By: Nyima Sillah & Fatoumata J. Camara
As The Gambia experienced one of the worst forms of irregular migration through the use of fishing boats in 2023 and the high rate of deportation, The Voice deems it necessary to give an overview of this year’s irregular migration and tragedy involved which still leaves a hole in people’s heart.
According to the Migrants-Refugees Report, people are using irregular means due to political instability, high unemployment especially among the youth, and limited life opportunities.
On the side of deportation, activist Yahya Sonko said the deportation is due to the good practice document signed by the Gambia and the European Union.
The Migrant’s Refugee Report stated that in 2019, The Gambia had 118,483 emigrants 5.05% of the total population and the emigration was mainly male with 65.81% the age group mostly involved was 20 to 24 years, 0-24years old.
The report further stated that the current net migration rate for Gambia in 2023 is -1.88 per 1000 population, a 3.02% decline from 2022. The net migration rate for Gambia in 2022 was -1.225 per 1000 population, a 2.85% decline from 2021. The net migration rate for Gambia in 2021 was -1.261 per 1000 population, a 2.85% decline from 2020.
However, one of the worst forms of irregular migration that boomed in the year 2023 was the use of fishing boats. The surge migration this year was high with the use of fishing boats.
A few months ago, the president of The National Association of Artisanal Fishing Operators (NAFFO) Fatou Pierre Choi decried that fishing boats are now being transformed into vessels for carrying youth on perilous and illegal journeys to the European Union (EU).
Germany-based migration and human rights activist,Yahya Sonko, said the year 2023 was one of the toughest years for The Gambian asylum seekers and immigrants in the diaspora as the Barrow government cooperated with the European Union to send chartereddeportation flights to The Gambia.
“The first chartered deportation flight started on January 2nd, 2023 after that several chartereddeportation flights followed up. This is the worst year for Gambian immigrants in the EU. Many are worried, frustrated, and have left their houses, and their jobs because they are all in threat of deportation,” Sonkoasserted.
Zeina Ballow, mother of seven children and a deportee from Germany had accused authorities of totally neglecting her and her family since their arrival in the Gambia.
She is also calling for urgent assistance towards helping her family go back to Germany. Explaining her ordeal to this paper, Ms. Ballow narrated how Titisee-Neustadt Police in Germany brainwashed her and told her that they would never be abandoned by the German authorities upon arrival in The Gambia.
“We were promised that we would be given money to start a new life with my children and a home to stay in.’’ “They also told me that I will have someone from the Red Cross to take care of us until they see that the children and parents are okay. I believed them but it was all a lie,’’ she complained.
‘’We arrived and we didn’t have a place to sleep. Thank God I met a family that welcomed me. The children were hungry and sleepy,’’ Zeina emotionally explained to The Voice.
Ballow expressed frustration saying she was neglected by the Gambian authorities as she was not contacted by any official authority to confirm her situation and her family.
“Neither the migration agency, IOM, Gambian Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Immigration I mean none of the officials calls me. I am suffering here I want to go back to Germany as soon as possible because my kids are not used to this environment.”
Going back on deportation again, Sonko stated that this year, the Gambia government has broken a record in terms of deportation which has never happened in the history of the Gambia, stressing that more than 400 hundred Gambian citizens were deported from the EU to The Gambia.
However, on the surge of irregular migration, Sonkosaid that was based on the record through reliable sources and the rescue team, over 68 Gambians lost their lives. The rescue team confirmed this figure and Gambians who survived like some of the boats I also received information from the rescue team.
“Over 481 missing because more than three boats are missing they did not arrive anywhere in Spain or Italy and they have been missing for months and they left the soil of the Gambia. “This situation resembles the incident that happened in Gunjur in 2021 a boat that left cannot still be traced.”
“The Gambia Government is making very little or no effort about it. As usual, they will wait till a tragedy happens before they react. Gambia is a very small country. We all know that boat trips are organized in our communities. Where are the SIS, immigration department, and navy? Why can’t they track the smugglers and organizers of these boat trips,” Sonkoasked the function of the authorities during an interview with The Voice immediately after the Bakautragedy.
The migration activist pointed out t that the International Organization for Migrants (IOM) is organizing a series of capacity-building training and workshops for the Immigration department with regards to irregular migration, emphasizing that the knowledge gained in those training should be invested to help tackle irregular migration in The Gambia.
Furthermore, an anonymous migrant in Tunisia said the situation in Tunisia never get better as migrants are suffering day by day with abuse and exploitation, saying over 3000 Gambian migrants are currently in Tunisia waiting to cross the Mediterranean Sea.
He narrated that the citizens of Tunisia deliberately refused to give jobs to the migrants which made most of the people suffer because they said the Tunisia Police gave them the order not to give work to any migrant.
According to sources, feeding become a problem because is very difficult for them to have access to the shops due to the tight police security which is making them suffer.
He explained that the Tunisians refused to give them job and when they ask them, they say the police gave them that order, adding they also told them that the police ordered them not to give migrants’ shelter or accommodation especially the blacks which force some migrants to sleep in the forest.
“When the Tunisia police caught the migrants they took them to Libya, they had contact with Libyan police or Libyan mafia armed robbers that they call, they will do business so they will take the migrants to Libyan border and sell them to armed robbers so those people will kidnap the blacks and take them to prison, if they take you to prison before you go out of that prison you have to pay D60,000 or 50,000 thousand dalasi so that’s the worse the Tunisia police are doing,” Source further explained.