Germany-based migration and human rights activist Yahya Sonko Tuesday revealed that the final flight for 2023 deportation from Germany would arrive in The Gambia on Wednesday 13 December 2023, with a total number of thirty-five Gambians.
According to Mr. Sonko, 2023 is one of the toughest years for the Gambian asylum seekers and immigrants in the diaspora as the Barrow government cooperated with the European Union to send chartered deportation flights to The Gambia.
“The first chartered deportation flight started on January 2nd, 2023. After that, several chartereddeportation flights followed up. This is the worst year for Gambian immigrants in the EU. Many are worried, frustrated, and have left their houses, and their jobs because they are all facing the threat of deportation,” Sonko explained.
He stated that the Gambia government has broken therecord in 2023 in terms of deportation which, according to him, has never happened in the history of The Gambia. Sonko said more than 400 Gambian citizens were deported from the EU to The Gambia.
“The saddest part of the deportation trend is that the Barrow government failed to take responsibility when it comes to the reintegration of deportees from the EU after receiving millions of euros from the EU. When I get in touch with these deportees from the EU, 90-99% complains that they don’t receive a single butut from the Gambian government,” Sonko explained. He added: “How can you continue to receive your citizens in hundreds and fail to help those citizens to reintegrate into their societies?”
He stated that after spending five to ten years in Europe, the deportees would be brought home with nothing. The migration activist said the lack of suitable reintegration programs is pushing the crime rate up.
“You cannot bring youths and ignore your responsibility as a government. I am calling on the Barrow government to immediately look into possibilities of reintegrating all these deportees back into their society,” the Germany-based migration activist said.
