A rights group has asked government to give clear detail over the deportation of Gambians from abroad.
This new trend has raised alarm from Gambians families, home and abroad, as deportation of Gambians who had struggled through the journey of turmoil to Europe in order to change their livelihoods and that of their families.
In a statement signed by Omar Saibo Camara, chairman of Concerned Gambians Group against Deportation said: “since the arrival of the first 20 deportees, we have been closely monitoring the situation and also keeping in touch with our brothers and sisters in Europe on the reasons for the resumption of the deportation.
“Also, we were expecting to see the reaction of our government and relevant stakeholders on the issue and what exactly they know about it. To our disappointment, the only step taken by the government was to go and pick these people from the airport and release them to go to their homes.”
He continued through the statement that “we expected the government to at least talk to us about the issues surrounding the deportation, their involvement and stands on the issues. We understand that deportation involves diplomatic talks and it must involve governments and their authorities.
“Therefore, we want the government to tell us the reasons and justifications of the deportation and the role they are playing on the whole issue.”
More so, “It’s also important for the government to tell us how prepared are we as a country to receive and reintegrate the deportees in the society being cognizant of the issue and trauma these people normally go through in the process of bringing them back. It is less ideal to just let them move into the society just like that, we have seen what happened in Brikama recently, where a deportee killed is his father. This should be a wakeup call for the government to understand that, the issue of deportation is beyond bringing these people home but also the consequences of having these people freely move into the society.”
“In a nutshell, we the Concerned Citizens Group against deportation have been standing in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Europe for the past years in advocating for their rights and welfare to be respected as well as a status to stay and live around the world for their livelihood freely.
We want to assure everyone concerned about this issue that, we are resuming our position to engage our government and relevant stakeholders here in The Gambia in addressing the deportation issues and concerns surrounding it. We will do all it takes for the government to react and speak to the Gambian people, home and abroad about their stance and involvement in the whole process and together what can be done in solving it,” the statement concluded.
