IOM, working with national and local authorities in Colombia,
welcomed home a second group of Colombians who had been working in
Japan when the recent earthquake and tsunami struck.

The group of 113 that arrived last night in Bogota had been
transported by the Venezuelan government from Tokyo to the
Venezuelan capital, Caracas.

Since the 11 March earthquake, more than 250 Colombians have
returned from Japan. According to the Colombian Embassy in Tokyo,
there are some 2,000 Colombian migrants in Japan.

The Colombian daily El Espectador quotes Eglis Barrera who
returned earlier this week with her two children after 13 years in
Japan. "I was more or less used to the constant quakes, but now
there is real fear because of the nuclear threat; many migrants are
leaving. I returned because the future there is uncertain and I
have to think of my children. Everything happened so fast that my
husband had to stay behind to take care of our affairs. At the
moment I have no plans to return."

Colombian nationals in Japan are employed in very diverse
sectors and professions, including working as engineers, executives
and consultants in multinational firms and in the automotive
industry, as well as domestic helpers and hotel and restaurant
employees.

As part of the Bienvenido a Casa or Welcome Home Programme, IOM,
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mayor's Office of Bogota,
are providing emergency assistance at the airport, including:
immigration support, medical screening, psychosocial support, food,
and transport to their hometowns.

On Tuesday, 22 March, a first group of more than 160 people,
including 24 Chileans, 3 Peruvians and 2 Ecuadorians as well as
Colombians, were evacuated from Tokyo by a Colombian Air Force
plane. All have been assisted to return to their cities and towns
of origin (Cali, Tulúa, Pereira, Buga, Bucaramanga,
Popayán and Medellín) except seven people, including
three Peruvians,who are still in shelters waiting for
transportation to their final destinations.

The Welcome Home Programme was created in 2008 to provide
emergency assistance and support to vulnerable migrants returning
to Colombia. It has helped more than 1,100 Colombians who have
returned from Haiti and Chile (following the 2010 earthquakes in
both countries), Ecuador, Spain, the United States, Venezuela, and
31 other countries.

The assistance provided to those returning from Japan is
supported by the ministries of foreign affairs, interior, justice
and the mining and energy, the Colombian Air Force, the National
Institute of Family Welfare, the Bogota Mayor's Office, the
District Secretariat of Health, the Colombian Red Cross and the
National Police.

For more information, please contact:

Jorge Gallo

IOM Bogota

Tel: +57 1 639 7777

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