When Yahya left Mauritania, he took a book with him – "The Ambiguous Adventure", a novel by Cheikh Hamidou Kane.
In the book, a West African man like him emigrates to Paris. Far from home, he begins to adapt to the new culture and distance himself from his roots.
Just like the protagonist, Yahya wanted to go to France. His father and siblings live there. But he was denied a visa.