A nationwide sporting tournament to promote safe migration
organized by IOM is taking place today in Zimbabwe.

The one day tournament in which youths aged between 15-24 years
will participate in the towns of Beitbridge, Bulawayo, Chiredzi and
Mutare, is an effort to raise awareness on the risks and realities
of irregular migration and HIV and AIDS.

On 8 November, the tournament will travel to the capital, Harare
to engage the youth there. An estimated 1500 young people will
participate in the tournament with support from local authorities,
schools and communities.

Youth constitute 68 per cent of Zimbabwe's population and while
being the most likely to migrate in search of opportunities, are in
turn, the least likely to know the requirements for legal
migration.  According to IOM research, 51 per cent of those
youth surveyed had a passport or knew how to get one whilst only 24
per cent of those surveyed had a visa or knew how to obtain
one.

The tournament is part of IOM's Safe Journey Information
Campaign that started in 2005 with an aim to helping Zimbabwean
youth make the right migration choices and be informed on HIV and
AIDS. The campaign, funded by the UK Department for International
Development (DFID) and with support from the Zimbabwean government,
uses a range of multi-media tools to inform and advocate in
addition to running youth centre 'Safe Zones' offering safe
migration edutainment activities. It also does community outreach
work, holds an annual national youth dialogue on migration as well
as offering livelihood skills building activities.

Individuals who live or work abroad without the appropriate
documents are 'irregular migrants' and are vulnerable to
exploitation and mistreatment as well as likely deportation and
increased risk to exposure of HIV and AIDS.

Since June 2006, IOM has assisted more than 258,000 Zimbabwean
migrants, returned from South Africa, at the Beitbridge Reception
and Support Centre. An average of one in five individuals reported
that they were victimized by either physical or sexual violence
during the process of irregular migration or while in the host
country. In May 2008, South Africa experienced a spike in violent
attacks against migrants leaving nearly 60 people dead and tens of
thousands internally displaced.

For further information please contact:

Erin Foster

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

Tel: +263 4 335048