Many young people from The Gambia have been migrating illegally by routes through the desert to get to Libya and across the Mediterranean Sea to get to Italy. This is called back-way migration. A fair number of articles have been written that focus on the migrants leaving; however, the story that is not being told as often is about the families they leave behind. This thesis seeks to explore the everyday problems that occur to the families left behind and the country at large, as a result of the mass exodus of young people.