The Petite-Côte is the corridor for candidates for illegal emigration. For some time now, not a week has gone by without candidates on their way to Europe being arrested.

The conveyors, who had taken Mbour beach as their starting point for several years, have changed their methods. They have now moved their business to the coasts of Popenguine, Gueréo and Joal. This resurgence of illegal emigration with the departure of canoes, clearly more numerous than in the past, from the Senegalese coasts towards Europe is worrying.

To avoid this flow towards European coasts, the Defense and Security Forces have foiled certain attempts by sea. This is the case for 170 candidates for irregular emigration arrested on Sunday in Gueréo in the commune of Popenguine by the gendarmerie brigade of this locality. Information received by this local brigade made it possible to get their hands on them. These candidates, who are not from Popenguine, were sent to the gendarmerie for the purposes of the investigation.

At the end of last August, 50 candidates for irregular emigration were arrested by the Popenguine gendarmerie. Thus, for two months, Senegal has experienced an increase in departures.

To combat this phenomenon, the commune of Joal-Fadiouth has created a surveillance and deterrence brigade. This brigade is run by young people from the locality. Their role is to monitor the beaches and denounce any people who would be tempted to take the canoes to leave. An innovation which is starting to bear fruit because since the arrest of 59 people including 52 candidates for illegal emigration, 2 organizers and 5 alleged accomplices in Mballing by the Joal gendarmerie, things are starting to improve in this commune which  now records fewer departures.

By Alioune Badara CISS / abciss@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH