How Senegalese migrants died in boat capsize after attack by naval officials- Ibrahima Konate

Senegalese activist, and migration expert, Ibrahima Konate, has told of how some of his fellow nationals survived a shipwreck that claimed many lives recently.

The survivors, according to Ibrahima, said their boat capsized after naval officers hit them and shot a migrant.

Ibrahima shared the information with voiceforafricanmigrants.org after speaking with the survivors in their dialect.

These times, he said: “There have been a lot of shipwrecks in Senegal, the last one was off the coast of Cape Verde with more than 60 bodies missing. It occurred on August 15. “But before that incident, there was also another incident towards the end of July. Then, there was a shipwreck in the very middle of the Senegalese capital in Dakar with more than hundreds of bodies missing, just four people survived.”

Ibrahima continued: “According to investigations I had with some survivors they said that it was the Senegalese navy who hit them and shot a migrant.

“The boats capsized following the pursuit of the Senegalese navy. A rescue operation which ended up costing the death of 90% of the passengers who were in the canoe. According to witnesses, it was the navy who capsized the canoe so that they could kill them in the sea with low fire.

“According to them(survivors), they swam until they reached the shore at the edge of the beach and it was at that moment that people came to their aid.”

Speaking on why the survivors left the country, Ibrahima said: “They left the country first because their lives are in danger, they are no longer safe in Senegal since the riots which hit the country between June 1 and June 3. Since then, the government has launched a manhunt against Senegalese citizens and especially those outside the country.

“The majority of these people are artisanal fishermen who can no longer find enough to feed their families, because fishing resources are becoming very rare due to the fishing agreements that the state of Senegal has signed decades ago with European and European boats.

“The lack of education for their children, health, work and also the majority of them have to apply for visas in the various embassies of Senegal. But just for making an appointment it’s a problem. The embassies have closed their doors for visa applications for more than 7 months, and the most difficult thing is that the embassies, with the complicity of the Senegalese government, have created centers to do their work and these centers dictate their laws to you by telling you that you must pay for an appointment and it happens at home.

“For a visa application the fees are €110 per person and this is non-refundable in the event of visa refusal. With all the papers obtained you are refused visas, sometimes on the grounds of where you found your money as if an African does not have the right to have money.”