Every year millions of people leave their countries in search of greener pastures in foreign lands, and the human traffic from Africa to the United States of America, Canada, and Europe has been on the increase.

Statistics from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) indicate that there are about 70.8 million internally displaced persons worldwide, with asylum seekers accounting for 3.5 million.

Some of these asylum seekers find safe havens in their desired destinations, but others fall prey to daring human smugglers who use social media to lure desperate migrants into slavery.

In 2017, a number of West African migrants were trapped in Libya after an asylum-promising advertisement was run on Facebook.

The smugglers use the social media platform used by two billion people globally to reach would-be migrants with false promises of high-paying jobs in Europe and America, says Leonard Doyle, Spokesman for International Organisation for Migration.

An advert similar to the above has surfaced on Facebook and Instagram lately; this time, it promised easy access to Canadian citizenship and entrance into Canada but only if an applicant parted with $26 (SSP7,540) application fee.

The website by the uniform resource locator becomeacanadian.com mandates the payment of $35 (SSP10,150) if an applicant intends to travel in the companyof a relative or spouse.

Responding to The City Review via email, Canadian ambassador to South Sudan Douglas Scott Proudfoot said the official website to apply for Canadian citizenship was different from that being advertised by the social media giants.

“The official source for all information related to Canada’s immigration and citizenship programmes is www.canada.ca/immigration. People can apply directly, using this official website. They do not need to go through a third party,” Mr. Scott said.

“I cannot comment on the specific company you are asking about; there are many. While some private immigration services are qualified and legal, others are fraudulent and will try to steal information and money,” explained the envoy.

In July last year, Dan Koriom, a South Sudanese national was persuaded by the same advert and found his way to Toronto, leaving behind a promising career as a financial analyst. While in Canada, everywhere he looked for a job he was met with: “Sorry, you have no Canadian work experience.”

It was a classic newcomer’s dilemma. Koriom needed the Canadian experience to get a job in Canada and needed a job there to get that experience.

At a local library in Scarborough, Koriom spotted a poster for CultureLink, a non-profit organisation devoted to helping newcomers find jobs, friends and connections in their communities through an assortment of free programmes.

“I wanted to improve my English and understand the Canadian culture,” Koriom 37 said. “So, I went to the website and registered.”

With the promise of easy job landing out of sight, Koriom struggled for months and found himself in the middle of a one-year contract with a leading Canadian company, with a network of a leading

Canadian company. He was just one of the final three candidates after an extensive interview process for a lucrative position at one of Canada’s big banks.

He didn’t get that job, which went to a local. But Koriom said the process was a great experience. Martin Chatrad, a citizen in Quebec wrote to The City Review that the cost of living in Canada is high and since migrants crave to find their way into the country, human traffickers take advantage.

“It’s not paradise but I assume it’s better than Africa in many ways with regards to the standards of living.

However, in an attempt to get there, I advise people to follow procedures that are safe. There are a lot of human sharks along the way waiting to eat up migrants,” Chatrad replied.