Senegal mother turns grief into a fight for missing migrants

After her 19-year-old son disappeared while attempting to cross the Atlantic to Europe, Aminata Boye turned her grief into a mission to help other families facing the same loss.

In Mbour’s Tefees neighbourhood, where many families have lost relatives to irregular migration, Boye helps search for missing migrants and supports their relatives.

Aminata Boye, President, Collective of Victims of Irregular Emigration in Senegal: "That’s how I drew on my own experience to understand research methods and track down those who had taken the boats. I got in touch with the Red Cross so they could help me with the investigations."

Boye founded the Collective of Victims of Irregular Migration in Senegal in 2020. The group now supports more than a hundred women, while working with organisations including the Red Cross to trace missing migrants.

Aminata Boye: "Young people don’t go to sea to kill themselves, nor to jeopardise their future. They want to earn a living and support their families."

For families like Ndeye Ndiaye’s, Boye has become a lifeline after the disappearance of her daughter.

"It’s thanks to Aminata that I’m still here talking to you, because I had almost lost my mind."

Boye says governments must do more to give young people opportunities at home and allow safer, legal routes to travel.