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Campaign Press Conference |
One out of three women trafficked to Turkey are mothers with children. That is the focus of the IOM-coordinated counter-trafficking information and awareness campaign launching this month. The centerpiece of the campaign is a television advertisement to be broadcast on channels throughout Turkey. The advertisement entitled "Have You Seen My Mother?" is focused on four children from the former Soviet Union in search of mothers trafficked to Turkey. The commercial was filmed in Moldova and focuses on the toll that trafficking takes not just on individuals but on the families, communities and the children of trafficked women. The commercial will be shown on Turkish channels nationwide and be accompanied by a nationwide print campaign. The campaign is being produced within the framework of the Turkish-government coordinated and IOM-implemented campaign to combat human trafficking. The $700,000 USD project is funded by the U.S. Government with co-funding from the Turkish government. Media sponsor include Turkish broadcaster Kanal D and Star TV, film distributor FIDA FILM, and the cinema company Sinefekt. Other official campaign sponsors include airport authorities in Istanbul, Trabzon and Antalya, IETT Istanbul municipal bus company and local governments in Ankara, Antalya, Izmir and Trabzon. A special reception launching the campaign is scheduled for February 2 in Ankara. For more information on the reception or the campaign contact Selin Arslan at
sunal@iom.int.
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Turkey, Trafficking & Trends |
Four hundred and sixty nine individuals were identified as trafficked to Turkey in 2005. This is among the findings of a major new report released this month, "2005: Turkey, Trafficking and Trends." Sixty percent of the women identified as trafficked to Turkey and assisted by IOM came from two countries, Moldova and Ukraine. Russia, Kyrgystan and other nations of the former Soviet Union made up the balance of the caseload. As well as finding that more than one third of women trafficked to Turkey are women, the report also found that illegal profits from trafficking to Turkey top more than $1 billion per year. Other key findings include: Seventy four percent of trafficked individuals assisted by IOM were recruited by citizens of their own country; Eighty six percent of the individuals trafficked to Turkey had a personal relationship with their recruiter; Seventy six percent of trafficked individuals were poor and 50 percent had not more than a middle school education, completing the picture of a trafficked population with limited income and skills. Overall, the study documents how income inequality and the lack of good jobs in source countries is fueling - and will likely to continue fueling - trafficking from the key source countries in the former Soviet Union and beyond. The report was made possible through financial support from the U.S. Government and IOM's 1035 Facility, which has provided funding to over 120 projects in IOM member states worldwide.
The IOM-coordinated counter-trafficking information website www.countertrafficking.org this month expands its offering of multi-media learning and information tools. Complimenting podcasts now featured on the site in Turkish and English, the site adds an audio slide show (Turkish/English) focusing on highlights of the new IOM report, "2005, Turkey, Trafficking & Trends." (IOM-Turkey podcasts can be downloaded from www.countertrafficking.org or the Apple Itunes service. Go to the Apple Itunes Podcast page and type in IOM in the search field, located in the left hand column) The feature is aimed to expand communication with the media as well as opinion and policy makers in and outside of Turkey. Journalists can download an "MP3" broadcast ready audio file of the new "Have You Seen My Mother?" commercial and a "MPG" video will also be posted. The commercial is available immediately as a windows media player file.
More than 200 refugees are expected to receive assistance this month under the IOM-coordinated refugee resettlement programs. One hundred twenty seven refugees are headed to the United States as part of the U.S. Refugee Program. The vast majority of the refugees are from Iran (with a smaller number from Iraq). They have been granted asylum while in Turkey, and IOM is coordinating their resettlement to a third country. An additional 85 refugees are headed to Finland and 50 to Australia. IOM is coordinating cultural orientation for the refugees headed to Finland and conducting the orientation for the Australia bound refugees. The IOM cultural orientation program includes background on history, housing, cultural differences, budgeting banking and other topics to smooth the way for refugees to become integrated into Australian society.
