By Biran Gaye
A migrant boat carrying 44 Gambians is reportedly in distress in the Tunisian sea caused by an engine breakdown.
Ebrima Drammeh, a migration activist, said the boat departed Sfax in Tunisia almost a week ago, spending five days in the sea in dire conditions.
“I have spoken to them some minutes ago; 5 women including 3 pregnant women are in a critical condition,” the activist explains.
“They are all alive at the moment, but they are still in the sea.”
In a telephone call with Drammeh, the migrants could be heard, in Mandinka, calling on the rescue organisations and Tunisian coast guards to help evacuate them from the sea.
These migrants, when evacuated, could see themselves languishing in the outskirt of El Amra and Sfax, where African migrants, including Gambians live in makeshift residences in open camps as local police continue to raid sub-Saharan Africa migrants in the cities.
Improvised residences of migrants in Sfax flooded
The makeshift residences of migrants made up of rounded tents have flooded in a recent rain in Sfax in Tunisia, depriving migrants of bedding as some climbed on olive trees for a nap.
In a video shared with activist Drammeh, the migrants were seen draining water out of their tents after the rain. They said all their belongings were destroyed by the flood.
These migrants resettled in their tents after the Tunisian police destroyed them last week.
As they continue to keep their dream of reaching Europe alive, these migrants face dire humanitarian conditions, including unsanitary condition, food, water, and poor accommodation in the North African country.
8 Gambians arrested, deported to Asmaka in Niger
Alieu Baldeh, a Gambian migrant in Algeria in an interview with Foroyaa, says 8 Gambians have been arrested and deported to Asmaka, Niger by the Algerian police.
He said his colleagues were deported almost a week ago after being raided in an incomplete building in Algeria.
Last week, some Gambian migrants in Asmaka, Niger shared a video with activist Drammeh denouncing the exploitation of migrants who worked in mining sites, citing lack of adequate payment for their services.
Baldeh, who lives in an incomplete building with Guineans and Ivorians, lamented that they are encountering serious conditions, including lack of food, medical services, and accommodation.
“I want to come back to the Gambia because I am suffering here,” he said. “I would go to the IOM office in Algiers these days.”
In another development, International Organisation for Migration last Thursday repatriated 80 Gambian migrants from Algeria following their expulsion to the desert by the Tunisian police. They later walked their way to the capital, Algiers, where they slept in the streets as they waited for humanitarian services.
