Twenty journalists in Bamenda, Northwest Region, were recently trained on how to better and effectively carry out public sensitisation campaigns to combat trafficking in persons as well as proper reporting of identified cases.

The one-day training workshop organised by the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Church held at the St. Joseph Metropolitan Cathedral, Big Mankon.

The Coordinator of the Commission, Laura Anyola Tufon, said since its creation, the service has succeeded in its mission.
Comfort Musa, main resource person at the workshop, drilled participants on the role of the journalist in protecting human rights and the need to report human rights, specifically trafficking in persons, TIP.

“The media plays a pivotal role in community sensitisation, especially as change agents, not as persons but as a body. It changes those who interact with it. I have seen that they can help us do this. We can work collectively, partnering to end a vicious crime. Trafficking in persons is a crime against humanity and we think the journalists will soon join us in this long journey that has just taken its debut and I believe that, together, we shall change the perceptions of the people. It’s a mutual relationship,” said Tufon.

Statistics revealed at the workshop show that the Northwest Region remains a breeding ground for the vicious and shameful crime.
It shows that most girls returning or currently trapped in slavery in Kuwait hail from the Northwest and that out of every five prostitutes in Cameroon, one must be from the Region.

At the end of the workshop, Peter Tebi Chi, producer and presenter of Pidgin News on Radio Hot Cocoa, Said the workshop was a necessity, “I have gained a lot from this workshop, because I am interested in reporting human rights issues and trafficking in persons. I have also discovered that I used to work alone, but now I have seen that I have partners who I can work with.”

“There has been a lot of apathy in mainstream radio and print. Reporters, hitherto, preoccupied themselves with political, economic news and what can bring immediate gain to them. I think that this workshop will change the status quo,” said Colbert Gwain Fulai, proprietor of Dignity Television, an online human rights channel that works on the promotion, protection of human rights and violations.

Created on December 12, 2002, the Justice and Peace Commission is a faith-based service of the Roman Catholic Church with effective presence in all the seven Divisions of the Northwest Region.
It defends human rights, especially the trafficking in persons, ensures access to justice, conflict management, peace building and governance.