In Senegal, the prime minister urges young people to stay in Africa

Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko called on young people on Saturday July 6 not to take the dangerous Atlantic route to Europe, days after a migrant boat capsized off the coast of Mauritania.

This week 90 people died and dozens more are missing after their ship capsized trying to reach Europe. The drama is only the latest in a long series of dangerous crossings along West Africa’s coast.

“Another shipwreck has taken place on our shores, and until the correct figures are available, many young lives will have been lost.”During a speech at Gaston-Berger University in St.Louis, Mr. Sonko declared Broadcast on his Facebook page. “It’s a shame, it’s regrettable. I appeal to the youth once again: your solution is not found in the pit industry”Speaking in front of hundreds of youths, he added.

On Thursday, the coast guard recovered the bodies of 89 people after a large traditional fishing boat capsized off the country’s southwest coast, the official Mauritanian news agency reported on Thursday.

“The Future of the World is in Africa”

The agency cited survivors as saying the boat left the Gambia-Senegal border with 170 passengers on board, raising the number of missing to 72. A senior local official provided the figures to Agence France-Presse on condition of anonymity.

The Atlantic passage is particularly dangerous because of its strong currents and overloaded boats, sometimes unnavigable and generally lacking drinking water. However, it is increasingly used by young people who hope for a better future in Europe, due to strengthening surveillance in the Mediterranean.

“I can assure you that in the countries that some young people want to join, they themselves are in crisis or at the beginning of crisis”Mr Sonko gave the assurance on Saturday. “The future of the world is in Africa and you young people should know this. Africa is the only continent that still has significant room for progress and development.He estimated.

More than 5,000 people died trying to reach Spain by sea in the first five months of the year, or 33 a day, according to Spanish NGO Cominando Fronteras. This is the highest number of daily deaths since the NGO began collecting data in 2007.