After promoting counter-trafficking
awareness among thousands of earthquake survivors in tented camps,
IOM is now reaching out to remote rural communities to support
local anti-trafficking networks in identifying vulnerable groups
who might fall prey to trafficking networks.

Working with local and national NGOs and with
the support of local government representatives, IOM community
mobilizers have visited some 20 villages in Mansehra and Balakot
districts to raise awareness through briefings, counselling
sessions and the distribution of flyers and other informational
material.

IOM teams, who have already conducted hundreds
of sessions with male and female groups, focus specifically on
those most at risk such as separated/widowed women,
separated/orphaned children, and widowed single parents.

"After attending one of the awareness-raising
sessions, I have become cautious about people giving lucrative job
offers," says 45-year-old Tanzila, who was among several women who
took part in a counter-trafficking briefing at Chattar Park camp
near Muzaffarabad. "Previously, we were naïve and blindly
trusting people. This new information will help us check people's
credibility and guard our interests and personal security."

As part of the programme, community and
village organizations with grassroots links are trained to identify
possible trafficking situations and to provide referral assistance
to victims of trafficking.

Besides raising awareness in villages, IOM
counter-trafficking teams in Muzaffarabad district have toured many
educational and medical institutions and held sessions with
students, teachers and health staff.

To date, 82 vulnerable individuals have been
identified and provided with economic assistance to create
income-generating activities.

Though no exact figures are available on the
number of people being trafficked into and out of Pakistan, a
recent report by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
confirms Pakistan is a country of origin, transit and
destination.

IOM's counter-trafficking awareness campaign
was launched on 31 March 2006 with the help of Pakistan's Interior
Ministry and funding from the Japanese and the US State
Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.

For further information, please contact:



Saleem Rehmat

IOM Pakistan

Tel: +92.300.856.5967

E-mail: "mailto:srehmat@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">srehmat@iom.int