On Saturday June 8, in Nouakchott, we invited some of our friends, collaborators and parishioners to our community to participate in a meeting to share and raise awareness on migration and human trafficking. We were 22 participants. There were also 17 children who were present with their parents and one of our parishioners took care of them with games and songs.
We had two resource persons:
Ms. Fofana Dikel, migration project manager at Caritas Mauritania, spoke to us about migration, starting by defining this word, giving the different types of migration and ending with some concrete examples of what is experienced in Mauritania and all the dangers of illegal immigration.
Our Sr. Begoña Iñarra, who intervened by Zoom from Spain, highlighted the general aspects of human trafficking:
how to detect possible victims of trafficking,
how to act towards them,
what organizations work against trafficking in the destination countries where they go.
Everything was well prepared in a Powerpoint which was projected.
During this meeting, we were enriched by the sharing of information on the reality of migration, trafficking and human trafficking. We were all informed and confirmed about the urgency of being made aware of the dangers and consequences of these scourges. Mrs. Fofana and Sr. Begoña also spoke about means of prevention and assistance to victims.
Ms. Fofana appreciated the dedication of all the participants and encouraged us to continue with this momentum to raise awareness and above all save lives. Everyone was touched by the content of this meeting.
The interventions of our two resource persons, the exchanges between participants, the sharing of experiences and knowledge and the various questions contributed to a better understanding of the issues and challenges linked to these scourges. The importance of collective action and citizen mobilization to fight against these inhumane practices was underlined.
We prayed for all the victims of these scourges and shared the family meal together. Then, everyone returned home after being sent to share what they learned.
