By Ishmael Bayoh Information Attachė, Sierra Leone Embassy Dakar, Senegal
Director in charge of African Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Mauritania, Ambassador Hamza Mailim has said Sierra Leoneans resident in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania are safe.
The Ambassador made this statement on Friday, December 16, 2022, in Nouakchott during a courtesy visit by the Sierra Leone Ambassador to Senegal H.E Alhaji Brima Elvis Koroma who is also accredited to Mauritania.
Ambassador Koroma’s visit to Mauritania was as a result of complaints received from Sierra Leoneans resident in Mauritania over the harassment and discrimination they are facing from the police.
A follow up complaint from a group of Sierra Leonean Union members who visited Dakar on November 28, was also lodged to Ambassador Koroma.
They told the Ambassador that they were facing persistent harassment from the Mauritanian Police over the authenticity of their consular cards. They also complained that in October of this year, the police arrested and detained several Sierra Leonean women selling a local plastic ice cream named ‘babamstic’ on allegations that they were not preparing them properly.
Acting on those concerns, Ambassador Koroma on Friday, December 2, 2022 paid a courtesy visit on the Ambassador of Mauritania to Senegal H.E Mohamed Yahya Teiss where he expressed these concerns to him and sought for swift intervention for the protection of Sierra Leoneans based in Mauritania.
During his courtesy visit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Mauritania, the Director in charge of Africa Affairs, Ambassador Mailim told the Sierra Leone Ambassador that they always ensure that African citizens resident in Mauritania are protected in the name of Pan Africanism. “We do not discriminate against any nationality or colour” he said.
He stated that in as much as they allow people to live undisturbed in Mauritania, he cautioned that people should respect their laws and encouraged the Sierra Leoneans to have their residential permits.
On the issue of the acceptance of the counselor cards carried by Sierra Leoneans that are frowned at by the police, he said appropriate action would be taken to rectify it with the Sierra Leone Consul General.
Ambassador Koroma held other engagements with the law enforcement officers where he was assured that the police work within the confines of the law without discrimination.