Government, IOM sensitise Garissa residents against human trafficking, violent extremism
Many parents are left in misery after the human traffickers lured their children into the syndicate and were demanding millions of shillings to release them.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the National Counter Terrorism Center and local security agencies on Thursday conducted a series of community engagement forums in Garissa town to sensitise the community against human trafficking and violent extremism.
In the Iftin location, community members who participated in the forum stated that human trafficking cases to Libya and South Sudan have affected many families in Garissa who are struggling to pay ransom to release their children from human traffickers who were torturing the victims.
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"We need more sensitisation, especially at the school level where children were influenced by their peer group, while others through social media," says Amina Ali of Iftin West location.
She said many parents were left in misery after the human traffickers lured their children into the syndicate and were demanding millions of shillings to release them.
"The victims are tortured forcing them to cry for help from their families. The video is sent to the families to influence them to fundraise for the release of the victims," she said.
Abdi Muhumed revealed how two of his relatives were recently rescued in Nairobi while being trafficked to Libya.
"The unsuspecting youth were enticed with lucrative jobs in Juba then end up in Libya torture cells," he said.
Dekow Ahmed, the Chief Iftin West location said community engagement was the best tool to engage to address the rampant cases of human trafficking, violent extremism and insecurity in the region.
"During a recent wave of teen violence in Garissa town, we have engaged the local community on the need to collectively address the surging cases of insecurity. The engagement forums yielded positive results to reduce insecurity in Iftin," he said.
In the Galbet ward public sensitization forum, religious leaders led by Omar Sheikh Abdi Sitar called for collective responsibility to address human trafficking and violent extremism.
Soumane Ali Abubakar, an expert in community engagement and policing at IOM. (Photo: Issa Hussein)
He lauded the IOM, the National Counter Terrorism Center, and the local security agencies for embarking on the community sensitization.
Omar said human trafficking, recruiting youth into terror activities, and cross-border drug trafficking were the real challenges in the region.
He said religious leaders were already involved in the campaign against the existing challenges and were ready to partner with all stakeholders.
Soumane Ali Abubakar, an expert in community engagement and policing at IOM said the initiative was launched to enhance countering human trafficking and terrorism through community engagement.
"Community law enforcement agencies and the local community were engaging in talks that will help to curb the challenges of human trafficking and violent extremism," he said.
Paul Songok, Director for violent extremism said the initiative was expected to have a positive impact that ending violent extremism and human trafficking incidents that are intertwined.
Speaking at Jamhuri in Galbert ward, he urged members of the public to cooperate with security agencies to identify those involved in human trafficking and recruitment of youth into violent extremism.
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