Debbie Ariyo OBE Profile Banner
Debbie Ariyo OBE Profile
Debbie Ariyo OBE

@DebbieAriyo

2,159
Followers
580
Following
302
Media
5,524
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Founder/CEO @afrucaUK (London/Manchester)|Chair @UK -BMEAntiSlavery. Personal Views

London, England
Joined August 2013
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
10 months
@hannahleewrites I will never forget the horrific case of a bus driver who refused to let a young woman on his bus (the last bus) close to midnight because she was 5p short!! Only for the girl to be attacked and raped before her mother arrived to pick her. Bus drivers can be horrible
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
2 years
@AdesinaKolawo13 @pelumi_okere Inbox me. I will pay your SEVIS fee.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
So much of history has ignored the ignominious acts of people who built extreme wealth from the suffering of generations of Africans as part of the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. The time for reckoning has come!
@owenjonesjourno
Owen Jones
4 years
Edward Colston was a leading figure in the transportation of an estimated 84,000 Africans, including children, as slaves. 19,000 died on the journey from West Africa to the Caribbean and the Americas. This is our history: now we have to face it.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
@ebenzy_ @STermined This was life under war against indiscipline by buhari’s dictatorship in the 1980s. Soldiers beating and terrorising people on the streets. Welcome to 1984!
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
@visakanv @JamieFookes1 Perhaps Ravi is upset the Sherpa carried him the wrong way! This is often the behaviour of utterly ungrateful souls. They are so undeserving of help but thankfully not everyone is like them.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
@AbdulMahmud01 The first time I visited the federal secretariat in Abuja left me in deep shock and confusion! It was like a market place! Very chaotic. Finally found the person I went to meet. The environment maketh the person was my conclusion.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
10 months
@plantbasedb Many congratulations on your wedding. You both look gorgeous! Wishing you all the best!
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
2 years
@Phil_Lewis_ @forakin She kept all the money from the house sale and is shedding crocodile tears about “solidarity”.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
Dear social worker, a child not having toys to play with does not mean absence of parental warmth nor is it a sign of child abuse. There are many ways to stimulate children without toys. Poor families should not be penalised because they can’t afford toys for their children.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
3 years
@zainabdehinde So so sorry to hear about your experience, Zainab. Women travelling solo are always at risk. Bedroom doors though locked can be opened from outside because others have the card/key (receptionist/cleaner). I always wedge doors with large items, use door alarm and leave a light on.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
@RealOlaudah Those days are gone and are not coming back. Not with the current state of affairs where corruption is king.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
10 months
@Niam2810 @hannahleewrites O my goodness! So sorry to hear that. My condolences.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
3 years
Victoria Climbie would have clocked 30 years old today. Her life was cut short in 2020 by those entrusted with her care. In 2001, I established the charity @AFRUCA because of Victoria and other children seeking a better life in the UK but experiencing abuse, harm and death.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
@Nadine_Writes You are a millionaire. Put your money back into your community to support good causes. Your wealth does not immune you from racism.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
5 years
Profits keep people in poverty.
@AyoCaesar
Ash Sarkar
5 years
NEW VIDEO ALERT 🗣🗣🗣 Rich people have more money (like, obviously). So why is it so expensive to be poor?
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
Victoria Climbie, the 8 year old little girl killed by her “aunt” would have turned 29 years old today. I still remember that day in February 2000 when story of her death broke. She was one of the reasons I started @afruca . Rest on little girl.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
6 years
Its been a while since ive been engaged in Nigerian politics but i do hope @atiku wins. The past 3 years have been terrible. Too much suffering too much pain. #NigeriaDecides2019
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
11 months
@Vincredible__ @NonprofitAF Notre Dame church in Cotonou, Benin 🇧🇯 Republic
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
10 months
@chude__ Shocked to see Nigerian women on the streets of Quagadougou and that was over 10 years ago. Certainly much worse now. Human traffickers are just having a free ride with no repercussions whatsoever
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
2 years
@Ayo_Lad Very intentional in every aspect. It’s the greetings for me. Yoruba have a greeting for practically everything: sleeping, waking, walking, child birth, death, working, idling, sitting, standing, eating, perhaps even sex (not sure of that one). Great culture!
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
2 years
Sir @Mo_Farah story is helping to shed light on the experiences of victims… a thread:
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
2 years
@AyoCaesar This is crazy!! How can this even happen? This poor boy could have been deported without his family knowing.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
My daughter @LopeAriyo has five recipes in @ObsFood you won’t want to miss. Proud mama!
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
2 years
@Yorubaness These are descendants of Yoruba people taken as slaves. They still practice Yoruba culture and religion in its pure format. The rest of us have been polluted by colonialism
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
7 years
@KateOsamor Tony Blair is in Nigeria cavorting with Governor of Kaduna under whose watchful eyes people have been massacred.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
@AbdulMahmud01 Can you imagine! I was at the Kalakuta Museum in Lagos earlier in the week and the guide also sprouted the same lie. Nigeria is very poor at documenting history.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
6 years
It is totally unacceptable that children are being used as domestic slaves in the 21st century.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
@Wizarab10 It beggars belief that there is no code of conduct for youth corpers after all these decades! Surely having sex with school children should be strictly forbidden with serious repercussions if found wanting/reported. This amounts to child sexual abuse under Nigerian laws.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
3 years
@kelechnekoff @positiveimagep @TimbuktuGlobal Timbuktu, the capital of the great Old Mali Empire is a fictional place? Haa!!
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
@Gidi_Traffic Seems like he brought out the “gay” in most of the men!
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
Slave hunters captured her and children, sold them into slavery. Her son Bishop Ajayi Crowther was rescued on a Portuguese ship. He became first Black Bishop of the Anglican Church and translated the Bible into Yoruba. Mother and son were re-united 25 years later. Heartwarming.
@YorubaHistory
Yoruba History - by NNP
4 years
Hannah Afala In 1821, her town, Oshogun, was sacked by Mohammedan slave hunters; her husband was killed; and she, with her three children, were carried away captive. Of these children, Adjai, a boy about twelve years old, was the future Samuel Crowther.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
@OgbeniDemola Enslaved people, not “slaves”
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
7 years
Labour would have done much better if some MPs had not tried to destabilise his leadership. Jeremy could have won outright.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
@PaperWhispers It’s ridiculous! Told off a waiter at serena hotel in Nairobi for deliberately ignoring the Black clients
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
11 months
@hallaboutafrica Ridiculous! Same in Nigeria with lawyers and judges looking ridiculous in court
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
2 years
@TheVunderkind What a sad, sad thread and the comments! We have to change how we parent and training is clearly needed. If all these cases happened here in the UK, the children would have been removed from their families because of child abuse. Sadly there is no protective systems in Nigeria.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
Shocking to see how govts use access to food as a form of control. In the UK, govt voted against provision of free meals for poor children. In Nigeria, govt hoarded free food for poor families instead of distribution. Hunger/want is manufactured. People don’t have to go hungry.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
@OgbeniDemola Religion has always been an enabler of the enslavement of African people
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
Yoruba people of Nigeria and Republic of Benin have the highest birth rate of twins in the world. This thread about the cultural and traditional role of twins in Yoruba families and society is very informative.
@YorubaHistory
Yoruba History - by NNP
4 years
Orisa Ibeji The Yoruba Ibeji Cult & Ere Ibeji.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
Pleased to have finally completed my @wcmtuk Churchilll Fellowship report.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
7 years
Five British Nigerians become MPs. #GE2017
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
First they came for the refugees and asylum seekers I didn’t say anything because I am not a refugee or asylum seeker Next, they came for the victims of trafficking I didn’t say anything because I am not a victim of trafficking.../1
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
9 months
@MO_Shaibu_ @simisola10 Yes many are leaving UK for access to good quality and more efficient health care in other countries like Ghana and Nigeria etc.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
2 years
@araujohistorian @WomanKingMovie Thank you for telling this difficult history. The amazons were great but tools of slave trade. There were many interconnected wars amongst yoruba kingdoms/Dahomeans in the 19th century which occurred purposely to meet demand for slaves. Btw Oyo empire is/was in South West Nigeria
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
10 months
@timecaptales @fasc1nate His story is documented in the book: Barracoon: the story of the last slave
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
The Nigerian coalition of orphanages has BANNED the practice of visitors taking photos of children living in the homes - a laudable step. Making a donation to an orphanage does not give the right to display photos of the children on social media. Make your donation and leave.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
I really like the effort @JavedKhanCEO of @barnardos has made engaging BAME-led charities working with children. He has used his position to amplify the voices of BAME charities. It’s the first time I will see a mainstream charity do this in my 20 years in the voluntary sector.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
UK citizens who abuse children abroad - both online and physically should be subjected to the same level of culpability as those who abuse UK children. @IJMUK @afruca
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
2 years
@Mo_Farah @BBC Thank you for sharing your story Sir Mo. Your bravery will help many others come forward to access help and support. You are a star, many times over!
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
@AkanKwaku It’s Black/Brown child adultification and the media are the worst perpetrators
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
I have often said this. Increasing numbers of BAME staff means nothing. How do you treat them?
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
@officeofJJR Like you used non violent engagement to liberate Ghana!
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
@ChidiOdinkalu @NigeriaGov @FMWA_ng She is right to ask the UN and other multi-lateral organisations to account for funds collected in the name of Nigerians but which has not reached Nigerians (ie there is nothing to show for it). But the talk about “heading to court” is ridiculous. Which court is she heading to?
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
This is really sad. Most of these mine workers are children in such exploitative, unsafe situations.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
11 months
@lorrainemking Ridiculous! No one earning £38k in their country will move to the UK for care work…without their family!
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
3 years
Really proud and delighted to witness the graduation ceremony of another @afruca service user. The right support - often long term, coupled with determination can/will ensure a victim of human trafficking becomes a survivor. Congrats Alice!
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
@LarryMadowo African Union has never acted decisively to address the issue of thousands of Africans being trafficked within its borders and to other parts of the world due to bad governance by its member states but jumps up and down when such bad governance results in popular action.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
2 years
It’s crazy the number of newly arrived Nigerian families referred to our child protection service @afruca due to culturally based child abuse. I was delighted to hold this event in Lagos with @ceehopenigeria to discuss UK Child Protection with potential student migrants, others.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
7 years
When statutory workers fail in their duties to safeguard children at risk, they are complicit in the abuse being perpetrated #BetrayedGirls
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
@m_a_pongo My condolences, Councillor. Terrible news.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
3 years
@yewandeslondon @EwoutFrankema A lecture on African history without Africans is bound to go pear-shaped, so no surprises.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
3 years
When will this end?
@TheVoiceNews
The Voice Newspaper
3 years
Toddler Kemarni Watson Darby suffered rib fractures, court hears Forensic pathologist tells court the toddler suffered "severe force to his abdomen"
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
9 years
My charity @afruca clocks 15 years this year. Grateful for the experience and the opportunity to lead change.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
6 years
Remembering Dr Tajudeen AbdulRaheem, the great Pan-Africanist who passed on Africa Day 2009. Famous quote: "Don't Agonise, Organise!
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
3 years
@vtchakarova Thousands of Polish refugees from the 2nd world war were hosted by Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda. “At the end of 1944, there were 13,364 Polish citizens in three countries of East Africa”.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
10 months
@YOLO_AEMCS They are here in the UK too recruiting Black youth
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
2 years
Really shocked to see a video of a child being assaulted with adults standing by and encouraging the abuse, including the headteacher!! That man is unfit to look after children and he must go! #ThomasKnyvettCollege
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
@HOLALEKAN_DOVE @YorubaHistory @BadekaleTola Mary Slessor worked with local people in calabar to stop the killing of twins. She didn’t do it by herself and she did not step anywhere in Yorubaland.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
10 months
@tosinolaseinde @Sodimu_DA Sadly fake versions will start appearing as is the usual case with successful products in Nigeria
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
@OgbeniDemola Thank you!!! We are very fond of silencing the voices of Africans genuinely working for child and alleviating other voices for different reasons
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
@jburnmurdoch This is totally spot-on. Our small charity has offices in London and Manchester and our experience in regards to staff recruitment absolutely mirrors your analysis. We find in Manchester too many people with Bachelor or Master degrees applying for lower roles and at less pay
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
Please join me on Saturday 17th April at 7pm as I share my thoughts on human trafficking, modern slavery and diaspora communities based on findings from my Churchilll Fellowship report. @wcmtuk
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
@AbdulMahmud01 Thanks so much my bro. Long time indeed. I have done the needful!
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
9 months
@the_beardedsina We’ve seen a similar case here in the UK some years ago. Pastor Deya miracle babies.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
2 years
A jewel I found at a private collector’s in Lagos, Nigeria - first edition (1936) of Equiano’s Travels. This is fantastic! @CrimmdLagos @BMEAntislavery #slavery #transatlanticslavetrade #
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
5 years
I was delighted to visit Ghana Immigration Service Anti-Trafficking Unit HQ in Accra and the Ghana-Togo border at Aflao to explore cross border movements of children, migratory patterns and child trafficking issues. #2019ChurchillFellowship . @wcmtuk #childtrafficking
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
@notcapnamerica What a very evil thing to do!
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
1 year
@afruca the charity I started in 2001 turns 22 years today. It seems like yesterday and I certainly did not ever think we’ll still be doing this 22 years later.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
2 years
The UK should be a sanctuary for victims and survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking. Sadly and unfortunately, this is not the case. This situation needs to change.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
10 months
@AntoineSpeaker So no prison? A slap on the wrist?
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
8 years
Absolutely proud of my daughter @LopeAriyo . Tonight, press launch of her new book "Hibiscus", out in June. @TheVoiceNews @Face2faceAFRICA
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
Really pleased to be speaking later today at the launch of Traffik Alert Mobile App to help track and rescue victims of human trafficking and sexual violence in #Ghana . This was one of the projects I researched as part of my @wcmtuk Churchill Fellowship. Kudos @abeyiebschmutz
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
2 years
Thinking about all the children #trafficked into the UK and stuck with the fake names given them by their trafficker, especially because sometimes the Home Office doesn’t believe their trafficking experiences as genuine.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
3 years
@FxChizi @zainabdehinde Absolutely! But that is our world, skewed against us. Do everything to protect yourself.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
6 years
On @BBCr4today shortly to talk about safeguarding in international development and @dfid 's proposals to tighten safeguarding. @afruca
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
Today in February 2000, we learnt of the gruesome death of Victoria Climbie following months of terrible abuse. This year as we mark the 20th anniversary of @afruca I keep wondering if we in the UK have done all we can to prevent similar occurrences.
@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
Victoria Climbie, the 8 year old little girl killed by her “aunt” would have turned 29 years old today. I still remember that day in February 2000 when story of her death broke. She was one of the reasons I started @afruca . Rest on little girl.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
8 years
Absolutely overjoyed as my daughter graduates today with a B.Sc in Mathematics from Loughborough University!
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
5 years
I am really pleased to be in #ghana where I will be travelling cross country to meet with NGOs, government agencies and communities to explore migration and child trafficking in fishing communities and rescue + rehabilitation efforts. @wcmtuk #ChurchillFellowship
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
@blakchildagenda @NParveenG This is a good idea. Is the legal support free? Many of these families might be unable to afford expensive representation
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
Governments in Europe should help the youths of Nigeria achieve the country of their dream. It is the “choicelessness” of Nigeria that pushes the youth into forced migration and makes Nigerians the most trafficked people in Europe. #EndSARS #NigerianLivesMatter #antislaveryday
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
After they’ve dealt with all these people, there was no one else to turn on apart from me. But there was no one to speak out for me because they already came for everyone else.
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@DebbieAriyo
Debbie Ariyo OBE
4 years
Yet another victim of trafficking taking a UK agency to court for failure to carry out their duty of care, resulting in half a decade of slavery, suffering, abuse, exploitation. Sadly, the system follows same pattern - out of court settlement for non disclosure. This has to stop!
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