By Biran Gaye
With Gambian migrants facing inhumane treatment in Mauritania, the government has deployed Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad Dr. Mamadou Tangara as a special envoy to Mauritania to address the safety and welfare of Gambians.
The North African country has been undertaking an operation to expel migrants, leading to many being rounded up, arrested, and deported.
Spain had renewed cooperation with the Mauritanian authorities to combat irregular migration. With financial and technical support from the European Union, Mauritania has been intercepting African migrants en route to the Canary Island of Spain.
In a press release issued on March 27, the Gambia government said it has been closely monitoring developments concerning Gambian migrants in Mauritania with ‘utmost concern and keen interest’. It vows to resolve the issues confronting Gambian nationals in the country.
Detention in Mauritania:
Several Gambian migrants, who were detained after being rounded up in Mauritania, have been deported to Rosso, a Senegalese border town.
In November 2024, Gambian migrants reported being detained in inhumane conditions, including being beaten by police, locked up in cells day and night, and lacking access to basic necessities like food, water, and toilets.
Refugees in Libya say several migrants have been locked up in a hanger, which almost has no ventilation.
“We are really suffering here in Mauritania… our lives are no more secure,” a Gambian migrant fondly called Jason Brown told Foroyaa.
Human rights groups have condemned the treatment of detainees in Mauritania, citing overcrowding, deplorable hygienic conditions, and lack of access to medical care.
The dejected migrant alleged Mauritania of deporting them based on race and xenophobia.
“Instead of deporting us to our various countries, we are left to starve at their border,” he lamented. “Please we need help if not the boys at the border will starve to death.”
The Gambia government said it tasked its Embassy to intensify engagements with the relevant Mauritanian authorities and strengthen interactions with the Gambian community to ensure the protection of their rights and welfare.
Conditions in Rosso:
Many of those expelled from Mauritania have taken refuge in Rosso, a Senegalese border town on the Senegal River.
Some migrants have reported being stranded in Rosso with nowhere to go and no connections to this remote part of northern Senegal.
“What we really need here in Mauritania currently is help from the humanitarian bodies……since the government is not saying anything about the Gambians left at the border (Rosso) in Mauritania without food or shelter,” a Gambian migrant fondly called Jason Brown told Foroyaa.
Analysts say political upheaval and economic turmoil in West Africa are pushing scores of migrants to travel from launch pad Mauritania to Spain’s Canary Island on unseaworthy vessels, with many getting intercepted by the Mauritanian navy,
