By: Alieu Jallow
The percentage of Gambian youths engaged in small-scale fishing is low. The sector is dominated by adults, the majority of whom are Senegalese who reside in the urban areas. With the low count of youths we have in this sector, many are still fleeing due to inadequate support from the fisheries department.
Youths in Tanji’s fishing landing site therefore called on the government and President Adama Barrow to support them by providing fishing boats to assist them.
The most recent employment data from The Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBoS) indicates that the youth unemployment rate increased to 41.5% back in 2018. The lack of gainful employment opportunities for young people in The Gambia has led to increases in crime as well as irregular migration.
As part of his 2021 presidential campaign agenda, President Barrow outlined that his government would support young people in the fishing industry with $50 million worth of fishing boats and storage facilities to help further the initiatives of many of our youths.
Fast forward to 2023, the youths engaged in fishing at Tanji are drawing attention to what has so far been unfulfilled promises by the Barrow government as unemployment and frustration escalates among the youths themselves.
In conveying his frustration, Mamodou Jallow, one of the youths working at the site in Tanji, also expressed that while youths’ willingness to work and earn a decent living is still strong, they are tied to a corner. Mamoudou, who is also a migrant returnee, highlights that some Gambian youths are forced to embark on the irregular migration route due to the lack of sustainable employment opportunities.
“Our earnings here are not satisfactory, so this why the boys embark on the back way journey. I am a deportee since 2020 and if I still have the opportunity to go, I will go because the situation is not encouraging.”
On his part, Omar Jallow, known as the youth ambassador at the seaside, reaffirms that the young people at the site cannot work due to the lack of fishing boats: “we are determined and willing to work thus we are calling on the government to help us with a fishing boat either in the form of grant or loan so we could work to deter us from engaging in illegal means to get cash.”
Many times, the youths are seen hanging around the seaside trying to make a decent living. However, they decry the difficult circumstances which have limited their ability to thrive.
