Community Leaders, Policy Makers, Stakeholders, and members of Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area met at the Local Government Secretariat Idogbo on Wednesday 22nd, July 2015 to discuss the nature and reality of Human Trafficking and Irregular Migration.

The town hall meeting which is the third in the series was organised by Girls’ Power Initiative (GPI) with the support of the Belgium Immigration Authority as part of the activities in its Awareness Raising Campaign on Human trafficking and Irregular migration in Edo South Senatorial District.

In attendance were representatives of the Enogie, Ministry of Basic Education, Nigerian Security and Civil defence Corps, Nigerian Union of Teachers, Child Protection Network, Nigerian Police Force, Red Cross Society, Community Leaders, market Leaders and Indigenes of the community.

• Pearl Osamudiame the Head of the Youth Development Department GPI Benin made a presentation on the Nature, and Reality of Human Trafficking. In her presentation she defined human trafficking as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation”.

She spoke on the types of human Trafficking and the difference between Legal and Illegal Migration. She informed participants that Migration was normal but illegal migration was dangerous and should be discouraged by all means. Illegal migration makes you vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and other dangers. She further emphasized her point by an expository film screening of life in Europe using “Better Life”, “Affected for Life” and “Is Europe an Option”. All films were from the NaWa Festival Collection by Austria based ‘EXIT’ NGO.

Discussions and personal experiences followed and participants were sobered by the reality of life as a trafficked person in Europe which the session exposed them to.

The session ended with the signing of commitments by participants to raise awareness on Human trafficking and ensure that their children and children in their communities are not trafficked and promptly report any incidence or attempt of Human Trafficking to NAPTIP.