Managing Migration for the Benefit of All
A Prayer for Victims of Trafficking
5.12.2008
Moldova’s Inter-Denominational Coalition for the Prevention of Trafficking of Human Beings and IOM are inviting people in the eastern European country to unite in prayer on 7 December for victims of human trafficking and for families separated by migration.
During the second such event to be held in Moldova, all churches and prayer houses of Orthodox and Baptist confessions will host a special ceremony for the national prayer day featuring different events organized in the capital and in several regions. These will include candle-lit processions, the distribution of information material and concerts.
This event is part and parcel of IOM efforts to mobilize faith based organizations to prevent human trafficking in the country where more than 2,425 victims of trafficking and more than 1,000 potential victims have been assisted by the Chisinau Protection and Assistance Centre since 2001.
More than 1,000 priests and other religious personnel were trained to conduct awareness raising activities on human trafficking and gender-based violence, to work with socially vulnerable families, to identify victims and refer them for assistance, as well as on facilitating the reintegration of trafficked individuals. Several advocacy and community based activities on preventing and combating human trafficking have also been carried out.
The national prayer day is also a reminder to Moldovan society on the extent and consequences of migration. Although Moldova benefits greatly by out migration, particularly through remittances sent home which represent nearly a third of the country’s GDP, the levels of people leaving are high. About 25 per cent of the labour force (as many as 450,000 people) was estimated to be living abroad in 2007, according to a recent survey. As a result, about 35,000 school-age children in Moldova have both parents’ abroad and another 75,000 children with one parent abroad.
For further information, please contact Sophie Baumgartner, IOM Moldova, Tel: + 373 22 23 29 40, email: sbaumgartner@iom.int
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