By: Emmanuel Wise Jipoh
Bomi County Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe frowns at the high rate of Africans migrating to Europe.
The ECOWAS Chair on Peace Security and African Peer Review Mechanism is pained by the illegal migration of Africans to Europe.
According to him, millions of Africans risk survival, crossing the Mediterranean Sea, riding boats, and often dying during transit to seek refuge in Europe.
“Africans are living in deplorable conditions; many are working in farms, some sleeping in streets and being treated as slaves. This is a terrible situation, and we must discourage it,” he said.
He described the situation as unfortunate while urging a need for more awareness to discourage illegal immigrants from Africa from getting on boats to Europe.
“This is troubling that our African brothers leave overnight on boats to Europe, and some die on sea. Million of lives are being lost daily due to the high risks, and we as ECOWAS are monitoring the situation with risk analysis being taken into consideration”, Senator Snowe said.
Snowe, who is also head of the Liberian delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament, disclosed plans by the regional body to reach out to heads of state to prioritize the creation of job opportunities and better living conditions, which will eventually discourage Africans from using the Mediterranean Sea as a means of traveling to Europe. Editing by Jonathan Browne
