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The International Organization for Migration today announced the end to its summer campaign to provide information on legal migration and the dangers of trafficking after recording a sharp increase to the National Hotline and a grass-roots outreach operation that visited over 50 communities across Moldova.
IOM July 1 launched the Migration Information Project. with a website, www.migratie.md, mobile information center/minibus and a nationwide media campaign. The project is being carried out in the framework of the EU-funded "Combatting Trafficking in Women" project with co-funding from the U.S. Government.
During the course of the campaign, the minibus hit 52 locations over four weeks, stopping at summer camps, villages, and major towns. Specially trained IOM interns provided information about legal migration, risks of illegal migration and dangers of trafficking. They also conducted interviews and gathered opinions about the needs for migration information.
The nationwide media campaign included a 4-minute music video, "Undeva," by the rock band The Snails and a 30-second advertisement to maximize cross-promotion of the toll free 24/24 hotline (0-800-77777) and www.migratie.md. In the first six weeks of operation, the website received upwards of 4900 visitors, averaging over 100 visitors per day.
Calls to the toll-free Hotline operated by IOM partner La Strada doubled compared to the same period last year, with 690 calls registered between July, 1 and August 6. That number was up from 350 during the same period in 2003. About 70 percent of the calls came from rural areas, particularly from young women, a primary target group.
"During the course of our five week campaign, we discovered a strong demand for information about going abroad and the dangers of trafficking," said Marielle Sander-Lindstrom, IOM Chief of Mission. "We want to make sure that if someone has made the decision to go abroad for whatever reason that they get the information they need to make the right choice about their future."
The summer campaign was carried out according to the goals of the EU-funded project to reduce trafficking by increasing public awareness through the distribution of objective and reliable information about illegal migration and the dangers of trafficking.
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