The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has initiated in the communities of Barrio Balboa and Herrera in La Chorrera the community outreach activities of the 'Piénsalo 2 Veces' campaign, an initiative that seeks to strengthen the capacities of young people so that they can be informed correctly and make better decisions, thus avoiding the risks associated with false offers and news for the purpose of labour exploitation and human trafficking.  

The campaign, launched on September 23, 2021, is the result of a participatory and inclusive process of gathering information and evidence that went on to deepen the behaviours, attitudes and practices of young migrants in La Chorrera. It includes the dissemination of animated audiovisual content, key messages and information, as well as community outreach activities that allow young people to avoid situations of deception or fraud, learn about regular migration and identify development opportunities in their communities. 

Evidence shows that if the labour rights of the migrant population were violated, most people would not know who to turn to. In addition, it was identified that many of the people surveyed would seek more information about better working conditions, but that six out of ten people would take any job even knowing that they are at risk of having their rights violated and suffering labour exploitation. 

In this sense, together with the young campaign ambassadors and the National Commission Against Trafficking in Persons, a movie forum was organized and the group participated in the first Festival of Interculturality in La Chorrera, organized by IOM. It had an information booth visited by more than 230 young people, who strengthened their knowledge to make informed decisions and avoid being victims of crimes associated with human trafficking and others associated with irregular migration. 

In this regard, Santiago Paz, Head of the Panama Administrative Centre and Chief of Mission in Panama, said that "with Piénsalo 2 Veces we not only seek to inform, but to generate new capacities in the youth in La Chorrera, which together with different activities carried out jointly with local actors strengthen the commitment to develop actions that provide alternatives to irregular migration and prevent the risks associated with human trafficking." 

Similarly, Dennis Carranza, one of the youth ambassadors of the campaign, stressed that "integrating youth in the construction and dissemination of the campaign in La Chorrera plays a fundamental role in strengthening knowledge and decision-making, allowing this type of campaign to be more effective in motivating us precisely to look at reliable sources for decision-making and to not be a victim of human trafficking." 

The campaign is accompanied by other reliable information resources, both digital and printed, that emphasize the need to report these situations, as well as the contact numbers of relevant institutions to carry out such complaints and that are housed in the virtual community that IOM develops to inform migrants in the region:  http://somoscolmena.info 

Think About It 2 Times is an initiative of IOM's Western Hemisphere Program, with support from the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) of the United States Department of State. 

For more information, contact IOM Panama's communications team via iompanama@iom.int.