Associated Press;
Wednesday, October 18, 2006; 3:19 PM:
By HEIDI VOGT
The Associated PressTHIAROYE, Senegal — At a funeral in this Senegalese fishing town, mothers wept for their sons _ dozens of whom drowned when the wooden craft they hoped to take to Europe was caught in a storm. Then the mothers decided to stop it from happening again.
The group from that March funeral has grown to 357 women _ all having lost a son, husband or cousin who set out on a perilous voyage hoping for a better life.
Yayi Bayam Diouf, who lost her only son, is the head of Thiaroye’s women’s association. The 48-year-old woman said members have persuaded residents to monitor the nearby coast and report any suspicious activity.
They also hold meetings with young men to persuade them not to leave, and work to support the mothers and wives whose caretakers have died in the crossing.
“Instead of just staying put and crying and thinking about our children, we are fighting the migration,” Diouf said.
Spanish officials say more than 23,000 illegal migrants have reached the Canary Islands since the beginning of 2006 _ more than five times the number in 2005. A Canary Islands official said last month that more than 500 bodies have been recovered in the waters between Africa and the Canary Islands so far this year.
