Award-winning photojournalist and videographer, Jason Florio, & producer, Helen Jones-Florio.
As ever, there are lots to see and do – and, a little time out from work to reconnect and celebrate with old friends
And, of course, there is always the #9 pack…
Connected to what we were up to last year, early on in the year and later in November, we headed over to Serrekunda and joined in on the Solo Sandeng Memorial March, April 14th, 2018, which took place to commemorate the prominent activist – of the opposition party, UDP, and youth leader – and other victims. Sandeng was murdered whilst in custody on this day in 2016, under the old dictatorship of Yahya Jammeh. His death sparked a national outcry and the beginning of the end of Jammeh’s brutal rule – Gambians had decided that enough was enough. Saturday’s march would never have been possible under the former regime, without there blood being shed and/or lives lost
On Monday, 16th April, we headed over to the capital of The Gambia, Banjul, to join a peaceful vigil by families of victims of Yahya Jammeh‘s regime, to demand that the Gambian government release the bodies of exhumed victims, and to open a dialogue with the families to help keep them informed of what they are doing to bring the perpetrators to justice.
We are looking forward to the next few weeks, here in The Gambia, to see what else our journey presents to us… feel free to follow us
on Instagram – for regular photo updates.
‘The 14-page joint EU-African strategy on migration unveiled at the summit is divided into five sections including development, legal migration and mobility, and international protection and asylum. Perhaps most important from the point of view of European leaders are the final two sections covering cooperation on reducing irregular migration and smuggling, and boosting returns and readmissions. ‘ Words by Louise Hunt, read full report on IRIN
