By Adama Makasuba
Minister of Tourism and Culture has said that the Barrow administration is negotiating with the European Union to safeguard the interest of Gambians in Europe.
Thousands of undocumented Gambians in Europe risk deportation to The Gambia after they’d reportedly exhausted all legal possibilities to stay in Europe.
EU ambassador to The Gambia Attila Lajos last year said at a news conference: “It is part of the discussions because I made it clear last year or the year before, if you trace your archives, that those who exhausted their legal possibilities for seeking asylum or legalising their status in member states and if they exhausted all these possibilities those migrants are going to be returned. This is a matter of principle; this is part of the respect for the rule of law. No country wishes to have illegal migrants on its territory.”
And speaking in a joint news conference on Monday in Banjul, Hamat Bah said: “We are aware of our youth who have gone in thousands by the ‘back way’ in Europe, who are to be deported.
“We are negotiating with the EU to safeguard the interest of our citizens wherever they are, to protect them, defend their interest, support them with the little resource that we have.”
