This article from the BBC tells the story of one family, and many others like it, in a small town in Burkina Faso where it has become customary for men to migrate to Italy for work, leaving wives and children behind. Alimata Bara married an “Italian” man (a local man working in Italy) when she was 17 years-old. Her husband Saada was home in Beguedo, Burkina Faso on holiday when the couple met and were married. Saada returned to Italy shortly after and while he was away, Alimata gave birth to a daughter and, a few years later, to a son who has only met his father once. This article explores the lives of these families and the situation these husbands’ migration has created.