Photo credit: Aljazeera
After scores of would-be migrants died when the boat they were traveling in capsized off Mauritania, Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has called on the youth to stay in Africa instead of attempting to flee through the dangerous Atlantic route to Europe.
Almost ninety migrants died, and dozens were reported missing in the latest tragedy to occur in the perilous crossing off west Africa.
In a speech at Gaston Berger University, Sonko said, “Yet another shipwreck occurred off our coast, and while we await the exact figures, it is thought to have cost the lives of many young people. It’s a shame, it’s deplorable. I’d like to make another appeal to young people: your solution does not lie in dug-out canoes.”
Mauritania’s coastguard recovered the bodies of eighty-nine people aboard a large traditional fishing boat on Thursday. The boat capsized off the country’s southwest coast on Monday.
Survivors said the boat had set sail from the border of Senegal and the Gambia with 170 passengers. It brings the number of missing people to 72, after the coastguard rescued nine people.
Sonko said, “The future of the world lies in Africa, and you, young people need to be aware of this. The only continent that still has room for progress and significant growth is Africa.”
