By: Alieu Ceesay
More than two hundred migrants from The Gambia who set out on a dangerous voyage across the high seas in hopes of reaching Europe have gone missing, according to multiple sources familiar with their journey who spoke to Alkamba Times.
According to the source, their current location remains a mystery after spending over three weeks navigating the Sea to reach Europe, which typically takes less than two weeks.
One from the Gambia, Sameh, in the northern part of the Gambia, which carries 171 migrants, is missing, and there is no communication between the migrants and the designated source or to the people of origin.
“We have communicated with the Spanish authorities, those we search boats with, but they could not provide any information, so, to us, these migrants do not exist ( not alive),” Ebrima Drammeh, a prominent migration activist, told TAT during a telephone interview on Tuesday, August 10, 2024.
This shocking revelation does not exclude women, as 23 women were in a boat expected to take off from the Gambia, Bakau, but changed its plan and took off from Mbour, Senegal.
” The boats collapse or are taken away by the sea wave, which could take them to South America. There are seven days of food to keep them, but they have gone for almost a month now; their foods are finished, and they can’t stay for weeks without food and drinks.”
He discourages people from embarking on such a journey, describing it as “Dangerous and risky.”
However, the Gambia’s government has yet to release an update on the status of these missing migrants.
Unless tangible action is taken to address this critical issue, the young population of the Gambia is risking their lives in pursuit of a life-changing opportunity for themselves and their families.
