Aware Migrants

In addition to the Aware Migrants website, the campaign's social media - in particular Facebook, but also YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter accounts - are being used here to serve as a kind of "message in a bottle" thrown into cyberspace, in the words of the interior minister, Angelino Alfano. These platforms will give migrants the opportunity to exchange opinions and experiences, as well as to share pictures, videos, and other types of testimonies gathered throughout the journey. The video messages, which are available online and will be aired on television in 15 countries, are subtitled in English and are also available in Italian and Arabic. The campaign will also use radio (click here to listen to the audio stories) to convey its messages. African artist Rokia Traoré's official song for the campaign, "Be aware brother, be aware sister", is designed to further disseminate the initiative.

Migration

As of late July 2016, it was estimated that 3,000 people had been killed so far in 2016 while attempting to reach Italy's southern shore, while 60% of refugees had their applications rejected in 2015 because they were not deemed by authorities to be "true refugees" fleeing war. Initially, the vast majority of refugees heading for Italy were from war-stricken Syria, Afghanistan, and Eritrea. But in 2016, people have also been arriving from Nigeria, Gambia, Mali, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Ghana. Many of these refugees from sub-Saharan Africa are not necessarily fleeing war but are trying to escape abject poverty in search of opportunities in Europe. Matteo Renzi, Italy's prime minister, has insisted Italy and all of Europe had a humanitarian duty to protect people making the journey. But Renzi - like most European leaders - seeks to show he is taking steps to differentiate between refugees who are fleeing war and those who are seeking a better life and economic opportunities.

"Information is empowerment," said Director of the IOM Coordination Office for the Mediterranean Federico Soda. "This campaign was born and established on this principle. As IOM, our experience and proximity to migrants make us aware of the risks that they undertake to reach Europe. The vast majority tell us that the journey was far more dangerous than they expected. More precisely, many are unaware of the dangers and risk of migrating assisted by smugglers, not only at sea or in the desert, but also in transit countries like Libya. This is constantly confirmed by our staffers, who work directly with migrants and hear their stories. Recalling all these memories about the life-threatening risks along their journey is often taboo; migrants wish to forget and go forward with their lives, and they do not share their experience with peers who are still at home."