By Mustapha Ceesay
Four more Gambian girls reportedly trafficked to Oman in Western Asia have returned home on Saturday.
Eight more of the girls still remain in Oman and are expected to arrive home by the end of this weekend.
“We received another 4 girls from Oman this past weekend (25th June 2022), and now waiting for the remaining 8, most probably end of this week,” Ebrima T. Sanyang, the Public Relations Officer for the Foundation Against Trafficking and Irregular Migrations (FATIM) told this medium on Tuesday.
Of this cohort (the 3rd batch), PRO Sanyang informed that his foundation has funded the return of 3, while the National Agency Against Trafficking In Persons (NAATIP) funded the return of 1.
The four girls have been handed over to their families and have reunited, according to the Sanyang.
FATIM and partners have so far facilitated the return of three batches of the girls from Oman.
The first batch comprising four girls arrived on 13th June; the second batch of two girls arrived on 18th June; and the third batch consisting four girls arrived on 25th June 2022.
The returnees were trafficked to the Middle East country for domestic work and exposed to hard labour, and sometimes sexual harassment, causing some of them health complications, according to a statement by the foundation on 13th June 2022.