Refugees in The Gambia are calling for state support saying they face eviction from their landlords because they couldn’t afford to pay their house rents after being jobless for months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The refugees are from the Senegalese southern region of Casamance, and Guinea Bissau who sought sanctuary in The Gambia and have been peacefully living in the country for years.

But since the coronavirus emerged in the country eight months ago which left thousands of people jobless after dozens of businesses shut down, refugees are bearing the brunt of the pandemic.

Fatime Tchagole, one of the refugees from Togo facing hardship told Gambiana: “Since the pandemic started things were hard for them which is making their livelihood complicated. 

“I have not been paying my rent for the past six months and the landlord is still getting on my neck to pay the rent but I don’t have enough money for myself talk less of the rent.”

“The refugees are suffering especially the Togolese and we don’t have any relatives to support us,”she said.

She however said despite receiving support from The Gambia government and Gambia Food and Nutrition Association “that is not enough to sustain ourselves during this pandemic, and we cannot go back because our country is very dangerous.”

Another refugee, Mansata Jarju, called on government support. She said: “[support] package was given but I didn’t benefit from it and I also have a family; my kids are going to school while business is unusual so I beg the government to look [at ways of helping] us because we are suffering.”

The Chief of Gambia Food and Nutrition Association, Yusupha J. Gomez, called for more support for the refugees saying that the refugees are going through a lot of difficulties during the pandemic especially those in the urban areas with families.

He said the urban refugees primarily depend on petty trading to make their living, adding that businesses are seriously hampered. 

“Government relief package was given to them as any person in the country but GAFNA have been doing it,  in fact we are planning to secure another batch for the most vulnerable ones,” he said.

However, he also said apart from the Covid-19, they also helped the refugees in the area of education especially scholarship in the tertiary level. Adding that some of the plans that were budgeting for the refugees were not done due to the pandemic. 

Commenting on issues faced with the refugees-based in the country, Louis Charbou Mendy, Commissioner for Refugees said: “the package given to the refugees during this pandemic is not enough because they have families and kids that are going to school and they don’t have any relatives over here.”

Reporting by Adama Makasuba