The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in partnership with the Liberian Government has rescued and brought back home 13 economic Liberian migrants from Niger.
The migrants were en route to Europe via Algeria and Libya when they got stranded in the Sahara Desert and engaged IOM for help.
An economic migrant is a person who emigrates from one region to another which involves crossing international borders in order to seek a perceived improved living standard or job opportunity in the target country.
The Focal person on Assistance Voluntary Return Program at the IOM in Liberia, Tamba Siaffa, told journalists that when the Liberian Government received information about the stranded migrants, it acted through the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS) that conducted a skype interview with them and issued the migrants emergency travel certificates that enabled the IOM repatriate the victims to Liberia.
On Wednesday, IOM along with the Government of Liberia through the Liberia Refugees Repatriation Resettlement Commission (LRRRC) converged at the Roberts International Airport to receive the illegal migrants.
Upon receiving them, Siaffa admonished the returnees to take advantage of the reintegration assistance that will be given them by IOM.
He pointed out that migration is not a crime, but it is advised that it be done in safety and in an orderly manner that will protect them from any form of danger.
In 2019, IOM repatriated 633 Liberian migrants and is involved in the repatriation and reintegration processes of migrants in their homeland.
Since 2020, the IOM has repatriated Liberian migrants from Niger, Thailand, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and other nations.
IOM is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and it works closely with governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners on issues in the sector.
It is dedicated to promoting human orderly migration for the benefit of all and does so by providing services and advises to governments and migrants.
IOM works to help ensure the orderly and human management of migration to promote international cooperation on migration issues, as well as assist in the search for practical solutions to migration problems and provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, including refugees and internally displaced people.
TSS/abj/APA