Authorities express fear that more migrants and refugees may have been on board the ship that crossed the Atlantic Ocean as the victims, who are thought to have been from Mali and Mauritania, are laid to rest in a moving ceremony.
In a mournful ceremony held in Belem, the capital of Para state, the bodies of nine refugees and migrants discovered on an African boat off the northern coast of Brazil’s Amazon area were laid to rest.
On April 13, fishermen off the coast of Para discovered the boat drifting with the dead, which had begun to decompose.
Subsequently, Brazilian officials reported that records discovered within the boat showed that the deceased were migrants from Mauritania and Mali, and that the boat had left the latter nation after January 17.
Later, the bodies were identified as belonging to adults or teenagers whose precise ages could not be ascertained by Brazil’s federal police. Two documents were discovered by agents: a Mauritania identity card and a Mali person’s Mauritania register of entrance.
Numerous organizations that assisted in the deceased’s recovery, including the Brazilian police, navy, and civil defense services, as well as the UN Refugee Agency, the Red Cross, and the International Organization for Migration, planned a secular funeral service for the deceased.
As their caskets were lowered into earthen graves, a tropical downpour ensued, and everyone in attendance observed in silent respect.
Their boat, which measured around twelve meters, had twenty-seven cell phones and twenty raincoats, indicating that there were probably a lot more people on board at first. According to local officials, this also suggests that among the dead may have been individuals of different nationalities.
Because of the prolonged oxydation the phones underwent, the Brazilian federal police stated that it is doubtful that they will be able to retrieve any information from them. The force claimed that they had discovered phone numbers from Mauritania, Mali, and the Congo on paper notes they had discovered in the boat. Among the remnants were two canisters that may have held fuel or water, as well as a type of stove.
When it was discovered, the boat was a rustic fiberglass vessel with blue and white colors, lacking a motor, tiller, or rudder. Its canoe design is reminiscent of the Mauritanian fishing boats that migrants frequently use as a means of escape from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands, where they hope to reach the European Union.
Examining remains for forensic purposes
At least seven vessels from northwest Africa were discovered in the Caribbean and Brazil in 2021, according to a report by the Associated Press that was published the previous year. Like the vessel discovered in Para, all of them carried dead bodies.
None of the victims have been identified as of yet. According to the authorities, the way the bodies were buried would permit exhumations in the future in the event that the departed’s relatives were found and desired to return the remains to their native lands.
Forensic studies of the remains are being conducted by Brazil’s Criminology Institute in the nation’s capital, Brasilia, and the Federal Police report that they are in contact with overseas organizations and Interpol.
According to Spain’s Interior Ministry, the number of migrants trying to enter the EU from the northwest coast of Africa has increased by 500% this year, with the majority leaving from Mauritania.
However, the trip is hazardous because to the strong Atlantic winds. Boats that veer off course might remain adrift for months and be carried away to far-flung places, which frequently results in the deaths of migrants from malnourishment and dehydration.
People are being drawn into these vessels for a variety of complex reasons, including a lack of employment opportunities and hope for a better life, the effects of the climate catastrophe, rising levels of insecurity, wars, and political unrest.
Families in Mauritania have formed a commission to look for loved ones after hundreds more West African migrants and refugees went missing. They are eagerly expecting word from Brazil.
SOURCE: TRTWORLD
