Uganda / Information Campaign Promotes Safe Migration
KAMPALA, Uganda, April 24, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IOM Press Briefing Notes.
An eight-week nationwide information campaign to promote safe migration and to prevent irregular migration and human trafficking from, to and through Uganda has been launched as a joint initiative between the Ugandan government, the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the African Union (AU) and IOM.
The campaign is part of a broader European Commission funded regional effort in five of the six IGAD countries (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Kenya and Uganda) to ensure potential migrants are aware of the risks involved in irregular migration by land and sea, especially along the East African migration route which stretches from the Horn of Africa to and through Sudan and Libya and across the Mediterranean sea.
Potential migrants will also be encouraged to seek legal opportunities for migration which would offer some level of protection once a destination country has been reached.
The campaign seeks to target community leaders and local government officials, civil society groups as well as young people in secondary schools and youth associations through public service announcements, talk shows on national and commercial radio and television stations, adverts in newspapers, as well as posters and flyers for wide distribution.
“The so-called benefits of irregular migration are nothing but a cruel illusion,” says Matia Kasaijja, Uganda’s Minister of State for Internal Affairs. “The government applauds this joint initiative and reiterates its commitment to cooperate with all national and international partners to identify practical solutions and humane responses to the challenges of irregular migration.”
An estimated 171,100 regular Ugandan migrants were believed to be living abroad in 2000 according to census data, with the UK and Tanzania being the main destination countries and the USA, Canada and Germany also popular. However, the number of Ugandans irregular migrants abroad is unknown.
While the positive contribution of Ugandan migrants to the Ugandan economy is well recognized, close to one billion dollars remitted home in 2008, there is considerable concern that an increasing number of Ugandans are taking greater risks to seek employment opportunities abroad through smuggling networks.
“Many Ugandans have been lured into irregular migration by conmen who promise better financial opportunities abroad. Often, they work through intermediaries who are known and “trusted” individuals within their communities,” says Jeremy Haslam, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Uganda. “The reality is vastly different as many will later fall into the hands of criminals that force them into situations involving sexual or labour exploitation after they have already endured dangerous journeys to destination countries.”
Campaigns have already started in Kenya and Ethiopia, with Djibouti due to start soon and Sudan to begin in June.
SOURCE
International Office of Migration (IOM)
