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.