Punch Newspapers: 521 Africans drown in Mediterranean this year – IOM

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521 Africans drown in Mediterranean this year – IOM Mar 13th 2017, 15:54, by Zovoe Jonathan Ramon Oladimeji The International Organisation for Migration says no fewer than 521 Africans, comprising Nigerians, Ivorians, Guineans, Senegalese and Gambians, have so far drowned in the Mediterranean Sea this year. This number, the IOM said, represented an increase of 50 persons, compared to the number of Africans that died while trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe last year. The IOM added that between January and March this year alone, no fewer than 19,567 African nationals have arrived in Italy after crossing the Mediterranean Sea. The organisation said this in a media advisory it issued on Monday, in which it announced the launching of a campaign to inform Nigerian migrants. The campaign is tagged, "Ask your questions live." The advisory read in part, "Some of the migrants who make it to Europe and share their ordeal with the International Organisation for Migration, reveal that their journey was far more dangerous than expected. "Many are unaware of the dangers and risks of migrating with the assistance of smugglers, not only at sea or in the desert, but also in transit countries like Libya. "Recalling the life-threatening risks along their journey is often very distressing and in many instances, most migrants wish to forget and move forward with their lives and therefore tend not to share their experience with peers who are still back home." The organisation explained that its campaign is aimed at "informing migrants from 15 countries – mostly in West Africa plus Tunisia and Egypt – about the dangers of migrating irregularly across the Sahara desert, Libya and the Mediterranean Sea." The advisory added that the IOM Coordination Office for the Mediterranean, Flavio Di Giacomo and Shiraz Jerbi, would hold an online press conference on Wednesday, March 15, 2017 at 10am. It stated that interested journalists are free to participate in the programme by logging onto the Internet.

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