New Campaign Informs Migrants of the Perils of Irregular Migration
Italy – ‘Aware Migrants’ is a new campaign that has emerged from the stories of migrants who were assisted by and spoke to International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Italy, after they were rescued in the Mediterranean, writes Federico Soda. The campaign aims to inform people who are considering migrating irregularly across the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean about the perils of irregular migration.
As IOM, our experience and closeness to migrants makes us aware of the risks that they undertake to reach Europe. We know how dangerous the Mediterranean Sea is and also that the journey across the Sahara desert could even be more dangerous. We do know that the Mediterranean Sea continues to be the most dangerous body of water in the world and that more than 3,000 migrants and refugees have already died this year alone – despite commendable ongoing search and rescue efforts by governments and civil society and attempts to reduce loss of life.
These journeys are facilitated by unscrupulous criminals who exploit desperate migrants’ hopes, putting their lives at risk.
You can watch the migrants’ testimonies here.
KJ