The Gambia Refugees Association Europe Branch (GRA) has condemned a German mayor over his discriminatory remarks about Gambian refugees following the stabbing to death of a 23-year-old Gambian migrant.  

The association said the mayor of Tübingen City in Baden-Württemberg Boris Erasmus Palmer made the insensitive comments on his Facebook page shortly after the killing of Basiru Jallow last week. 

Mr Palmer was said to have written on his Facebook page the following comment: “According to police, the man killed with a knife was 23-year-old Gambian. The perpetrator is on the loose in the heart of the city on the bright side of day. The crime scene is right where I took this picture; it is the site of the open drug scene mostly run by refugees from The Gambia. I have always urged the police to fight them as hard as possible, but it’s very difficult for refugees. Petty crime is not enough for deportation. The financial gain is so great that arrests and a few days in jail have been calculated, and often the young men have to send the money home. They get sent off for this.”

The Gambia Refugees Association said it found Mr Palmer’s comments “shocking” over the tragic death of Basiru Jallow. 

“We strongly condemned such discriminatory remarks by Mayor Boris Palmer and we urge him to apologise to Gambians immediately. 

“We don’t expect such remarks to come from an authority in his capacity and it is very disheartening that he singled out only Gambians as refugees. Official statistics have shown that many Gambians are employed and paying taxes, while some are going to school,” the association said in a statement signed by its chairman Assan Sallah. 

“A large number of Gambians working in Germany have been recognised to be hard-working migrants as evident in a number of newspaper publications where employers appeal to the authorities to give chance to their Gambian employees to get a residence permit to be able to work in their companies.

“The GRA Europe Branch is also calling on the German authorities to condemn Mayor Boris Palmer’s discriminatory remarks against Gambians as discrimination is an offence under German Laws.

“We hope that the police will speed up their investigation and ensure that the late Basiru Jallow’s killer faces the full force of the law. We need justice for Basiru Jallow,” the release said. 

“The GRA Europe Branch, therefore, calls on the Government of the Gambia to engage the German government to ensure justice for Basiru Jallow and to condemn Mayor Boris Palmer’s remarks.”

Last week, Basiru Jallow, widely known as B-Boy in Tübingen City, was killed by an unidentified individual. 

German police in Tübingen have started an investigation but are yet to make an arrest. 

Details of the police investigations are yet to be known.