The 12 ladies trafficked to Lebanon for slavery ran to the Nigerian Embassy for help but were initially rejected before being accepted.
Project Ferry Nigeria, an organisation committed to rescuing Nigerians trafficked abroad, has begun fundraising process to help 12 Nigerian ladies stranded in Lebanon return home.
The 12 ladies trafficked to Lebanon for slavery ran to the Nigerian Embassy for help but were initially rejected before being accepted.
The ladies had in a video obtained by SaharaReporters revealed that they were yet to receive any update from the Nigerian Government about their return home.
They also lamented that the embassy had placed them under house arrest as management of the hotel they were currently lodged had been told not to allow them to leave the facility.
Project Ferry opened a GoFundMe account to help crowdfund money for the ladies’ return.
In an accompanying note on the website, Omotola Fawunmi, Co-founder of Project Ferry, said that the organisation had 180 women on its list to be returned to Nigeria.
She explained that they would be use the funds raised to purchase flight tickets, seek medical attention and get vocational training for the ladies.
She said, “We currently have 180 women on standby waiting for our assistance, we have only been able to help six women return safely home.
“Many have worked as modern slaves, sex slaves and forced labour especially in countries in the Middle East.
“We need funds to buy tickets, we need funds for medicals when they return home, we need funds to allow them a decent care pack with basic toiletries.
“We need funds to help them attend vocational training to earn better, we need funds to assist them to go back to school, we need funds for accommodation in temporary shelters and halfway homes."
Meanwhile, when contacted on the current situation of the girls within the care of the agency in Lebanon, Director-General of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Dame Julie Oka-Donli, said that they were working on their safe return to Nigeria.
She said, “They are being taken care of by the embassy in Lebanon whilst arranging with NAPTIP to see how to return them.”