The death of 26 Nigerian women and girls on migrant boats in the Mediterranean Sea will not deter others from attempting the same perilous journey for a new life in Europe, activists say. More than 11,000 Nigerian women and girls arrived in Italy by sea last year, up from 1,500 in 2014, and at least four in five were trafficked into sex work.
"It is a matter of 'try your luck'," said Phil Inusa of the Girls' Power Initiative in Benin, capital of Edo State in southern Nigeria. "The girls say 'That is those girls' destiny. My own luck in life is different.'"
More than nine in 10 Nigerian women smuggled to Europe come from Edo, a predominantly Christian state of 3 million people, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC). A history of migration to Italy has fuelled local hopes of easy money abroad. About 600,000 migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, have made it to Italy since 2014, the main arrival point in Europe for people fleeing conflict, persecution and poverty in Africa.
"It is a matter of 'try your luck'," said Phil Inusa of the Girls' Power Initiative in Benin, capital of Edo State in southern Nigeria. "The girls say 'That is those girls' destiny. My own luck in life is different.'"
More than nine in 10 Nigerian women smuggled to Europe come from Edo, a predominantly Christian state of 3 million people, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC). A history of migration to Italy has fuelled local hopes of easy money abroad. About 600,000 migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, have made it to Italy since 2014, the main arrival point in Europe for people fleeing conflict, persecution and poverty in Africa.
No comments:
Post a Comment