By Biran Gaye
A migrant boat has capsized off the coast of Qazahiyah, Libya, with the Libyan Marine Unit rescuing a dozen of migrants.
According to activist Ebrima Drammeh, the boat, capsized on Saturday, carried migrants of different nationalities including Gambians.There are lots of Gambians who lost their life in the shipwreck, says the activist.
Reports say there were 35 migrants, including women on board, with 21 migrants rescued.
They were reportedly transferred to police custody after being provided with humanitarian assistance as the search for the missing is still ongoing.
Two migrant boats departed from Nuimilast week with hundreds of Gambian migrants including women but have not reached Europe yet.
Another migrant boat that departed from Nouakchott in Mauritania on Sunday, August 11 with lots of Gambian migrants is still untraceable after 16 days.
As reported earlier, the migrant boat that departed from Mbour Senegal two weeks back with more than 70 Gambian is still missing.
There are also increasingly more teenagers and children traveling alone to the Canary Islands, which has overwhelmed the local government responsible for their care. Spanish authorities say they are bracing for even more arrivals this fall when sailing conditions in the deadly Atlantic Ocean between West Africa and the Spanish archipelago are more favorable.
In Algeria, more than 60 Gambians are still stranded as they languish in the streets of Algiers for weeks now.
The migrants, in an interview with Foroyaa, call on the government and the International Organization for Migrants to help speed up the process of repatriating them to the Gambia as they risk arrest by local police. One wally said they could be arrested and taken to the desert at anytime
They currently sleep in the streets and struggle to get enough food.
The migrants said some of them are sick but received no medical services, alleging that IOM refused to provide them with humanitarian services but prevailed on them to exercise more patience while they process the migrants.
