Migration
By Adekunle Williams
Lagos, July 25, 2018 (NAN) Some migrant returnees from Libya on Wednesday pledged to use the social media platform, community leaders and media practitioners to campaign against illegal migration in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the returnees made the pledge at the end of a two-day “Migrants As Messengers for Voluntary Field Officer (VFO)” training organised by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Nigeria.
The migrant returnees said they had been trained by IOM on how to campaign effectively against irregular migration on the social media such as the Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, to share their experiences to their peers.
Ms Happiness Ehimen, the Vice-President, Greater Returnees, promised to take her ugly experience in Libya to act as a messenger in discouraging the youth from embarking on illegal migration.
Ehinem said they had been trained to work closely with journalists, community radio stations, social media, communities, and peer-to-peer networks to disseminate their stories.
“We have been trained on how we can discourage illegal migration from the country.
“Our target audience are the schools, markets, villages and public places where there are many youths, telling them about the dangers of illegal migration.
“We have been trained on how we can make use of the social media such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagrams and YouTube to talk to our peers not to embark on a journey outside the country without due process.
“IOM has also equipped us with the necessary basic working tools such as smartphones, tripod and a microphone.
“We are also to pass warning messages to traffickers to desist from luring young girls to European countries for prostitution,” she said.
Ehimen said that embarking on any illegal journey outside the country was suicidal.
Another returnee from Libya, Mr Etusa Izusil, from Edo, promised to establish a non-governmental organisations to discourage youths from embarking on what she called a “suicide mission”.
Izusil noted that using multiple media channels was necessary to reach different stakeholders, such as community leaders, families and potential migrants.
He said IOM equipped them on how to share their experiences in Libya that involved tales of deceit, betrayal, rape, abandonment, violence, sickness, enslavement and drowning in the sea through the social media.
He added that it would reduce the incidence of illegal migration among the youth.
“Like in my place of work, there are some ladies that are interested in travelling to Libya but I could not tell them my experience initially because I was so ashamed of myself to disclose that I was once a Libyian returnee.
“Due to their interest to embark on the journey at all cost, I have to tell them that the journey they were about to embark on was a deadly one.
“They were like why are you discouraging us from embarking on a journey to seek greener pasture to assist our families.
“I told them I was a victim of the journey to Libya and I do not want them to be victims as well.
“I showed them some videos of illegal migrants travelling through the sea and their boat capsized and they all died,” Izusil said.
The Digital Engagement Officer, Mr Marshall Patsanza, said the goal of the training was to capture and share candid and emotional testimonies of returnees.
Patsanza said the training would give the migrant returnees the opportunity to share experiences with their peers using various social media platforms.
The officer said IOM was making use of the social media platforms because youths preferred to communicate among themselves using their smartphones.
NAN reports that IOM had trained almost 30 Libya returnees in the first batch of the exercise. (NAN)
WAC/CEO/PDE
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(Edited by Chidi Opara/Peter Ejiofor)