‘Stay Safe, Stay Legal’ is the call given by Caritas India at Jalandhar city to all the aspiring people who want to migrate /immigrate to abroad especially European countries. According to a study, thousands of people attempt to irregularly emigrate from Punjab every year. They sell their properties /assets and give thousands of dollars to agents to make their fortune in abroad.

European Union supported the initiatives for creating an awareness campaign on unsafe migration to spread awareness on the consequences of unsafe migration in Punjab. It is an attempt to reach out to the potential migrants so that they are informed adequately of the consequences of unsafe migration and wean them away from migrating illegally/ irregularly.

The awareness campaign features series of village, district and state level street plays, print media and audio-visual testimonies from voluntary migrants who have returned after enduring physical and psychological trauma.

A radio advertisement through Radio Jockey will also be aired on FM and Community Radio stations to spread the awareness on the demerits of unsafe migration.

Caritas India partnered with Navejeevan Charitable Society to implement this campaign in 13 districts of Jalandhar covering 46 villages. The campaign was officially launched on October 26, 2018, by releasing the IEC materials cum Seminar on Unsafe Migration in Trinity College Jalandhar. 

The seminar enabled the students to understand the issue and impact of unsafe migration to any country in general and in European countries and UK in particular. Mention about the Reintegration programme implemented by Caritas India and Navjeevan Charitable Society was also made.

Fr. (Dr.) Jolly, Assistant Executive Director shared the perspectives of unsafe migration in India and encouraged the youth to use this campaign as an opportunity to address this social challenge.

Monsignor Fr. Xavier TC, Chairman of the Diocesan Education Board of Jalandhar insisted to prepare in addressing the issue of unsafe migration problem in India. He assured the Diocesan support and cooperation to Caritas India to run the campaign meaningfully and successfully which will benefit potential migrants.

A local celebrity from Punjab, John Victor joined the launch and expressed his willingness to support the rollout of Campaign activities.

European Union Liaison Officer, Rain Nurmsalu, representing European Union at the launch shared about the situation of migrant crisis in Europe and emphasized on the voluntary return programme to reintegrate the migrants with their families meaningfully back to the community.

The seminar also discussed the issues of migration, push and pull factors, risk and realities of unsafe migration in Punjab, socio-economic findings on unsafe migration, keys solutions (Role of Non-State Actors) and existing Immigration and legislation laws. The seminar emphasized that migration is an individual choice and one need to be aware of the Do’s and Don’ts on Unsafe Migration.

The campaign invites people from different walks of life to contribute in creating awareness on unsafe migration and save people from the clutches of traffickers and vested interest groups.