to resilience.

But Kawsu's struggle is just one thread in a powerful, multi-voiced tapestry. Bitim R ew (Abroad) weaves together the fractured lives of immigrants navigating the brutal realities of the American heartland far from coastal hubs:

Wahab Ceesay building shadow empires on exploited labor.

Paul & Sukai Prierra drowning in Green Bay suspicion and suffocating debt.

Alhaji & Aisha Joof balancing Milwaukee peril with fierce cultural tradition.

Nfally Jatta gambling his life nightly behind gas station glass.

Saul Nemaga's devastating descent: a transactional marriage curdling into violence, ending in eviction, court shackles, and an icy plunge into nightmare.

Haunting them all is the devastating echo of Dr. Malik Njie- a brilliant scientist whose stolen research and unacknowledged trauma ended in tragic silence on a Gambian beach. His story is a chilling testament to the dream's terrifying fragility.

Ken-Joof masterfully lays bare the brutal calculus of survival: the corrosive weight of remittances, the crushing burden of maintaining illusions of success, the specter of systemic barriers, and the fierce, often painful, resilience required to carve out existence in a land of relentless cold and unyielding challenges.

Bitim R ew (Abroad) is more than an immigrant story; it's a raw exploration of:

The devastating chasm between aspiration and harsh reality.

The strength forged in kinship and shared struggle.

The profound, often hidden, cost of the dream.

The possibility of redemption when "abroad" becomes a crucible.

Witness Kawsu's harrowing journey from the frozen abyss toward finding home within himself-a journey forever shadowed by the poignant, devastating echo of Dr. Malik Njie's struggle. This is the unforgettable, multi-faceted truth of life far from home.

Gripping. Unflinching. Essential Reading. Discover the powerful tapestry of the African immigrant experience in the American heartland.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FDXBLGNT
• ISBN13: 9798288744723
• Release Date: June 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.5"