By Biran Gaye
At least 14 Gambian migrants have been detained in Morocco following the interception of their boat in the Tunisian sea almost a month ago.
Nuha Gassama, a migrant detainee in Morocco, told Foroyaa that they are incarcerated at a detention centre in Brigandose, Morocco.
He said they suffered mistreatment in a detention facility, languishing in the North African country since their boat got a breakdown in the Moroccan waters as they headed to Spain in mid-July. The pirogue that the migrants boarded left Mauritania on Sunday, July 14 and got intercepted by Moroccan Coast Guards on July 26 following an engine breakdown
“There are many of us in one room. There are no beds, no mattresses and no water; we only make do with the bare concrete floor. We can’t wash ourselves and we have to relieve ourselves in the courtyard,” he laments.
He further explains: “We hardly eat to our fill and we have been eating only bread every day. We cannot continue staying like this.”
He said scores of migrants are being arrested and detained almost on a daily basis.
Morocco have been subjecting sub-Saharan migrants to constant harassment, Saikou Jabbie, another migrant said.
The migrants, in a video shared with activist Ebrima Drammeh and obtained by Foroyaa, said they want to be repatriated to the Gambia because they are facing unbearable conditions in the North African country.
“We want to come back to the Gambia and continue with our work,” they said.
The migrants added they have contacted the Gambian Embassy in Morocco on several occasions but have received no response.
Given the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) facilitates the repatriation of migrants through its voluntary reintegration programme, the migrants are calling on the Gambian mission in Morocco to liaise with IOM to help them return to the country.
Despite the high waves and vicious rocks that await them, thousands of migrants and refugees gather at Moroccan, Tunisian, and Algerian coastal cities to take a boat to the Canary Islands, a Spanish island off the Atlantic coast of Africa. Shipwrecks remain common, causing several losses of live.
Dozens still stranded in Algeria
Several Gambian migrants are reportedly stranded in the streets of Algiers in Algeria, as some sleep within the premises of the IOM office and others resort to incomplete building.
One Sabally, a migrant in Algiers, told Foroyaa that more than 30 Gambian migrants remain homeless, forcing them to sleep in the streets while awaiting the finalisation of their subsequent repatriation.
In a photo shared with this medium, the migrants could be seen sitting down on empty cartons improvised as bedding around a perimeter fence in the street.
Alieu Baldeh, who has been stranded in Algeria for some time, is ill and currently getting medical care at a hospital.
“Through the Senegalese Embassy, I am currently getting treatment for my sickness,” he said.
In another development, the International Organization for Migration Thursday repatriated almost 160 migrants from Tunisia, bringing a sigh of relief to migrants who have faced horrible humanitarian conditions.
The organization also provides non-food item kits, temporary accommodation, and medical and psychosocial screenings to migrants after their arrival. They will soon reunite with their families.
Last Friday, the IOM with support from Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, awarded 25 young Gambian entrepreneurs with significant grants. The support aims to create socio-economic opportunities for youth as alternatives for irregular migration.
