The issue of illegal migration is increasingly becoming a source of discomfort and considering the magnitude of the problem and its debilitating effects on the youthful population in the sub-region, AM- Production, a Senegalese based organization in conjunction with the Faji Kunda-based East Coast, has joined many voices across the world to call on youths to desist from using the sea to travel to the Canaries.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Point early this week, the Coordinator of AM-Production, Mr. Amadou Bah, said it’s lamentably regrettable that clandestine migration is on the increase, adding that his organization and their partners have tasked themselves to impress on youths to stop resorting to the sea to reach the Canary Islands.

According to Mr. Bah, as part of their campaign to discourage youths from risking their lives by travelling to Europe on high seas, his organization had succeeded in stopping many youths in Senegal from using the water as a gateway to Europe.

“We want to initiate similar scheme in The Gambia so we could be able to create awareness on illegal migration. So many youths have lost money and their lives because of clandestine migration. Families and friends have lost their loved ones and even breadwinners. This is a sad state of affairs, hence our determination to stem the problem and even eradicate it,” he pointed out.

AM-Production coordinator enjoined youths to cultivate the habit of applying visas than resorting to the high seas or better-still invest their money in worthy ventures for the enhancement of socio-economic development in the sub-region.

Also speaking to this paper, the Coordinator of East Coast, Mr. Buba Mbaye, expressed delight in the activities and achievements of their Senegalese counterparts.

He posited that he always sits up with concern and trauma whenever he recollects the memories of his friend who died whilst attempting to travel to Spain by sea, reiterating that the youths should brave the embassies rather than the sea.

Meanwhile, the two organizations would soon organize a sensitization programme in the form of entertainment at Tanji and Palma Rima beaches.