Youth in Garissa have been warned to be on the lookout for individuals engaging in human trafficking and who are luring unsuspecting individuals into their traps.
Speaking during a community engagement forum with security agencies organised by the International Organization for Migration, Rukia Mohamed, focal person for the Garissa county peace movement, said cases of young people being smuggled from Kenya to Libya continue to be reported.
The seemingly well-organised human traffickers are part of a network operating between Kenya and Libya.
“A lot of young people are getting lost because of the notion that there are greener pastures elsewhere. I want to urge parents and our children, especially from the northern region, to embrace our country and the available opportunities,” Rukia said.
“Some parents are selling their land, cars or other properties to send their children abroad through illegal means. They are then captured and tortured for ransom. When the kidnappers ask for money to release the youth, there is a lot of problem because already, parents had sold everything,” she added.
Iftin ward community elder Mohamed Noor Dahir said some people fall for the shortcuts when they are told they can go abroad without having a passport or paying a single coin.
“The issue of human smuggling has affected many parents in this county and we think some unscrupulous people have turned it into a business,” Dahir said.
He believes they are recruiting children in secrecy, lying to them they will smuggle them to Europe or the United States for free.
“Our children are falling for these shortcuts, and are smuggled through Sudan, Sahara desert and into Libya where some are captured and tortured,” he added.
Dahir said once captured, they are recorded while being tortured and the videos are sent home to parents for ransom. He said once the money is raised, it is sent through Hawala, which is an informal method of transferring money without any physical money actually moving.
An alternative remittance channel exists outside of the traditional banking system. This system provides anonymity in its transactions as official records are not kept and the source of money cannot be tracked.
Dekow Ahmed, Bulla Iftin location chief in Garissa township said with the community engagements with security agencies, the residents have been sensitised and that the cases have reduced.
Ahmed said the government has
now eased the process of getting the
legal travel documents, including the
national ID cards and passports and
that people should follow the right
way when travelling abroad.
