The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has organised community-based sensitisation programmes to increase awareness on irregular migration and its consequences in the Tamale, Savelugu and Tolon districts of the Northern Region.
The programme was in partnership with the Migration Information Centre (MIC) of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS).
The youth were enlightened on the dangers associated with irregular migration and encouraged to explore local opportunities.
Community members were mobilised to watch documentaries on irregular migration that captured the struggles irregular migrants encountered.
The programme was under IOM’s special measure project, with funding from the European Union.
Community potentials
Collins Yeboah, a community outreach assistant with IOM, speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Tamale, said the outreach was to highlight potentials within communities that the youth could explore instead of endangering their lives on illegal journeys.
He said the organisation was not against migration. He emphasised the need for people to be informed about safe migration and local job opportunities that are accessible.
He noted that feedback from participants of the sensitisation programme indicated that scenes from the documentary would go a long way to positively affect migration decisions of the youth.
Yeboah said “the impact of the outreach cannot be quantified but qualitatively, assessments show that people are taking the messages to look at opportunities within the country and to travel through safe means.”
Ibrahim Issaka Lang-hani, the Northern regional head of enforcement unit of the GIS, said the MIC is available to provide migration information to citizens and to authenticate travel offers.
He urged members of the public to utilise the services of the centre. He also encouraged irregular migrants to regularise their stay.
He further cautioned against irregular migration, stating that the GIS had laws that allowed the prosecution of culprits with fines ranging from 500 to 2000 penalty units, imprisonment of up to five years or both.
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