Le Joola tragedy highlights migrants’ peril

I’VE sailed on a pirate ship in South America, just north of Rio de Janeiro in 1994; went on a luxury cruise liner to Bazaruto Island at the turn of the century and also went on a Buquebus ferry from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Montevideo in Uruguay.

There is something about the open expanse of the sea that intrigues me. I often wondered how a lone fisherman could survive for several days or weeks on a stranded boat, bobbing like a toy and in a desolate sea of despair.

MV Le Joola was a Senegalese government-owned roll-on/roll-off ferry that capsized off the coast of Gambia on September 26, 2002, leaving 1863 dead and only 64 survivors. It is thought to be the second-worst non-military disaster in maritime history. Certified to carry 536 passengers, 44 crew and 35 cars, the vessel was overloaded four times its carrying capacity and was not far from Dakar when it ran into a violent storm further out at sea than it was licensed to sail.

The ship went down in just five minutes. Rescue teams took more than 16 hours to arrive at the scene. Now, 20 years later, the wreckage has still not been raised. The government has been criticised for its handling of the rescue operation and for meagre compensation to the families who lost loved ones.

Twenty years ago, migrant perilous sea crossings were unheard of, but now, daily, thousands of Africans flee their countries in search of a better life.

KEVIN GOVENDER | Silverglen