IOM will today launch a series of interactive theatre performances
in different Pakistani cities to inform people about human
trafficking, in support of the government’s efforts to combat
the phenomenon.

The performances, organized with the Lahore-based Interactive
Resource Centre, will address the issue of “camel
jockeys” during three performances in Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar
Khan and Multan on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday of this week.

In recent years, hundreds of young children usually from the
poverty-stricken desert areas of the southern Punjab have been
trafficked to the Gulf States where they were forced to work as
camel jockeys in popular, traditional camel races.

This year the IOM mass information campaign will go on to
organize a total of 12 performances focusing on different counter
trafficking themes in the provinces of Balochistan, Sindh and North
West Frontier Province.

The objective is to raise awareness, particularly in vulnerable
communities in rural areas and border towns. The campaign will also
help government agencies to identify victims of trafficking.

“Interactive theatre techniques are a way to examine
challenging issues and find solutions to social problems. People
usually react more positively to visuals and to situations that
involve them or that they personally experience,” says
project manager Muhammad Amin.

Another major component of the programme will focus on building
the capacity of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and its
anti-trafficking units (ATUs) through training and the provision of
state-of-the-art information technology and database software.

The programme will be implemented in close collaboration with
the FIA’s ATUs, the Ministry of Interior and Provincial Home
Departments, the Interactive Resource Centre and local NGOs.

For more information please contact:

Saleem Rehmat

IOM Pakistan

Tel: +92.300.8565967

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