This is very sad. May their souls rest in peace. -------------------------------- Countrymen Die Reaching 'Fortress Europe' The Independent (Banjul) NEWS July 7, 2003 Posted to the web July 7, 2003 By Sulayman Makalo Banjul At least 17 Gambians were among more than two hundred Africans crowded in a boat, which tragically sank off the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa as it surreptitiously tried to ferry them into "Fortress Europe" two weeks ago, The Independent can reveal. Two Gambians have been confirmed dead while ten are believed to have survived the incident as they made a desperate bid to reach Europe via southern Italy in a boat, which was barely seaworthy. Five other Gambians are still considered missing since the incident occurred. The two Gambians confirmed dead are Ba Alhagie Jaiteh and Saikou Jaiteh, natives of Njaba kunda village, Central Baddibu district in the North Bank Division whose relatives have been taken aback by the news and profoundly overcome with grief as they await news over whether the bodies would be transported to The Gambia for burial. Alhagie and Saikou had reportedly arrived in Tunisia several months before and decided to be part of the legion of illegal immigrants mostly from North and sub-Saharan Africa who overlook the hazards as they try to beat the security systems put up by "Fortress Europe" against desperate Africans daring to make such risky sea adventures. Meanwhile distraught relatives and friends of the two hapless Gambians have been heading towards Njaba kunda for the funeral arrangements. As they mourned, some pointed out that the frustration of the victims over their social condition in The Gambia had ushered in a situation where the dangers inherent in such journeys to the proverbial greener pastures of Europe are overlooked. They said the two were among many Africans trying to realise their dreams of entering "Fortress Europe" and got caught in their prime. "It's a gamble of life and death and our friends got death. It is a very shattering experience to their relatives and friends who may have been beneficiaries if the adventure had succeeded" said a tear-filled male relative. Officials at the Department of Foreign Affairs could not be reached to shed light on this latest tragedy, which was the second in two weeks off the Italian coast involving illegal African immigrants. As many as 70 were drowned when their boat sank off the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa four days earlier. In the latest incident Tunisian coast guard rescued 41 people and recovered 20 bodies, but rough seas had hampered the rescue operation. Survivors were quoted by international news agencies as saying that the boat had been carrying about 250 people, believed to be from sub-Saharan Africa and northern Africa. Italian newspapers have described the stretch of water between Africa and Sicily as a huge underwater graveyard where Africans trying to cross into the lands of their dreams dare. Some have succeeded, while others have drowned. The cause of the disaster is still not known but reports suggest that it may have been because the boat was overcrowded or in poor condition, or because of the bad weather - or a combination of all three. Tunisian officials have not said where the boat came from but survivors say they boarded in Libya and Tunisia, which are reputed to be favourite spots for the ruthless immigrant-smuggling gangs. Italy recently accused Libya of being a base for boats trying to bring illegal immigrants across the Mediterranean and this latest sea tragedy comes as Italy adopts new, tougher measures to turn back boatloads of immigrants. The surge in the number of boats, often barely seaworthy and dangerously overloaded, has prompted a crisis within the Italian Government coalition, our correspondent says. The Northern League is insisting on a tougher line, but suggestions that force be used to turn back the boats of immigrant smugglers have been dismissed outright by other ruling parties. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Copyright © 2003 The Independent. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~