By: Momodou Justice Darboe
The Gambian leader Adama Barrow has said the Backway hadcrumbled marriages and engendered childlessness in some marriages.
“You cannot visit home from Europe when you are undocumented. I know of some people, who spent three years, four years, five years, and up to 10 years in Europe and were unable to return home because they were undocumented. A lot of marriages were broken within this period.
Some women have waited for their husbands for many years without a child. If you don’t have papers, you cannot come home for holidays and that’s a huge retrogression,” President Barrow bemoaned as he addressed a community meeting in Chamoi Bunda in URR last Sunday.
“I am deeply worried about the youths because a lot of them have embarked on the Backway and many are dying. Some are interned at camps [asylum holding centers] and could not be useful to their parents.
This is distressing, hence I want to work with Gambians to come up with plans to help the youths, who have embarked on the Backway,” the President said. He went on: “This is all the more reason why when I went to Saudi, I signed an agreement with the Saudi authorities so that our youths can work there to help their parents back home. They [Saudi] will need skilled workers and graduates, too can benefit from the agreement.
So, I would like to entreat the youths to be patient. If our youths are perishing at sea, that is a huge setback for us. I urge the youth to learn skills and when you become skilled, you will be empowered to work for yourself.”
The President expressed the conviction that his government’s agreement with Saudi will help youths to work in the Kingdom and come home for holidays.
Meanwhile, the Gambian leader said his accomplishments will speak for him for a century as they’ll be enduring.
“Even 100 years later, my accomplishments will remind you of President Barrow. The bridges I built will be here for 100 years,” he stated.
He told the people of URR that what his government has in store for them is more than what it unleashed on the region.
“If you want to reap benefits from the government, the governor, National Assembly Members, and the Area Council chairman should all be supportive of the government and that’s what the URR did,” President Barrow acknowledged. Then, people of URR, you needn’t be discouraged because what is in store in terms of development is more than what we’ve accomplished in the region. I promised you and I hope I have delivered to a large extent on this promise because we built bridges and schools and provided water and electricity. Even pastures for goats and sheep will be grown here. So, what is left now?”
He continued: “If an individual serves you breakfast and lunchand promises you that dinner will be also served, perform yourMaghrib prayers and relax as dinner will surely be served. We told you that I am not a politician. I am here to serve. The tour is to hear from you but left to me alone, only my work will speak for me but I must come because you are bosses, you elected me and it’s because of you that I am referred to as President Barrow but I am happy about what I heard from the speakers. Ingrates will always want to overshadow your good deeds with requests. What we have done in development terms is just the tip of the iceberg.”