IOM Ethiopia yesterday (18/5) organized a sensitization workshop on the impact of irregular migration. The Addis Ababa event was attended by 120 public figures, community representatives and potential migrants.

High profile attendees included Ethiopian TV pioneer Wubshet Workalemaw, President of the Ethiopian Writers Association Getachew Belete, celebrated musical personality Mulu Gebeyehu and family members of irregular Ethiopian migrants recently murdered in Libya.

The workshop targeted Addis Ababa communities that have witnessed massive irregular migration and tragic loss of life – including beheadings of Ethiopian migrants by Islamic militants in Libya and drownings in Mediterranean shipwrecks en route to Italy and Europe. Thousands of irregular Ethiopian migrants try to reach Europe every year by transiting through Sudan, Libya and Egypt.

The workshop also highlighted government-sponsored local job opportunities, including micro financing schemes, skills training, provision of land for small businesses and other assistance.

IOM, in close collaboration with Ethiopia’s National Anti-Human Trafficking Council and with funding from the European Union (EU) and the United States, has been engaged in a range of similar awareness and behavioral change initiatives in Ethiopia. These include community dialogues, peer education and forumtheater shows.

The sensitization workshop was part of a EUR 2.5 million EU-funded regional project covering Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan. It was co-funded by the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland.

For further information, please contact Alemayehu Seifeselassie at IOM Ethiopia, Tel: +251.11. 6611117 (Ext. 455), Mobile: +251.91.163-9082 Email: salemayehu@iom.int