{"id":91770,"date":"2025-12-11T15:16:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T15:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/ceesay-claims-backway-migration-stable-despite-coverage"},"modified":"2025-12-11T15:34:31","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T15:34:31","slug":"ceesay-claims-backway-migration-stable-despite-coverage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/ceesay-claims-backway-migration-stable-despite-coverage","title":{"rendered":"Ceesay Claims &#8220;Backway&#8221; Migration Stable Despite Coverage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. <\/strong><\/span><b>The Minister of Information, Media, and Broadcasting Services, Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, said the phenomenon of irregular migration, locally known as \u201cBackway,\u201d has not intensified, but reporting on the issue has grown more prominent.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Speaking on the talk show Coffee Time with Peter Gomez, Dr. Ceesay traced the origins of the practice, noting that Gambians have long traveled irregularly. \u201cMigration is as old as human existence itself. It is intrinsic in human beings. Even during Jawara\u2019s period, people were taking the back way,\u201d he said. He added that irregular migration persisted during the regime of former President Yahya Jammeh and questioned the notion that the problem is new. \u201cNow, what has changed in the Gambia is the reporting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>His remarks come amid reports from migration advocates that between November 4 and 25, 2025, approximately 1,960 Gambians undertook the dangerous maritime journey to the Canary Islands, marking one of the largest irregular migration movements in the country\u2019s recent history.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Ceesay attributed the heightened visibility of the issue to the expansion of media in the country. He noted that during Jammeh\u2019s presidency, the state broadcaster, GRTS, had a monopoly, whereas today, multiple media outlets cover national events, sometimes with numerous microphones on a single podium, as observed during the recent Gambia Press Union National Journalism Awards.<\/p>\n<p>The minister also highlighted improvements in access to basic services, including water, electricity, and support for farmers. \u201cAll evidence, all data, both empirical and anecdotal, suggest that the Gambia is better off today than it was 10, 15 years ago,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing government efforts to curb irregular migration, Dr. Ceesay said authorities are focusing on three strategies: creating opportunities for young people, strengthening surveillance, and establishing safe channels through circular migration agreements. He emphasized, however, that the responsibility ultimately rests with individuals.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo government can give its citizens money every day. No government can go to your house, hold your hand, and give you a job,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat government can do is provide the playing field, the environment, the policies, and the programs. It is now for you to go and grab what is yours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Ceesay also noted that during the recently concluded \u201cMeet the People Tour,\u201d issues such as the \u201cBackway\u201d phenomenon and the cost of living were not among the primary concerns raised by residents in the provinces.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Gambia<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. The Minister of Information, Media, and Broadcasting Services, Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, said the phenomenon of irregular migration, locally known as \u201cBackway,\u201d has not intensified, but reporting on the issue has grown more prominent. Speaking on the talk show Coffee Time with Peter Gomez, Dr. Ceesay traced the origins of the practice, noting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":91769,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-91770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ceesay Claims &quot;Backway&quot; Migration Stable Despite Coverage - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Minister of Information, Media, and Broadcasting Services, Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, said the phenomenon of irregular m ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/ceesay-claims-backway-migration-stable-despite-coverage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ceesay Claims &quot;Backway&quot; 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