Sulayman
Waan
Information
has reached to The Point that despite the official closure of The Gambia’s
borders with neighbouring Senegal, many still continue travelling through Kerr
Jaing village in the Lower Niumi District to get in and out of the two
countries.
Speaking
to this medium on Friday 24 April, Abdou John, resident of Kerr Jaing village
said many Senegalese are entering The Gambia daily through Kerr Alsan Jallow
village in Senegal to Kerr Jaing in The Gambia.
He
added that even Gambians are travelling through that same route into Senegal
for their own missions.
John
said none of the two countries had deployed security personnel to guide that
porous border in order to prevent cross border movement.
“There are so many coronavirus cases in
Senegal. And almost every minute a Senegalese is getting in and out of the
country without any form of medical test. This is distressing,” he lamented.
John,
who described this border as the busiest entrance after Hamdallai, noted that
some commuters usually stop at Kerr Jaing village for their personal missions
and return to Senegal while others proceed to Banjul and beyond.
“This
is not safe for our country,” he remarked.
The
Kerr Jaing resident noted that since the Hamdallai borders were closed, many
are now in the habit of travelling through Kerr Jaing village to get in or out
of the country.
He
said there is immigration and paramilitary stationed in his community (Kerr
Jaing); despite that, people continue to pass through this porous border.
When
asked about the functions of those security personnel in his community, he said
he could not talk much about those security officers but can only confirm that
commuters are constantly passing through that border.
He
called on government to put mechanism in place to control the border as soon as
possible in order to prevent people from travelling between the neighbouring
countries.
This
reporter made efforts to communicate with the village head of Kerr Jaing but
proved futile.
