OPINION | If “The Youths Are Happy”, Why Do They Keep Risking Their Lives on the Backway?

Written by: Seringe ST Touray

The Backway is killing people, swallowing boats and leaving Gambian families waiting for loved ones who may never return. Just recently, 22 young people from Niamina Jarreng were reported missing after leaving The Gambia by boat on August 7th. More than three weeks later, their families were still desperately waiting for news of their whereabouts.

Yet the journeys continue, and the frequency of the interceptions tells its own story. On August 1st, immigration officers intercepted 46 suspected would-be migrants in Nuimi, including 38 Gambians. On August 17th, another 33 were intercepted in Essau, including 18 Gambians. Two days later, five Gambians were among 36 suspected migrants intercepted in Tujereng.

On August 20th, immigration officers intercepted another 19 Gambian men in Batokunku who were suspected of preparing for an irregular migration journey. Then on Monday, police intercepted 14 more people in Busumbala over preparations for another suspected journey. The latest group included ten Malians, two Senegalese and two Guineans.

These are not incidents separated by years or even months. They happened within weeks of each other. Boats disappear, families mourn, authorities intercept groups preparing to leave, and still another group appears ready to try. The Backway is beginning to look less like a series of isolated migration cases and more like an epidemic, a symptom of something much deeper.

That brings us to presidential adviser Momodou Sabally and his famous political slogan that “the youths are happy.” If Gambian youths are happy, why are so many still prepared to spend their savings, climb into overcrowded boats and risk dying in the Atlantic for the chance to build a life somewhere else?