The Italian Ambassador to Ghana Giovanni Favilli has called on the media to support efforts in ending irregular migration of Ghanaians in search of greener pastures.
Speaking at training for Journalists by the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association with funding from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation in Accra on Wednesday, Mr Favilli disclosed that the number of Ghanaians ready to leave Ghana to Italy has shot up from a thousand to about five thousand.
According to him, there is a need to ensure that more education is done to help them go through the proper channels.
He stated that people must be educated on some of the challenges irregular migrants go through when they embark on such dangerous journeys.
Why would pregnant women take this trip and get to Italy being pregnant? The truth is many of these ladies were raped during the trip to the Sahara. It is a topic that I am very passionate about.
It is a topic that is important…because we need to know more about this situation, we need to be informed properly without fake news so that we understand each other better because only a safe and controlled migration can only be a win-win opportunity for both the departing country and the country of arrival.
The training was under the theme, “Empowering young people through media and communication”.
The International Organisation for Migration, (IOM) reports that 46,521 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea through 28 August, roughly a 32 per cent decrease from the 68,029 arriving during the same period last year.
Arrivals this year to Greece and Spain are at 23,193 and 14,969, respectively (38,162 combined), accounting for 82 per cent of the regional total, with the balance arriving in much smaller numbers to Italy, Malta and Cyprus. Arrivals to Greece are running approximately 23 per cent ahead of 2018’s totals from this time.
Deaths recorded on the three main Mediterranean Sea routes through almost eight months of 2019 are at 909 individuals – or about 58 per cent of the 1,562 deaths confirmed during the same period in 2018.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM
