Promoting Safe Migration in Africa

The suffering of young Africans in the process of irregular migration is of deep concern to GAIDI. Migrants and refugees are often unaware and without defences in the face of false information given to them by human traffickers.

These smugglers lure thousands of people to undertake journeys without any preparation or knowledge, journeys filled with extreme hardships and inhumane abuses.

Each week, thousands of young Africans continue to risk their lives to reach European shores by travelling across the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean. Since 2014, more than 20,000 migrants have perished in the Mediterranean, according to the International Organization for Migration. Many more are believed to have died travelling across the Sahara desert or in the transit countries.

Behind the figures of drowning in the Mediterranean and agonizing deaths from dehydration, exhaustion and violence in transit are personal stories of tragedy and sorrowful ordeals for parents, wives, husbands, children and families left behind. Studies show that the majority of migrants receive most of their information from human traffickers and smugglers, who seek to mislead and manipulate them.

In 2016, Femi Awoniyi, the founder of GAIDI, initiated the Migration Enlightenment Project Nigeria. With the support of Germany’s Foreign Ministry, the Project carried out a media campaign to raise awareness of the dangers and risks of irregular migration in Nigeria in 2017 and 2018.

The Campaign, captioned ‘Look before you Leave’, also provided information on legal ways of migrating to Europe, such as to study and receive training, while encouraging young people not to overlook opportunities for self-actualisation in their homeland. The long term objective of the Project is to promote a realistic attitude to migration among African youths.

GAIDI would like to work with interested organisations and institutions to continue this project and possibly extend it to other African countries that are major sources of irregular migration. Be our partner in the fight against disinformation and for the promotion of a greater awareness of the risks of irregular migration in Africa! If you’re interested, please contact us:

Migration Enlightenment Project Nigeria

c/o GAIDI ● Attention: Femi Awoniyi

Flankenschanze 4 ● 13585 Berlin ● Germany

Tel.: +49 – 30 – 2300 7440 ? E-Mail: info@gaidi.de