Trial of three fathers who helped their children emigrate divides Senegal
Senegalese migrant rescued off Libya at the end of November 2018 (Illustrative image) AP Photo / Javier Fergo
Text by: Charlotte Idrac Follow
5 mins
Three fathers are being prosecuted in Senegal for having their children embarked on canoes bound for Europe.
One of these young people, a minor, died at sea at the end of October: his name was Doudou and dreamed of becoming a footballer.
The judgment is expected this Tuesday in Mbour, a hundred kilometers south of Dakar.
The prosecutor requested 2 years in prison.
Publicity
Read more
From our correspondent in Dakar,
Fathers of families on the dock.
They are tried for "
endangering the lives of others
" and "
complicity in the smuggling of migrants
".
In recent months, departures have started up again, from the beaches of Mbour, Dakar and Saint-Louis.
Dozens of candidates for the trip crammed into overloaded canoes trying to reach Spain despite difficult weather conditions in the Atlantic at this time of year.
Boats that take on water.
Overheating engines.
The fishermen bring back bodies.
The dramatic stories follow one another in the newspapers
.
For the prosecutor, those who let their children go under these conditions were grossly negligent in organizing their trip.
The young Doudou Faye
was killed at sea. His father had paid a smuggler 250,000 FCFA (a little less than 400 euros).
He did not tell the teenager's mother about this project.
A case that aroused emotion and indignation in Senegal, and abroad.
Shipwrecks
Young people, minors, who set off for Europe with dreams in their heads, Moustapha Diouf has known many.
President of AJRAP, the association of young returnees from Thiaroye sur Mer near Dakar, he himself made the canoe trip in 2006 to the Canary Islands.
“
For about fifteen years now, there have been parents who have been pushing their children to leave,
” he explains.
Moustapha Diouf is himself the father of a family.
When he talks about Doudou's case, he can't help but think of his 14-year-old son.
"
The storm, the cold, the lack of water, it's unbearable
", he recalls before adding: "
You see what is happening here?
You can't hold people back… There is a lot of weariness.
We are tired.
We are told about the emergence in Senegal, but we did not manage to emerge
”.
During his trial, Doudou Faye's father said he “
regretted
” his act.
His lawyers say this father "
had hope for a better future for his child, and that he could also help his family
."
For the defense, these fathers are "
not the culprits, but the victims
".
Lawyers who say "
do not understand the new strategy of the prosecution
"
A trial to dissuade?
Until now, the Senegalese authorities have
mainly been working to dismantle the networks of smugglers
, and to stop from time to time migrants who wanted to board, or those who organized departures on land.
For the sociologist Aly Tandian, professor at Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis and director of the Senegalese Migration Observatory, "
targeting
" directly the families of potential immigrants is a first.
“
Senegal is committed to a repressive policy, this trial is intended to alert and clarify Senegal's position.
We have heard criticisms denouncing the near absence of the authorities and their inability to solve the problem, so this trial is a strong response from the state,
”he concludes.
The State rejects all responsibility
Questioned during a press conference at the end of November, the Minister of Youth prefers to point the finger at “
social pressure
”.
For Néné Fatoumata Tall, the demands are strong vis-à-vis young people "
in their neighborhoods, in their homes
".
It calls for a sense of responsibility.
According to her, families must stop telling their children every day "
that such and such a person (gone abroad) has succeeded in building a building for his parents, when he is not better brought up than you." (stayed in the country).
These words often come up in homes and it is unbearable pressure
, ”said the Minister.
For the sociologist Aly Tandian, calling families into question will not lead to halting the phenomenon: “
Should we engage in this logic of the grocer?
It is not to sue parents that will sensitize populations.
Rather, we should try to understand the root causes, and provide a response
”.
According to him, "
the security logic has already sufficiently shown its limits
".
The fathers of young migrants therefore risk two years in prison.
But for the director of the Senegalese Migration Observatory, they have in any case "
already been condemned in the eyes of the community
".
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Senegal
Justice
International Migration
On the same subject
Emigration to Senegal: the government defends its employment and youth policy
In Burkina Faso, soon a center to welcome return or transit migrants
Frontex defends itself against violating human rights, MEPs call for an investigation