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MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. – Standing in the Senegal airport alongside five of his younger siblings, nine-year-old Aaron Aliou said goodbye to his mother for what would unknowingly be the last time until their reunion more than a decade later.

As was common Senegalese custom in 2001, young Aliou’s mother refrained from sharing travel plans with anyone until the day of her departure for the United States. She planned to build a better life for her family, which started with the heart-wrenching decision to temporarily leave her young children behind in a country more than 5,000 miles away.

“I cried the day my mom left,” said Aliou. “I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to see her again.”

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