Four from Africa, Cape Verde seek asylum in Guyana

Monday, November 8, 2004

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AFP): Three men from west Africa and a man from Cape Verde who were charged with illegally entering Guyana after their yacht drifted into the waters of the South American country are seeking asylum, their lawyer has said.

Charged with illegally entering Guyana were Manadou Ba, 23, of Guinea Bissau; Gabriel Camara, 22, of Gambia; Manuel Lopez Da Cruz, 23, of Cape Verde; and Abdool Karima, 23, of Senegal.
Police said the men claimed that they were sailing aboard the Helios NA from Cape Verde to French St. Martin in the Caribbean when the vessel developed engine trouble and they used a makeshift sail that eventually brought them to waters off eastern Guyana.

Lawyer Mortimer Coddette, however, said he had to verify their claims before supporting their application for asylum, which has not yet been made to Guyana's foreign ministry.

"I see no reason why they should not be granted refugee status or permission for them to stay in Guyana," Coddette told AFP.

But he disagreed with police charging them for illegally entering Guyana on October 20 and failing to report to police or immigration. He said the men were starving for two weeks, were rescued by Guyanese fishermen and were given a chance to recuperate before contacting authorities.

Deputy Police Commissioner Henry Greene told AFP that "whether or not they were told, we do not know, but the fact is that they did not report to police or immigration."

Greene said the men were taken into custody on October 27 and police have since contacted authorities in Cape Verde and Interpol to glean information about them and the vessel.

Authorities here were not immediately sure whether the men had registered their departure with Cape Verde, an island nation off the west coast of Africa.

  Back...

  Most popular articles: viewed, printed and e-mailed

  Printable version