Senegalese Yusuf Thiam, 50, who worked in Italy for a while and came to Turkey for work years ago, sends all the money he earns by selling watches on the streets to his family.Yusuf Thiam, who had to immigrate to Italy at the age of 17 due to the living conditions in Senegal, said he fell in love and got married at the age of 25 when he went to Senegal for a visit. Thiam explained that he felt alienated in Italy because he was a Muslim and returned to Senegal at the age of 30, unable to endure the longing for his wife and hometown.Yusuf Thiam, who had a hard time making ends meet with the first of his children being born in 1997 and the second in 2002, went to Dakar to work. After spending seven years there, Thiam sent all the money he had earned to his wife to care for their little children.Noting that he came to Turkey in 2013 to take his chance at earning a decent living and he has not been able to return to his hometown in Senegal for four years, Yusuf Thiam described his days in Istanbul, saying, "I came to Turkey in 2013. Since then, I have been selling watches on the street. I work and earn my life decently." Thiam said he lives in an apartment building in Aksaray with four Senegalese friends, who all pay their expenses such as rent, heating, electricity, water and food by splitting the costs, and they have a calm life here like the one they had in their own country."I love Istanbul very much, and I do not want to live in another city. Turkey is a Muslim country and all my friends are Muslims. Therefore, I am very happy and peaceful. I open my watch counter every day in Mecidiyeköy. A lot of people pass by my counter. So, I'm more likely to sell something," Thiam said.Yusuf Thiam also said there are certain difficulties in being a street vendor, stressing that especially the seasonal conditions give him a hard time."Although it does not look like it, I'm 50 years old now and it is getting harder for me to work in the open air. I work every day to save money under these conditions. I sell my watches for about TL 20- TL 30 per piece, and after I make my obligatory expenses, I send the remaining sum to my family," Thiam said, noting that his older child now studies computer programming at university and his cost is increasing day by day. And once his young child's school expenses are added to it, he has no choicebut to work, Thiam said, highlighting that if he had stayed in Senegal, he would not be able to meet these expenses.Pointing out that it is really hard to be away from the people he loves, Yusuf Thiam said, "Sometimes my friends where I set up my counter ask me if I ever miss my wife and children. How can a father who is fond of his children like me not miss them? Would I be away from my country if I did not have to? My children are now studying in Senegal. I would especially like to have my older child continue to study at a university in Turkey. I wish my wife and children lived here with me. I would be very happy if somebody could provide this. Although I smile, the separation has begun to come to me so hard now."Thiam said he has the advantage of being able to speak French, English and Italian very well and can also speak German and Turkish at an intermediate level, hoping it will lead to more business opportunities for him."I have missed my wife and children very much. I am 50 years old now. I want to spend the rest of my life in Turkey with my wife and children in peace," Yusuf Thiam concluded.