ln Gambia, dreams of a less dangerous path to a future somewhere else

Every day, as Omar Barrow swerved his taxi across the potholed roads of Gambia’s capital city, peeling airline billboards sold him stories of faraway places.

Dream big in New York City, promised one, a faded image of the Empire State Building rising behind the text. London is calling … from just $824, announced another.

$824. It was, for Mr. Barrow, a price as fantastical as the destination, something far beyond the reach of a man making $10 or $20 a day shuttling tourists between the kitschy beach hotels and English pubs that hug the seafront here.

But the cost wasn’t his biggest obstacle. To get on that plane, he also needed a visa. And to get a visa, he needed something – well, someone – else.

“If I can find a white