Gambian youths 'uneasy' with political situation

Many Gambian youths are said to have been living in fear during Yahya Jammeh’s 22 years in power. Their dream is to seek greener pastures abroad.

But the election of Adama Barrow as head of state has given them some hope now, that it is possible to make it in Gambia.

“I would like to stay and work, do business here. I would like to really live in my country and make it here by God’s power,” fisherman, Ansu Sanyang said.

Ansu lives with his parents and two brothers . But with the difficult economic situation he is contemplating on whether to stay or leave the country. “I see well our situation, the situation of my family. And I do not work here. Therefore I must leave and die for them,” Sanyang added.

Jammeh said this about migration while campaigning.

“Migration is a choice. In this country, this is not because of poverty.”

But for the opposition, the problem comes from elsewhere.

“It is because of the crisis in the Gambia, thats why everybody is embarking on the back way. Because if you hear the word Europe, you think that it is heaven. But this is never like that,” Gambia’s president elect, Adama Barrow said.

Just like many Gambians, Ansu was ready to stay home when Yahya Jammeh accepted defeat.

The fresh hope blowing across the country turned bitter when Yahya Jammeh ate back his words by calling for fresh elections.

Ansu’s last hope like that of many others lies in the ECOWAS mediating as part of efforts to convince President Yahya Jammeh to cede power to the democratically elected president elect Adama Barrow.