MIGRATION IS A RIGHT! A Global Day of Struggle against the regime of death at our borders and to demand truth, justice and reparations for migration victims and their families. We are relatives and friends of people who died or have gone missing.

It is common knowledge that Senegal is a country of emigration as well as immigration. This has been the case since the early 1970s due to worsened climate conditions and the oil crisis. Senegal, a host country for many years, has turned into a country of departure, mainly to Africa and France. Movement intensified despite the closing of borders in Europe and economic difficulties and political crises in Africa. So-called clandestine channels are increasingly being used, mainly via small boats. Departure networks have diversified, recruiting young people both from rural areas that are impoverished by drought, and from fishing families. The relatively opaque process of issuing fishing licenses to foreign shipowners has largely contributed to the scarcity of fish and other fishery products. Progressive impoverishment has taken hold of these areas, giving rise to "the call to the sea", which has resonated in thousands of young people considering to leave… The departure to other countries is the continuation of spontaneous migratory movements to the city, i.e. the rural exodus, and later to Western capitals. International migration is at the heart of territorial and social change. Not understanding this is to continually refer to commonplaces; repetitions of intellectual laziness.

This is what the organisation BOZA FII has understood, as it has been fighting for years to raise the awareness of various national and international opinions on the migration question: a contemporary human drama, which is unfortunately often treated by the official media and opinion makers of the system from the angle of cohorts of miserable people, "invaders" etc... The Mediterranean, once a sea of union, of multiple and fruitful exchanges between various peoples and civilisations who spoke to each other during centuries, sadly has become a vast graveyard for thousands of people, youth full of hope and utopias of a better world.

To this end, BOZA FII is initiating a campaign to promote the right to identity and dignity for all the victims of our borders, and the right of their families to know.

Through the initiative of the caravan that will travel all over the country... The Patriot Act of BOZA FII.

NB: Workshops / 3 round tables

Workshop 1: Reintegration and psychological support

Workshop 2: Training and accompaniment

Workshop 3: Research and documentation of missing persons at borders.

By Saliou Diouf, Association Boza FII