“Burkina Faso is Good!” Raising Awareness about Irregular Migration in Burkina Faso

Abdoul is a member of theWatiNoomatheatre group (“life is good here” in theMoorélanguage) which has joined with 24 other community actors from the Central-Eastern Region of Burkina Faso trained by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in community mobilization techniques. The goal is to empower these voices to effectively raise awareness among young people about the dangers of irregular migration.

The two-day training last week (20–21 February 2019) brought together returning migrants, mothers of young migrants, traditional leaders, young entrepreneurs and government representatives. Together, they brainstormed over best strategies for community mobilization to raise awareness on the dangers of irregular migration among young people in the region.

The Central-East region is the most affected community by irregular migration in Burkina Faso. In 2018, 56 per cent of migrants assisted to voluntary return to Burkina Faso by IOM came from this region.

“Today, the dangers of irregular migration such as trafficking, smuggling, or even death, are visible in our communities,”OubdaAristide, traditional leader, said during the training.“As a traditional leader, the first solution is to raise awareness among young people to help them understand that the perilous journey involves serious risks, and that they can build success by exploiting the existing opportunities in their communities, especially in agriculture,”he said.

Migration of young “able-bodies” from the region is more often due to a precarious economic situation, plus social and cultural motivations. Therefore, it is crucial to adopt participatory approach to raising awareness. Community mobilization responds to this need by enabling community members to take ownership of the theme, and by building their capacities to organizing community dialogue sessions to change attitudes and behaviours.

As part of this campaign, theWatiNoomatheatre group will travel throughout the Central-East Region to organize theatre performances, film screenings and community dialogue sessions with the support of trained mobilizers.

The training is part of the #FasoNooma(“Faso is good” in theMoorélanguage) awareness campaign launched on 25 February 2019 inTenkodogo, in the presence of the IOM Chief of Mission in Burkina Faso,AbibatouWane and the Governor of the Central-East Region, AntoineOuedraogo. The campaign aims to raise awareness among youngBurkinabèabout the risks of irregular migration and the employment opportunities in the region though forum, football competitions, radio shows and slam contests.

The #FasoNoomacampaign is funded by the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, through the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration in Burkina Faso, the Italian and Belgian Governments through the project dealing with Youth, Employment and Migration in Central-Eat Burkina Faso, and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) through the project “Safety, Support and Solutions in the Central Mediterranean Route.”

On the 26thEdition of the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), IOM will award prizes to young journalists and bloggers who participated in the video production competition on the theme “Youth and Migration” organized in January 2018.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Organization for Migration (IOM).

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