Ali Tobi

The Emigrant Doctor in the Death Boat Ali Tobi

When Dr. Labib Mansour leaves his wife and ten-year-old son in Gambia to seek a better life in Spain, he knows it's going to be a perilous journey. The ship captain warns them that many will perish during the voyage. The surviving men arrive on the new country's shore hungry, thirsty, and in poor health. The men are jailed for illegal immigration and await to hear of their fate from the courts. During their incarceration, Mansour uses his English-speaking skills to communicate with the authorities, and he employs his medical abilities to save lives and help others. Mansour is able to escape the jail and create a new life. But he must decide where his loyalty should be placed. A fiction short story, The Emigrant Doctor in the Death Boat uses the character of Dr. Labib Mansour to address modern-day issues of immigration.