By Dawda Baldeh
Barely six hours after we published the story of Lasana Baldeh, a Gambian migrant who is currently serving a 25-year sentence in Tunisia, his host, Mr. Dacosta, has provided a detailed explanation of his story.
Speaking exclusively to The Fatu Network, Mr. Dacosta, who has lived in Tunisia for many years, described Lasana’s situation as heartbreaking.
“I was staying with him in my room here. It’s very sad. Every day I think about his situation,” he said.
In his detailed explanation, he stated that Lasana was on trial for multiple charges, including forming an alliance and gang, suspicious cross-border activities, human trafficking, and money laundering.
“They thought he was an agent,” Dacosta said, adding that Lasana had only spent four or five months in Tunisia before his arrest.
“He had received over seventy thousand dinars through his passport,” Dacosta said.
He revealed that Lasana was living in Fax, a provincial settlement in Tunisia.
“There is a Gambian name Sura who’s an agent, and when people want to pay for the boat, they send it through Lasana’s name because he was the only one with a passport,” he explained.
He revealed that he facilitated the purchase of Lasana’s air ticket to return to Mauritania before he was arrested at a Tunisian airport.
“I was in constant contact with him, and even in jail, I communicated with him. He was detained for ten months without trial,” he stated. “His situation is very sad. There are thousands of Gambians stranded in Tunisia.”
Mr. Dacosta further explained a heartbreaking story of Gambians in Tunisia, including ladies.
“Some ladies are giving birth here and dying. If IOM didn’t help you, there is no way you can go back. And if you are sick, IOM won’t take you on the deportation flight. Gambians are dying here every day. I know a lot of Gambians who were sick, and they died here,” he said.
The story of Lasana is one of the many untold mysteries of Gambian migrants in Tunisia with 1,603 confirmed deaths in 2024, while 880 remain missing and 374 unaccounted for on land.
