By Mariam Williams
Mr. Alhagie B. Sama, Interim Chairman of Gambia Teachers Union Young Teachers Platform (GTUYTP), has issued a press statement on behalf of the body, expressing their shock over the recent deaths of many Gambian youth off the coast of Mauritania.
The Platform said it has learnt with great sadness, the devastating news of the loss of more than 50 lives at sea, of Gambian youth’s enroute to Europe via boat.
Describing the news as sad and shocking, GTUYTP joined the rest of the nation in mourning the demises of these innocent souls.
With a heavy heart, Sama relayed, they are extending their heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and pray that Almighty Allah, in His infinite grace and mercy, grant the young departed souls a blissful rest in Jannah”.
According to him, the Young Teachers Platform sees the loss of these lives as one of the greatest lost the nation has ever incurred in history.
The release lamented that, “At a time, we thought that we have made the right choices in our governance structure”, that would address issues of national concern such as unemployment, “it is of shock that these young lives lost at sea were on a journey in search of greener pastures”.
The Platform echoed their call on the government of The Gambia, through the Ministry of Youth and Sports, to be more proactive and give due attention to issues that are of greater national concern.
It went on: “Young people constitute the greater percentage of the country’s population. Therefore, it is and should be incumbent upon the government to give due and diligent attention to this constituent.
“We, as a nation, cannot and shouldn’t sit and watch our young people’s lives continue to perish at sea just for the search of better living conditions”.
The Platform further challenged the government, the National Youth Council and all relevant stakeholders to take their key positions in discharging their functions for the interest and in the interest of the young people.
“On behalf of the entire young teachers in the country, we again pray that Allah grant the departed souls a resting place in Jannah,” said the young teachers’ grouping.
