Can Sierra Leone and Guinea "make migration work" for migrants, societies of origin and societies of destination alike?

 


Alarming videos of migrants in distress in Guinea circulated on social media a few days before International Migrants Day.

Reports say the Sierra Leone embassy in Guinea discredited the videos being shared on social media.

One showed a mob hurling stones at the bodies of severely injured people and setting them alight. Other videos showed Sierra Leonean migrants being assaulted.

The situation was so dire that events on the ground precipitated the visit of a Special Envoy to Sierra Leone.

According to local news media, Maada Bio expressed his concerns regarding the "poor treatment" of Sierra Leoneans in neighboring Guinea.

Ironically, Maada Bio, who's espoused violence in his bid to eliminate all seeking to halt dangerous policies, is now  complaining about the "poor treatment of #SierraLeoneans." 

It's a bit rich for him to say migrants in Guinea should return when his cabinet is half-Guinean.

Can Sierra Leone and Guinea "make migration work" for migrants, societies of origin and societies of destination alike?

In June 2023, Guinea officially inaugurated a new border road with Sierra Leone during a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Border Road reconstruction project was completed with financial support of US$86 million from the African Development Bank and the European Union.

The primary border crossing between Guinea and Sierra Leone is located at Pamalape (Guinea) and Kambia (Sierra Leone), with the main road connecting the two countries passing through this point.

In 2022, two new joint border posts were inaugurated by Sierra Leone’s Minister of Internal Affairs and the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization of Guinea, funded by the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund. 

The border posts were expected to significantly enhance the safe and orderly movement of migrants and their goods.


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