The event was organised to celebrate the life and works of Abdul Razak Gurnah.
Thousands of participants drawn across Africa attended the event.
Ma’am Ramatoulie Onikepo Othman, an author and writer from The Gambia who is also a member of the Writers Association of The Gambia research work expatiated on the theme - Migration and African Literature.
Presenting her paper before the audience, she touched on topics such as undocumented or irregular migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and exiled writers.
“There are also fictional narratives that convey real-life situations in the global migration scene,” she said.
According to her, in the past few decades, literary works by African writers on the topic of migration have developed into plays, poetry, articles and books while lots of the literature cover topics on the trends, patterns and impact of migration on societies.
Topics affecting undocumented or irregular migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and exiled writers are also part of the kinds of literature developed by African writers, she told the audience.
One of the most lingering subjects in recent times, she disclosed, is the movements from the continent through the dangerous route of the Sahara Desert, across the Mediterranean, to host countries in Europe, Britain, Spain and the Americas.
“The Gambia is one country that has been devastated by this dangerous venture. The Migrant Project (2023) reveals that intending migrants cramped in unseaworthy boats are made to pay around 5,000 dollars on the pretext of a safe trip to their destinations,” she cited.
She continued that many of those who venture into such journeys lose their lives on the way and the few who managed to reach their desired destinations encountered various forms of human rights violations.
