The Central Mediterranean is the main migratory route into the European Union. It says a similar number arrived between 20. It says from 2015 to 2020, more than 32,000 Gambians arrived in Europe through what is known as "irregular" migration. The Gambia is one of the poorest countries in the world, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says Gambians have emigrated at a higher rate per capita than any other nation in Africa in recent years. They are mostly from The Gambia - more than 2,000 miles south and west of Libya. Many say they have lost one or both parents and, as the eldest sons in their families, they feel responsible for supporting loved ones. Many of the boys had started their journeys years earlier, when they left home hoping to make money to send back to their families. More than 80% of the group are unaccompanied minors, aged under 18. SOS Mediterranée had received an alert about the rubber boat from Alarm Phone, an emergency helpline for migrants in trouble at sea, and European border agency Frontex. Map showing the migrants' journey from The Gambia to Italy "It's either you reach Europe or you die at sea," the teenager tells me. One says it didn't put him off because he believes those migrants would have had the same mindset as him. Those migrants had also set sail from Libya. Some have also been following news on social media of the Greek disaster - one of the deadliest migrant sinkings in years, in which up to 750 people are believed to have died - which happened less than two weeks earlier. "Seven times I have been trying," one 17-year-old says.Įvery migrant I speak to has friends who have died attempting the same journey. Many say it was not their first attempt at reaching Europe - some had narrowly avoided death, having been picked up from boats in distress and returned to Libya. The migrants tell us they were not ignorant to the risks they were facing. Most speak English - all of their names have been changed. So, as we set sail, we speak to some of the migrants in rooms set up as medical facilities and accommodation areas on the deck of the ship. This follows a new law which requires such vessels to immediately head to a port rather than continue to patrol for more migrant boats.īari will take almost three days to reach. The charity alerts Italian authorities, who quickly assign the southern city of Bari as the port at which to disembark, telling them to head there "without delay".
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