"The Seventh Kafana", a hard-hitting play describing the plight of
victims of trafficking will be performed next week for the first
time in four Swiss cities as an effort to raise awareness among the
public on human trafficking and its consequences for the victims.

"The Seventh Kafana" was originally developed in Moldova by the
theatre group "Coliseum" as part of an IOM counter-trafficking
programme funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and
Cooperation (SDC).

The play is based on the real life stories of women who have
received IOM protection and reintegration assistance in Moldova.
The title of the play derives from a Macedonian word for
"bar".  Mihai Fusu, co-author of the play and stage director
explains that "during conversation with women, the Kafanas were
described as the places where they were exploited. They were sold
from one Kafana to another. The number seven (saptea) represents
the story of a woman who could escape when she was in the seventh
Kafana".

The women are recruited by false promises of jobs abroad and
often end up forced into sexual servitude.

 

The play toured Moldova in 2001 and was subsequently performed in
Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, and featured at various cultural
events in France and Germany.

In 2002, the Federal Office of Police estimated that between
1,500 and 3,000 persons are trafficked to Switzerland for the
purpose of sexual exploitation. Victims originate mostly from
Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, the Baltic States, but also from
countries as far afield as Brazil or Thailand.

The performances, organized by IOM Bern in cooperation with the
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), will take place on
the following dates:

• 25.02.08, 19h00, Maiers Raum für Theater,
  Albisriederstrasse 16, Zurich
• 27.02.08, 19h00, Theater am Käfigturm, Spitalgasse 4, 3
  UG, Bern
• 28.02.08, 19h30, Théâtre de l'Alhambra, Rue de la
  Rôtisserie 10, Geneva
• 29.02.08, 19h30, Cinema Teatro, Via D. Alighieri 3b,
  Chiasso

Roundtable discussions bringing together experts working in the
field of counter-trafficking and members of the theatre group will
take place after each performance.

For further information, please contact:

Tanja Brombacher

IOM Bern

Tel: +41 31 350 82 16

E-mail: "mailto:tbrombacher@iom.int">tbrombacher@iom.int

or

Media and Public Information

IOM Geneva

Tel: + 41 22 717 9486/+41 22 717 9361

or visit "http://www.ch.iom.int">www.ch.iom.int