International Migration : Benefits Everyone - When Done Orderly, Regularly

United Nations Migration or the International Organisation for Migration, IOM Cameroon on Wednesday, December 14, 2022 in Yaounde screened a film to sensitise young people against irregular migration. The film projection held in the French Institute of Cameroon. It was followed by a discussion on irregular migration, which saw amongst others, the participation of a former migrant, representatives of the government, the private sector, and other stakeholders.    

For Wellbeing, Development 
This year’s International Migrants’ Day theme, “Cameroon Migration for Wellbeing and Development,” offered participants the opportunity to discuss the contributions of the Diaspora to Cameroon’s development; to raise awareness on the risks of irregular migration, talk about training security force members on human trafficking and smuggling, how returned migrants are assisted to settle...  

Beneficial To All, If….
“The International Migrants’ Day is celebrated on December 18. This year, we chose to carry out activities throughout the month of December. We strongly believe that human mobility is beneficial both to the migrant and to their society when it is well managed and regulated,” said Abdel Rahmane Diop, IOM Head of Mission for Cameroon.

Over 6,000 Migrants Assisted 
“We thank Cameroonian authorities for the enormous resources invested to manage and assist migrants and youth in their endeavours. Our work is to assist government in this task. We encourage the Cameroonian government to continue with these efforts by promoting sub-regional migration,” Rahmane noted. He disclosed that IOM Cameroon has a staff of 130. The UN agency assists returning migrants to settle down. It has since 2017 offered assistance to more than 6,000 such Cameroonians.

Choosing Right
“We also promote employment, sensitise on irregular migration, the fight against human trafficking and smuggling, offer assistance to Internally-displaced People, IDPs, former non-State combatants, and in matters of human mobility. All these go to support what government is doing,” Abdel Rahmane Diop underscored. He advised youth to choose the right migration method and carefully prepare for it. “This offers better opportunities of success that than taking illegal routes. It is better to be patient than rush into failure,” Diop warned. According to the organisers, the discussion sought to better understand migration routes, and to proffer local and international solutions to irregular migration.

He Tried And Failed 
A former migrant, Robert Alain Lipothy, recalled how he was urged by friends to leave Cameroon in 2004 for Spain. While in Algeria, he almost changed his mind to instead go to Libya. “This was because I met many sick and wounded migrants who attempted to cross over to Europe, and were now trying to return home,” Lipothy said. 
The young man had travelled from Cameroon through Nigeria to Niger by road. Then crossed the desert where they saw many corpses and bones of those who had tried to migrate to Europe. They spent two weeks in the desert before reaching Algeria. During which the 1 million FCFA Robert left Cameroon with got finished, obliging him to work in construction sites to earn some money, do fake papers to try to continue the trip. Finally, Robert Alain Lipothy got to Morocco an...