By Lamin Fatty
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) Gambia branch in collaboration with UK Aid and Ministry of Youth and Sport, organized an awareness raising campaign on irregular migration in the URR on Tuesday October 23rd 2018.
According to Fabakary Sanneh, the Youth and Sport Coordinator for URR, the campaign targets 800 young people across the entire region, but three hundred youth for Jimara, Basse and Tumanna districts respectively. ‘‘For this particular trip, we are targeting only 300 youths from these three districts and there another one that will be organized, will be for Kantora, Wulli East, Wulli West and Sandu. This will be in November 2018 and will target 500 youth, completing our total target of 800,’’ Sanneh said. 
In his opening remarks on behalf of the Governor of the Region, Deputy Governor Omar Sey welcomed the participants and delegation from the UK, and applauded the initiative of sensitising young people by the IOM as commendable.
A back way returnee from Lamin village in Kombo North district Habsatou Jallow, gave her experience on the sufferings she encountered on her way while trying reach Europe through the desert. She narrated that she first travelled to Nigeria, where she worked as a shop keeper for one lady, from where she decided to embark on the terrible journey, on her way Libya, in the desert they were captured by rebels they wanted to kill them by burying them alive. She said the rebels dug a mass grave and they put them in this Mass grave, before putting Sand on them, the rebels asked them “who can read Qur’an” she said among them there was only one fulla boy who read Qur’an that was the cause of their release and escaped from been killed.
After entering in Libya, she was captured by another group of gangs and been sold to one Senegalese Man who have a big house called connection room where men came takes their choice of ladies. It is not easy narrate all what happens on this terrible way, said Apsatou Jallow.
