Yaguine Koita and Fodé Tounkara
Yaguine Koita (* 25. September 1984 ) and Fode Tounkara (* 6. April 1985 ) were two 15 and 14 year-old youth from the West African Guinea , which on 28 July 1999 as stowaways in a machine of the type Airbus A330 of Sabena (Flight 520) from Conakry (Guinea) to Brussels ( Belgium ) and froze to death on this flight. Their bodies were discovered at Brussels International Airport on August 2, 1999, after completing three round-trip flights between Brussels and Conakry. The boys carried plastic bags with them containing birth certificates, school reports, photos and addresses of relatives in Europe.
In addition, the Belgian pathologist who was called to the dead found a two-page letter written in broken French that was published in the media around the world. In the letter, the young people turn to the political rulers in Europe and ask for help for the African youth, who are forced to migrate to rich countries due to their hopeless situation. The government of Guinea tried to keep the incident as small as possible. However, since the international response was immense, the two young people received a funeral ceremony in the Great Mosque in the capital Conakry.
Movie
The film Africa, early morning (Un matin bonne heure) by the Guinean-French director Gahité Fofana , produced in 2005, tells the story of Yaguine and Fodé.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Alex Duval Smith: The boys who froze to death at 40,000 feet . In: The Independent , September 1, 1999.