Fear and confusion have settled over Niamina Jarreng after 22 young people from the rural settlement left The Gambia on 7 August and have not been heard from since. Families say the group is believed to have boarded a migrant boat that departed Banjul bound for either the Canary Islands or Italy, part of the irregular Atlantic crossing known locally as the Backway.
More than three weeks later, there is still no confirmed news of their whereabouts. Relatives describe nights of unanswered calls, rumors and growing dread. Community member Yaya Beyai, whose relatives are among those missing, said families are desperate for reliable information about the young people’s situation and safety.
According to sources in the settlement, most of those who left did not tell their parents or families they were embarking on the journey. That secrecy, common on this route because organizers and travelers fear interception, has left households piecing together names only after the silence became impossible to ignore.
On 29 August, concerned families issued a formal missing-persons notification listing 22 people as unaccounted for: Ebou Touray, Bakary Cheesy, Lamin Darboe, Ba Sarjo Gassama, Sheriffo Nyabally, Pabi Manneh, Sarjo Bayo, Bading Bayo, Lamin Manneh, Bahla Njie, Muhammed, Burama Nyagado, Buba Salah, Mamadou Barry, Abdoulie Binta, Alia Jallow, Saidou Feta, Omar Penda, Babanding Manku, Meiro Jallow, Ebrima Sey and Alasan Leigh.
The notification says the suspected vessel left Banjul with about 127 people on board. Public reports later described the boat as missing. The community stresses that there is no verified information confirming that the 22 have died — or that they have been rescued, detained, transferred to a reception center, or reached Spain or Italy.
Mauritanian authorities have confirmed several rescue operations in August, including one in which the coast guard recovered 161 people from a boat that had left Banjul and spent about eight days at sea before survivors were taken to a reception center in Nouakchott. Families in Niamina Jarreng say that incident is believed to concern a different departure and should not automatically be treated as the 7 August vessel.
The community is now appealing for help from the Government of The Gambia, the Immigration Department, the Navy, consular missions, Mauritanian and Spanish maritime and migration authorities, the International Organization for Migration, and UNHCR. They ask officials to check rescue, hospital, detention and reception records against the names listed.
“Until each person’s whereabouts or fate is independently established, these individuals should be regarded as missing rather than presumed dead,” the families said. In Niamina Jarreng, hope and dread now travel together.
