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Relatives of migrants wey die for Cape Verde dey in ‘shock’

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Thu, 17 Aug 2023 Source: BBC

Pipo for di small fishing community of Fass Boye for Senegal dey in shock - and many of dem dey vex.

Some of dem shock to hear say dia relatives dey among di 60 pipo wey die for di boat accident wey carry migrants wey authorities find for sea for Cape Verde West Africa .

Authorities say dem rescue Thirty-eight pipo, including children, video show as dem help some pipo come land, some on dem bin dey for stretcher, for island of Sal.

Tori be say almost all di pipo for inside di boat, wey bin dey sea for ova a month, come from Senegal.

Cape Verde officials don call for global action on migration to help prevent dis kain loss of life.

Dem first spot di vessel on Monday, na so police tell AFP news agency.

Di first report bin suggest say di boat bin sink but dem later come out to say dem say di find boat as e dey drift for water.

Na one Spanish fishing boat wey see di wooden boat almost 320km (200 miles) off Sal, one area for Cape Verde, wey tell di authorities, police tok.

Di survivors include four children wey dey between di age of 12 and 16, tok-tok pesin for International Organization for Migration (IOM) tok.

Di boat bin leave Senegalese fishing village of Fass Boye on 10 July wit 101 pipo on board, na so Senegal foreign ministry tok on Tuesday.

Moda Samb, one elected official for di village, tell AFP news agency say nearly all di pipo for di boat grow up for di community and add say some local families still dey wait to hear whether dia relatives dey among di survivors.

Di ministry say dem dey work wit authorities for Cape Verde to arrange di return of Senegalese nationals.

Oda kontri pipo wey be passengers for di boat na Sierra Leone and, one pesin from, Guinea-Bissau.

Pipo dey para

By Nicolas Négoce, BBC News, Dakar

Pipo for di small fishing community of Fass Boye dey in shock - and many of dem dey para.

University student Moussa Diop, wey dey live hia, tell BBC say three of im cousin wey be man and one of im teenage nephew bin dey inside di boat dem secretly last month. Im sister bin no know say her son dey dat boat – Im add say she neva get herself since im disappear last month.

Di first time di family bin hear about di boat accident na wen one of di cousins send Oga Diop WhatsApp video from Sal on Wednesday to tell dem say three make am and say dem dey hospital - but one of di young cousin don die.

Oga Diop say di pain for lost relatives and relief for those wey survive don turn into frustration.

Dis na after di news of di tragedy spread on Wednesday, pipo for di town begin damage cars and boats and dem also burn di mayor house.

Young pipo dey blame dis whole tin on lack of opportunities and dem want authorities to do more to help dem

Jose Moreira, one health official for Sal, say di survivors dey improve and dem dey take care dem, dia focus na on rehydration and tests for conditions like malaria.

Health Minister Filomena Goncalves say: "We know say migration issues na global issue, wey go require international co-operation, a lot of discussion and global strategy.

"We all - all di nations – get to sit down for table and see wetin we fit do so we no go lose pipo for,…."

IOM tok-tok pesin Safa Msehli say safe pathways for migration "no dey" and say dat absence dem give "room to smugglers and traffickers to put pipo for dis deadly journey".

Di survivors fit don end up for Cape Verde, but dat no be dia plan destination.

Di archipelago dey around 600km off di coast of West Africa and e dey for di migration road to go Canary Islands, wey be Spanish territory wey many pipo see as a road to EU. According to IOM, na one of di most dangerous journey wey any migrant fit make.

"Dis ogbonge loss of life show di continued failure of Europe hostile approach to refugee protection," Natasha Tsangarides, Associate Director of Advocacy for Freedom from Torture, tok.

Just like irregular migration, exact figures dey hard to come by, but between 2020 and 2023 at least 67,000 pipo bin arrive for Canary Islands.

Ova di same period, just ova 2,500 die. Di IOM point say di figure covers deaths wey dey registered. Sake of how di road be, di real figure fit dey higher.

So, wetin dey make pipo to leave dia home and risk dis kain dangerous journey? For many cases, na poverty be di main factor. Many pipo dey see Europe as road to better life for di pesin wey dey migrate, also na to make money to support di families dem leave behind.

Oda factors dey play as well. Much of West Africa dey unstable, wit coups and Islamist insurgencies wey dey make di difficult situation worse.

For Senegal, opposition politicians dey prison, on top claim of violent crackdowns by di authorities. President Macky Sall recently announce say im no go run for office for third term, but tensions still dey high dia.

Source: BBC