The
US Embassy in Banjul on Thursday finally granted visas to members of the
Gambian Robotic team due to participate in a global competition in the United
States, this medium can confirm.
However,
the team’s mentor, Mr. Muckhtarr Darboe, was denied a visa to accompany the
team. No reason was advance for the
denial.
It
could be recalled that the Gambia’s Robotic team were earlier denied visas
which prompted a public outcry and media attention, calling on the US Embassy
to respect the Gambia as a country and allow the team to participate in the
global event.
This
is the country’s first time participating in a global robotics competition.
The
Gambian team was the second team participating in the global annual robotics
challenge which was denied entry into the United States to participate.
It
has been reported that the team from Afghanistan — a group of young girls who
had to brave a dangerous journey in order to apply — were also denied visas to
enter the U.S.
The
denial came after parts of Trump’s Muslim ban went into effect in June. Fatu Network
