Gambian families say: ‘Government is deporting our people’

By: Nyima Sillah

Families of Gambian deportees from Europe have accused the government of being responsible for the deportation of their children, families and friends as they demanded answers from the State on the matter.

Aisha Jawara, a sister to one of the deportees said: “government is responsible for the deportation of our youth from Europe back to the country without giving any legal information attach to their deportation.”

“It is saddened that government took such a serious decision affecting so many families and yet quiet over it. If government is to take certain decision, they should outline reasons for doing so rather than complicating so many lives. My brother is the breadwinner of our family and our mother sold all her assets just to make sure that brother to Europe,” she explained bitterly.

She disclosed that her mother is yet to recover from the money she has spent on my brother’s traveling to Europe “because the amount she spent on his traveling is enormous.”

According to Aisha, she has no problem if the government has provided all the jobs for the youth and those who they are deporting, “but living them jobless, will definitely make the situation worst and add more stress to the returnees, because they are ambitious, which is one of their reasons to travel.”

“Government has never assisted our sons and brothers who put their lives at risk just to help their family members, so why are they doing this out of their own selfish I interest. I demand an answer from the government because government has no right to return these youth without giving them any support that will benefit them,” Isatou Jarju another sister to one of the deportees lamented.

She said: “If Dr Isatou Touray voice out in public that she has nothing to do with deportation, why didn’t the government react to the situation before it gets out of hand because Italian or German police cannot just deport the youth without any legal documentation sign by the two countries”

Malang Sanyang urged the government to consider the impact of this deportation rather than taking decisions because so many families suffered a huge lost as they are children travelled before sudden deportation and they are yet to recover from such as most are still trying to recover.

If the government care about the youth of this country they would not take such a terrible decision, he said.