Africa Rising holds human trafficking awareness forum

Africa Rising, a movement poised to safeguard the dignity of Africans and non-Africans in the Diaspora recently convened a press conference at The Gambia Teachers Union office in Kanifing.

The movement seeks to raise public awareness on human trafficking and its related impact on Gambians and the African continent.

Speaking on the topic- impact of human trafficking on families, Aja Fatoumatta Jallow-Tambajang, the former vice president, said lack of employment opportunities in the country is the main driver forcing youth to embark on the perilous sea journey through harsh climate in the Sahara and across the Mediterranean in search of greener pasture.

Human trafficking, she went on, has psychological impact on people, saying people who already faced trafficking should be embraced by the people in the society.

Madam Tambajang-Jallow urged government to provide psychological counselling to victims of human trafficking. ‘If they are not able to speak out it will remain a scar on them forever’.

She equally called on the international community to continue the dialogue on human traficking, acknowledging the fact that there would be no justice without peace and there would be no peace without justice.

Fatou Jange, a student pursuing Pharmaceutical at the University of The Gambia and a victim of human trafficking, said her intention is to contribute to the development of her family and by extension the nation.

Jange said that it was due to trafficking that she lost her normal behaviour, which now leaves her in trauma. She acknowledged that most of the time victims find it difficult to identify what they want because they are victims and are mostly unable to make decisions.