"JAPA" Across the Sahara Desert — The Untold Truth About Illegal Migration and a Guide to Avoid Human Traffickers

By Chikaodili Deng (née Anene), MPH

Every year, thousands of Nigerians leave for Europe through the desert. Most families never hear the full story of what happened to them, they don't know if their loved ones are dead or alive, languishing in prisons.

This book tells that story, plainly, completely, and in a way that could save a life.

It contains the conversation nobody is willing to have loudly enough, genuine conversation about what the Libya route actually costs, including human lives, what traffickers say to recruit their next victim, and what really happens to the people who come back. Not the ones posting snow pictures, but the ones sleeping on embassy floors waiting for a flight home, the ones paying their Madams with their bodies, their freedom.

Written by public health expert and migration advocate Chikaodili Deng (née Anene), MPH, the book is drawn from the real testimonies of survivors who made it back. It is built as a an eye-opener, call it warning if you would, for everyone still considering that precarious road.

Inside, you will find:

The exact lies traffickers use to recruit their victims, and how to recognise them before it is too late
How social media is being used right now as a trafficking tool, targeting people who are desperate enough to stop asking questions
What the desert, Libya, and the Mediterranean crossing actually look like, the parts nobody posts online
The juju oath system that traps women in sexual bondage and why it is harder to escape than physical chains
Concrete, legal alternatives to the Libya route that exist today and are accessible to ordinary Nigerians

This is not a book that tells you that wanting a better life is wrong. Rather, it is a book that tells you the truth about the Japa route through the Sahara Desert which is being falsely sold as the answer, so that you can choose differently, and choose wisely.

For you. For your child. For that friend who just said they have a connection.