By Binta Jaiteh
The Youth Leader of Kanifing Municipal Council, Kemo Bojang said the economic and social factors and the main issues pushing many young people away from their homes to embark on a perilous journey to the west in search of a greener pasture.
The Youth Leader commented on the official unveiling of a memorial boat which symbolises the migrants who lost their lives at the high heels of the Mediterranean seas searching for better lives.
The programme organised by German International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) fund for Regional Stabilisation and Development (FRSD) targets over three-thousand young people.
‘’I think it is important as people in authority and where decisions are made, that we have failed in our decisions, migration is not wrong and I don’t believe in people who say illegal migration because migration is necessitated by factors that push people away from their home,” he noted while revealing the support rendered to the young people by the council.
The memorial ground within the municipality he said is a great honor that will also avail the council to support the youth folks.
“The migrants are vulnerable groups that is why we focused on them and we are currently working with IOM on the local migration indicators and we are the first region to work on such this will help us to understand migration at the policy level,” he added.
Ablie Jallow team leader ECOWAS FRSD Project said the establishment of the first memorial migrant in the Gambia is an opportunity to raise awareness which he said is very challenging, noting that the memorial ground represents a symbol of healing not only for the migrants but for families who lost their loved ones.
