By Adama Makasuba
Jambur is still reeling from the shock of losing 41 youths at sea after their migrant boat bounding for Spain sank off Mauritania. The grieving villagers described the deceased youths as lions and critical pillars of the Jambur community.
More than 100 Gambian migrants are feared dead in the tragic boat capsized. Kebba Malang Bojang, who lost four sons who were in their 20s in the tragedy, is still in disbelief despite holding charity prayers for the deceased sons.
“I lost four of my children in this disaster. There was a time when I was not seeing Sanna, and I asked. They told me he has left for Europe with Ba Musa, Foday, and Buba,” he told Gambia, adding that he was never aware of his sons embarking on the perilous backway to Europe in search of greener pasture.
Bereaved Bojang blamed the mass exodus of Gambian youths to Europe on the country’s lack of jobs and ailing economy. He urged the Government to devise a pragmatic solution, adding that ‘lib service’ would not address the backway route in the country.
“Poverty and lack of jobs drive the youths on this journey. Because you graduate and you will not get a job to help your family, it is painful. The Government should intervene with a pragmatic solution. But this sensitization will not end this backway. The Government should develop measures to create more jobs for the young people,” he added.
Mamadou Bojang, who also lost his 27-year-old brother, Karamo Sanyang, in the boat incident, was a fisherman. He cried as he recalled his half-brother, whom he tried to discourage many times from embarking on the perilous backway. But he was hopeless about this journey, his beloved half-brother, while describing the tragic accident as a massive loss for the whole country.
Mamadou said: “I am broke internally, and I don’t think I can be who I used to be anymore. It shocks the whole community. Everyone is shocked. No one believes that this is true. It has been catastrophic for us in Jambur and the entire country. However, he extolled the Government to step up efforts and cater to youths with better jobs as tears rolled down his cheek.
“The Government should do more to help the youths because the country has lost so many young people through this journey. The population of the country has reduced. The Gambia is lonely,” he said.
The Gambia has been seriously hit by mass migration of youths to Europe through the dangerous sea in search of better as the country’s economy continues to decorate in growth exacerbated by the high youth unemployment rate.
