Aflao Border Marks Border Day With Call to End Human Trafficking

By Ewoenam Kpodo, GNA

Aflao (VR), June 9, GNA – The Anti-Human Smuggling and Trafficking Unit (AHSTIP) of the Aflao Sector Command of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has urged the public to join efforts to combat human trafficking.

The Unit, in partnership with the International Center for Safe Migration, marked the African Union International Borders Day on Friday by highlighting the growing problem of human trafficking and associated illicit activities taking place across across African borders, calling for a united commitment to fight against these phenomena. transgressions.

Deputy Superintendent of Immigration (ASI), Justice Kudzo Normeshie, Officer-in-Charge of AHSTIP Unit, GIS at Aflao Sector Command, stressed the importance of raising public awareness on the fight against human trafficking. human beings, citing harsh conditions in many African countries that make individuals more vulnerable to such exploitation.

“Current migration trends across ECOWAS corridors, triggered by climate change, harsh economic conditions for youth, political instability and terrorist threats, among others, have forced young people to move in order to survive.

However desperate they may be, most of them, especially children, girls and women, end up falling into the hands of traffickers and smugglers who promise them lucrative jobs but end up exploiting them sexually, through forced prostitution.

He said boys and men were also exploited through forced labor, forced criminal activities such as cybercrime, perpetuation of fraudulent activities as well as organ harvesting in the worst cases, while “children are mostly driven to forced begging, which we can witness in major cities across the country. the sub-region.

ASI Normeshie highlighted the Unit's success in combating human trafficking and noted that over the years it had “rescued several victims of trafficking and smuggling, reunited them with their families and referred the perpetrators to headquarters for prosecution.”

He assured that with the recent inauguration of the Aflao transitional shelter, made possible thanks to the support of international partners, the AHSTIP unit of the Aflao GIS sector command was better placed to protect these vulnerable migrants, provide them with psychological counseling, among other needs and, effectively prosecute the perpetrators of these acts.

“We are therefore calling on the general public to support our team by making a donation, however small, to the shelter to help us feed the victims and meet their other needs. Because they normally arrive in very deplorable conditions.

And we need these supports to improve their lives, to give them a gift so that they know that the world still loves them and they can start their lives again,” he told the Ghana News Agency .

The day during which the Unit collaborated with its Togolese counterparts to facilitate the sharing of leaflets and educational materials on human trafficking on the Togolese side of the border, saw teams boarding TSR and ABC buses , bound for Niger and Nigeria respectively, to educate travelers on board on the need to be vigilant and not fall prey to human traffickers.

African Union Borders Day is observed annually on June 7 to promote peace, security and stability across the continent, emphasizing the importance of harmonious borders for Africa's development .

GNA

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