The Hurt Behind Migration. What is Ulysses Syndrome?

[…] bear in silence your many misfortunes and endure men's violence and insult (The Odyssey, Athena, Chant XIII, 309-310).

Adama Keita, 27, left with one of her daughters to ‘the West’. They set out on a cayuco (a type of fishing boat) from the port of Kamsar, Guinea, without telling their family.

To find a better future by migrating struggles with the need to survive, whether on the road, somewhere in between, or at destination. Some people never make it. Others travel depending on a third party or traffickers. Sometimes they face violence, loss of documents, misinformation, or the barrier of an unknown language that complicates communication. Many others must wait for the authorities to resolve their legal situation. Individuals experience increased risk, vulnerability, and stress when facing uncertainty, particularly if they have no close relatives or friends following their journey.

Generally, people who migrate are proactive and combine the pursuit of basic survival, with caregiving tasks, and hope. However, they can experience what is known as Ulysses Syndrome or immigrant syndrome with chronic and multiple stress. Joseba Achotegui (https://josebaachotegui.com/en/) is the psychiatrist who coined the term, "against the dehumanization of migration." This syndrome is not a mental illness, but rather a response to the accumulation of multiple griefs such as loneliness, separation from family and one's community of origin, fear, or helplessness. These pressures that affect migrant life can generate symptoms of sadness, anxiety, isolation, apathy, insomnia, and even physical pain, which are often silenced out of shame or to ‘keep going’.

Naming this reality helps us to understand it better. Migration affects mental health. For this reason, it is necessary to establish support networks and offer safe and inclusive spaces; where people can talk about their emotions, tell their stories, and find support that allows them to rebuild their sense of belonging and well-being. To heal.

We do not know why Adama decided not to tell her family that she was going to board that cayuco. She and her daughter Mama died on May 28, 2025, off the port of La Restinga on El Hierro island, Canary Islands, Spain.

In honor of Adama, Mama, the other 5 women who died on that cayuco, and the other victims of shipwrecks, human rights violations, and Ulysses Syndrome.