APA-Dakar (Senegal) – The victims of the tragedy that occurred on the night of Sunday, July 23 were probably illegal migrants on their way to Europe.
By Ibrahima Dione
“Barça ou Barsak,” translates loosely as “Barcelona or death,” a refrain from the early 2000s, has resurfaced with a bang.
In recent weeks, local and international media have reported tragedies involving migrants adrift or drowned in the Atlantic Ocean.
In search of a better future, young Senegalese often meet their death using these makeshift boats bound for Europe.
The latest episode in this terrible soap opera took place off the coast of Ouakam, a traditional village of the Lébous fishing community.
The sinking of a medium-sized boat, which according to Samba Kandji, the deputy mayor of Ouakam, was used to transport migrants to a larger pirogue, resulted in the deaths of at least 17 people.
At the scene, volunteer divers and firefighters worked in synergy to recover the bodies.
In a tweet, President Macky Sall expressed “deep sorrow” and sent his “sad condolences to the families and relatives of the victims.”
Khalifa Ababacar Sall, a declared contender for the Senegalese presidency on February 25, 2024, lamented on the same social media platform that “these human tragedies reflect the despair of the average youth…They draw attention to the need to improve Senegal’s youth and employment policies.”
Sall, a former mayor of Dakar went on to call for “a serious investigation to determine who is responsible” for the tragedy.
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