This to some extent tends to portray a broader picture and the limited opportunities available especially for economic migrants.
It is sad that on weekly basis boats loaded with people leave our shores in their quest to reach the Spain Canary Islands. A number of people have made it and some are still grappling with the harrowing experience they have passed through.
Recently, a boat loaded with people about to depart for the Spanish archipelago capsized at the Niumi Island settlement of Jinack. So far the death toll has risen to 39, even though search is ongoing for more people.
What is even hard to comprehend is going through the 2025 statistics which reveal that a total of 26 migrants boats vanished without trace in 2025.
In the same year, a total of 893 Gambian lives were lost in 2025; 840 died at sea while 53 lost their lives on land, according to statistics presented by migrant activist Ebrima Drammeh during the 2025 data presentation of the Ebrima Migration Situation Foundation, in partnership with AMAC -African Migration Advisory Centre - and in collaboration with the Gambia-Europe Centre for Jobs, Migration and Development.
Mr President, government needs to take a firm stance on this illegal migration issue once and for all. We commend your government's recent move to arrest agents involved in this smuggling ring.
There is urgent need for a national conference with stakeholders to find ways of solving this ‘back way’ mindset among our youth. Engaging local communities on the dangers of this perilous sea voyage would help in reducing the number of youth whose only ambition is to travel via this route.
There are factors forcing young people to embark on such a journey, one of which is peer influence and pressure from family.
For instance, we have gathered information that some parents encourage their children to embark on this deadly sea voyage.
In fact, some families would go the extra mile to sell their lands, borrow money or even enter into mortgages just to sponsor their children for this perilous journey.
The journey, widely known as ‘back-way’ in our Gambian context, is so dangerous that it involves sea crossing while others prefer crossing the one of the harshest environments in the world-the Sahara Desert and to Libya or Tunisia, where they hope to cross the Mediterranean Sea.
Even those who survive the journey are left with harrowing tales.
Young Gambians are not migrating because they are uninformed; they are migrating because they want to live better lives in Europe.
Irregular migration in The Gambia is often framed as a law-and-order or border-control problem. That framing is convenient - but wrong. If fences, patrols and arrests were the solution, this problem would have ended long ago. The truth is simpler and more uncomfortable.
Mr President, the government has made significant strides when it comes to youth empowerment initiative, which is a laudable move. However, more is needed to encourage thousands of graduates to get engagement, as most struggle to find job after completing their education.
No government, even in the West, provides jobs for all its citizens. Job creation also calls for private sector involvement.
For many young people with no formal training and no job, no credit to operate business, no land, and no clear pathway to economic dignity, migrating to the West becomes a rational economic decision.
Also, it is time the youth reasoned that Europe is grappling with its own challenges in delivering for its citizens.
Mr President, effective border management and patrol is key in promoting security, especially the country's maritime borders.
The state must combat smuggling and protect lives. Criminal networks that profit from desperation must be dismantled. And enforcement without opportunity only diverts routes, increases danger and enriches traffickers. It does not stop migration.
Finally, Mr President, we believe that the single most effective anti-migration policy is mass employment.
What the country needs now is a national employment compact focused on scale: agriculture that pays; mechanised, irrigated, contract-based farming where youth earn incomes. They need not sympathy but construction and housing programmes that absorb thousands of young artisans, technicians, engineers. They need energy, digital, and creative industries that turn skills into wages.
The Gambia should aggressively pursue structured labour migration agreements - seasonal work, caregiving, construction, and student-work exchanges. When legal doors open, illegal windows close.
Good day!