The rap song, "Khribga Bdat", or "Khouribga, the Beginning", is a
call by a group of young would-be artists from Khouribga to the
youth of Morocco, to reject the lure of illegal immigration and to
reflect upon the opportunities available to them, beginning at
home.

Khribga Bdat, which has already earned a wide audience on
Moroccan radio, is the product of collaboration between IOM and the
Moroccan Ministry of Social Affairs, Solidarity and Family.

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title="">Khouribga, the Beginning

The song is one of a series of activities carried out under the
Solidarité Avec Les Enfants du Maroc or SALEM Project,
funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs targeting young
Moroccans and engaging them in a discussion focusing on their
vision of the future of the country. The project encompasses an
awareness campaign around the dangers of illegal immigration using
the input of local youth to inform and promote social services for
young people in the region.

A performance of the Khribga Bdat song premiered in the Moroccan
town by the same name, on the 19th and 20th of June before an
audience of thousands on the occasion of the "Weekend for
Prevention of Irregular Migration by Minors".

The song and an accompanying Youtube video, "paragraph-link-no-underline-bold" href=
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-Kgk4ay10Y" target="_blank" title=
"">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-Kgk4ay10Y, were composed by
ten participants of the SALEM project with the support of the
reknowned Casablanca rap group Casa Crew and musical personality
Chaht Man.

A live performance by the group formed the centrepiece of the
weekend activities in Khouribda which also included informational
booths by local educational institutions, professional training and
extracurricular programmes, debates on the role of youth and their
vision for the future of Morocco, break-dance contests and live
shows by rap, fusion and traditional music artists.

"The project aims at preventing the irregular migration of
minors, by supporting social activities for young people," says IOM
Project Manager Giulia Micciché. "The challenge lies in
breaking down the social exclusion of youth and in creating
awareness around opportunities for young people at a local level so
that migration becomes one of many choices and is not seen  as
the only means of getting ahead," Micciché adds.

More than 1,400 young Moroccans aged 9 to 22 years, are
participating in SALEM project activities, which began in October
2008.

For further information, please contact:

Flavio Di Giacomo

IOM Rome

Tel: + 39 06 44 186 207

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

or

Giulia Micciché

IOM Rabat

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