Back Way Boats (Not the Missing Boats)
By Buba Gagigo
Ebrima Drammeh, a Gambian migration activist based in Malta, has confirmed that two boats carrying more than two hundred Gambians have been missing at sea for 28 days.
“The first boat, I understand, contains 23 female Gambians and 44 male Gambians. Their initial plan was to start the journey from the Gambia, but that was changed. They started their journey in Mbour, Senegal. But since they left Mbour, today is the 28th day they cannot be traced. We still don’t know where the boat is. Myself, I have tried several times, but I couldn’t succeed in tracing it, but I know if a boat spends more than 15 days in sea, we can say it is no more,” Ebrima told King FM radio.
Ebrima also reported that another boat, which departed from Samending in Niumi, North Bank Region, is also missing.
“I understand that another boat left Samending in Niumi and that boat also cannot be traced yet. We have reported the matter several times to our partners, but we are still not able to trace them. So we can finally say the two boats that are carrying more than two hundred Gambians are no longer existing,” Ebrima said.