Dear Oxana,
Having lived in Transnistria I think I have gained a deep insight of the struggles the society faces every day in different areas, but I have also seen a lot of courage and determination in the eyes and souls of its local people and you are one of them!
I have come back to Moldova and Transnistria as a researcher as I felt the urge to contribute to the growing awareness raising activities in the field of human trafficking.
I am dedicating my thesis to my friend who also lives in Tiraspol and who would like to go abroad for work but
I want her to be safe and not to become a victim of trafficking as so many other girls, who were hoping for a better future abroad, but were trapped.
Your organization contributes to major improvements in this area and is in itself already a major breakthrough, which will eventually result in a brighter future for the young generation, so that they do not have to take high risks and become vulnerable to exploitation but preserve their dignity, health and freedom and can instead take part in the capacity building in the economical, social and legal environment of PMR.
It is a very beginning of a very long and difficult road… but a road worth taking!
I am so glad to have met you and I was very grateful that you have shared your experience about your work with me.
I also will try my best to help you with the fund-raising and spread the word.
All the best
----------
Undine
Researcher Eastern European Studies
Free University Berlin
I went to a lecture last fall on human trafficking and started researching the topic obsessively in my free time. Moldova and Transnistria were places I kept coming across in my reading. Then in May, when the New Yorker article "The Countertraffickers" was published, I was introduced to the work of Interaction for the first time. Thanks to you, Oxana, and your staff, things are changing and will continue to change in the fight against trafficking in Transnistria. Lives are being blessed because of Interaction's hard work and dedication and initiatives such as the media awareness campaign. Thank you and keep up the good work!
Thank you so much for your encouragement and support. I am very pleased that people are taking an interest in the human trafficking issue and that the New Yorker article was able to reach so many. We need to continue spreading information, creating awareness, and garnering support.
I had the pleasure to meet you in Brussels in April 2007 and I was really impressed by the work of your organisation and your personal commitment to the fight against human trafficking, especially in such a difficult area as Transnistria. A country that most people in Western Europe do not even know the existence!
Thank you for your encouragement and support. My staff and I are deeply committed to the fight against human tafficking in this region and hope to continue to partner with other organizations to support the worldwide effort. We would be very grateful for any advice on how best to improve and further our efforts here. We invite people who have never heard of Transnistria to learn about this area and the difficult environment which we are struggling to change for the better.
Dear Oxana,
thanks for sharing your initiative on changeamkrs. I think you have created a very clear and logical description of your programme that helps us all to understand the problem and the steps you are taking to address it. Many projects which are about public education do not try to gather information about their impact for example as they think that just making a problem (better) known is sufficient.
What are your main costs? Would it be possible to think of sustainability through having more local groups cover costs - for example the telephone company for your hotline or transport advertisers for your postering? In some countries like Germany and canada where I have experience this is an established method.
Do you work with any organisations in the "receiving" countries? I would think they would also have an interest in helping keep your citizens happy where they are.
All the best from Berlin
HC
----------
Heather Cameron
Professor
Free University Berlin
University Challenge
Thank you for your comments and support. Currently, our main costs for media advertising are for TV and radio commercials despite the fact that we have 40% and 30% discounts respectively for these mediums from the TV and radio company. We have not had the opportunity (financially) to create any new TV ads in the past couple years, but are hope to be able create a new one by the end of this year. Prices for creating an effective commercial amount to 8,000 euros for a 30-second clip. We are looking into possibilities for reducing this price. Publishing informational booklets, pamphlets, and flyers is also very expensive for us and we have as yet been unable to find anyone who will discount these prices for us.
The problem with working with local groups is that all major businesses here are owned by the government. TV, phone, and transportation companies are all owned by the government in this region and are all, therefore, unwilling to work with us or fund any projects. The government staunchly denies the existence of human trafficking in Transnistria and refuses to support any organization working to combat this issue. Regional propaganda circulates the harmful misconception that human trafficking is widespread in Moldova, but non-existent in Transnistria (which considers itself not a part of Moldova). We meet regularly with other NGOs in Transnistria as well as with other NGOs in greater Moldova. We collaborate on projects and information, but not financially.
As far as working with receiving countries, we are in constant contact with the organizations operating similar hotlines in Turkey, Moscow, Ukraine, and Moldova and maintain strong ties to IOM offices in each of these countries. We have received funds from certain of these organizations for past projects and are currently seeking more consistent or permanent funding.
I hope this answers your questions. Let me know if you’d like more info. Thanks again for your interest!
I'm blown away by your dedication to ending human trafficking despite the physical and financial opposition you have faced. The statistics prove the effectiveness of your campaign, and it's encouraging to see the direct and immediate results that your media outreaches have had on raising awareness and eliciting a response from the population of Transnistria. The videos are moving, and powerfully expose an issue that is easy to leave unexplored from the comfort of our own borders. Your fight to increase awareness of both potential victims and potential proponents of your cause is worth every bit of effort.
Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. Interaction is fighting hard out here in Transnistria, and your comments mean a great deal to us. One of our primary goals is raising awareness, and we believe that this is a fight we can win. Thank you so much for noticing our efforts!
To be entirely honest, I found the videos quite disturbing. The videos themselves are very well done, and I applaud Interaction's efforts to raise awareness in Transnistria. The one question that has not left me since watching, however, is what can I do to help? Perhaps the next awareness campaign can focus on what an ordinary guy like me, here in the United States, can do to help.
Thank you so much for posting this comment. We know the videos are disturbing, and we wish that the stories that they tell were not as common here. Thank you for watching them and for letting us know that you care.
There are some definitive ways that ordinary people can help out - although we doubt an "ordinary guy" would ask this question at all. Interaction has been working in conjunction with the International Office for Migration to create a means for US citizens to make tax-deductible donations that will go directly to the organization. We will be posting more information about this as soon as everything is in place. Please stay tuned and thank you so very much for your concern!
Until seeing this ad campaign, Transnistria seems to have been very much overlooked and it's truly uplifting to see the strong message Interaction is sending about the prevalence with which human trafficking occurs and the serious implications it has on the value of human life and existence.
Until seeing this ad campaign, Transnistria seems to have been very much overlooked and it's truly uplifting to see the strong message Interaction is sending about the prevalence with which human trafficking occurs and the serious implications it has on the value of human life and existence.
Thank you for your comments here. As you could probably tell from the application, Transnistria is a fairly unique place for an NGO, and we do have our share of challenges. We are glad and excited that you also care about the issues we face. Thank you for noticing our organization!
I really didn't know about Transnistria and am extremely saddened that human trafficking has penetrated it so completely. The worst part seems to be that often people don't know how to protect themselves from becoming victims of trafficking, and once they become victims, they also become victims of their own societies. With such ignorant and biased opinions of the victims of this violation of human rights, it seems to me that victims would have a terrible time returning to the societies from which they came. I see the efforts of Interaction as a great way to boldly address this issue by raising awareness among the people in Transnistria, where human trafficking is so rampant. Raising awareness helps in the prevention of this issue, stopping the problem before it starts with those who are exposed to the advertisements. Not only will Interaction's efforts help protect people from the enticements of those involved in the business of trafficking, but, for the unfortunate who have already become victims, this heightened awareness will increase their motivation to escape trafficking and will increase their confidence that they will be accepted back into the societies from which they came.
Thank you for posting such a thoughtful and hopeful comment here! Our team thrives on this type of encouragement, and we appreciate the understanding you offer about the complexities of these issues. We also believe that a general awareness and understanding of these issues will help in the repatriation process and willingness of victims to come forward and return back to their families. We are committed to combating the apathy that allows these crimes to persist.
Although this application only mentions our awareness initiative, another side of Interaction's three-fold mission involves the reintegration and rehabilitation of victims. Our free hotline fields a substantial number of SOS calls, and we work in close partnership with the International Office for Migration to rescue victims in Moldova and in many other countries. We offer psychological counseling and assistance in job placement for those who have returned to Transnistria. Victims can also spend time in a shelter in Chisinau, Moldova, before returning home, and we would like to eventually establish a shelter within Transnistrian borders. Thank you again for your post!
Even without subtitles, I understood immediately what was happening in the ads. I had no idea that Transnistria's government doesn't recognize trafficking as a risk and applaud you for sending such a clear message to the public there. It looks like you're also building a strong network of support through partnerships.
Why is the government so unresponsive? In thinking about barriers, which would you say is higher in Transnistria: invisibility of the problem or inadequate government response/action? Are human traffickers and perpetrators ever prosecuted in the country? If so, what are the results? Would it be possible to leverage your partnerships and form a strategy to get the government to begin acting?
Alyssa,
Thank you for your interest and support. We've tried our best to answer your questions below.
Why is the government so unresponsive?
Given the fact that Transnistrian authorities design their laws to mirror Russian law, there is currently no law for the prevention of human trafficking in Transnistria. Russia also has no such law.
Transnistria declares itself economically, governmentally, and judicially independent of all other states. Transnistria wants to show the socio-economic situation of the people to be very prosperous and thus, local officials refuse to discuss wide-spread problems.
People living in Transnistria are issued Transnistrian passports by which they can freely pass through the Transnistrian borders. But in addition to these passports, all Transnistrian citizens have passports from another country as well, such as Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and others. Some Transnistrians even have multiple passports from various countries. Subsequently, Transnistrians cross the borders of other countries using these other internationally-recognized passports. Because of this, it is easy for Transnistrian authorities to say that illegal migration hardly exists in Transnistria. They claim that human trafficking is not a Transnistrian issue, but an international problem.
Inadequate response:
Invisibility of the problem: People don’t know about the problem of human trafficking, and returning victims don’t even realize that they have become victims. Those who have suffered from human trafficking don’t ask for help from the government or from social organizations because there are no government-supported social programs for victims in Transnistria. The only way this topic receives any attention is through Interaction’s media efforts.
Inadequate government response/action: From the moment work commenced in the prevention of human trafficking, our organization has encountered opposition from local authorities. Often, planned activities had to be rescheduled because of pressure from local authorities. This happened especially often with volunteer seminars and film screenings. Several times, the organization was unable to use our own bank account because local authorities forbid Interaction access to funds.
Are human traffickers and perpetrators ever prosecuted in the country? If so, what are the results? Interaction advises victims to contact local police and file a complaint. If the beneficiary agrees, then the issue falls under the criminal codes of human trafficking. In Transnistria, 7 cases have been opened, and 2 of them are now closed. The rest are still being investigated. Those found guilty in a court of law are sent to prison.
Would it be possible to leverage your partnerships and form a strategy to get the government to begin acting? Beginning this year, there is an initiative in the Transnistrian Parliament to develop a law preventing human trafficking. The law could be accepted, if enough funding remains in the budget. However, a deficit in Transnistrian budget limits possible actions, and many handicapped people and societal orphans remain without help and food. Transnistria lives off subsidies from Russia. Collaborations with government authorities are always short-term. Over the past six years, it has been impossible to secure contracts of collaboration. We foresee the same difficulties in collaboration regarding a law opposing human trafficking. We are waiting for the law to be accepted and in the future we are planning to rework the strategy and action plan regarding the prevention of human trafficking and distribution of help.
Your advertisements are brilliant visually and it's obvious what the gist of the message is, but I wonder if it would be at all possible to add subtitles?
Thank you for the advice! We are currently in the process of adding English subtitles after getting your post yesterday. We're hoping those will be up by next week!
I wanted to wish your NGO the best of luck with this competition. This social injustice is largely unheard of in the public and I appreciate your dedication in highlighting its reality and thus begin the battle to combat this atrocity. May I also suggest contacting Linda Smith, the president of Shared Hope International. I met her last summer and she is incredibly supporting of other NGOs and nonprofits working with this social issue. Again, best of luck!
Thanks so much for the lead. We'll try contacting Linda. You are right - there are simply too few people who are aware of the issue outside of small organizations. Thanks for helping us raise awareness!
Dear Oxana,
Having lived in Transnistria I think I have gained a deep insight of the struggles the society faces every day in different areas, but I have also seen a lot of courage and determination in the eyes and souls of its local people and you are one of them!
I have come back to Moldova and Transnistria as a researcher as I felt the urge to contribute to the growing awareness raising activities in the field of human trafficking.
I am dedicating my thesis to my friend who also lives in Tiraspol and who would like to go abroad for work but
I want her to be safe and not to become a victim of trafficking as so many other girls, who were hoping for a better future abroad, but were trapped.
Your organization contributes to major improvements in this area and is in itself already a major breakthrough, which will eventually result in a brighter future for the young generation, so that they do not have to take high risks and become vulnerable to exploitation but preserve their dignity, health and freedom and can instead take part in the capacity building in the economical, social and legal environment of PMR.
It is a very beginning of a very long and difficult road… but a road worth taking!
I am so glad to have met you and I was very grateful that you have shared your experience about your work with me.
I also will try my best to help you with the fund-raising and spread the word.
All the best
----------
Undine
Researcher Eastern European Studies
Free University Berlin
I went to a lecture last fall on human trafficking and started researching the topic obsessively in my free time. Moldova and Transnistria were places I kept coming across in my reading. Then in May, when the New Yorker article "The Countertraffickers" was published, I was introduced to the work of Interaction for the first time. Thanks to you, Oxana, and your staff, things are changing and will continue to change in the fight against trafficking in Transnistria. Lives are being blessed because of Interaction's hard work and dedication and initiatives such as the media awareness campaign. Thank you and keep up the good work!
Thank you so much for your encouragement and support. I am very pleased that people are taking an interest in the human trafficking issue and that the New Yorker article was able to reach so many. We need to continue spreading information, creating awareness, and garnering support.
Thanks again for your comment.
Oxana
Dear Oxana,
I had the pleasure to meet you in Brussels in April 2007 and I was really impressed by the work of your organisation and your personal commitment to the fight against human trafficking, especially in such a difficult area as Transnistria. A country that most people in Western Europe do not even know the existence!
Dear Vincent,
Thank you for your encouragement and support. My staff and I are deeply committed to the fight against human tafficking in this region and hope to continue to partner with other organizations to support the worldwide effort. We would be very grateful for any advice on how best to improve and further our efforts here. We invite people who have never heard of Transnistria to learn about this area and the difficult environment which we are struggling to change for the better.
Oxana
Dear Oxana,
thanks for sharing your initiative on changeamkrs. I think you have created a very clear and logical description of your programme that helps us all to understand the problem and the steps you are taking to address it. Many projects which are about public education do not try to gather information about their impact for example as they think that just making a problem (better) known is sufficient.
What are your main costs? Would it be possible to think of sustainability through having more local groups cover costs - for example the telephone company for your hotline or transport advertisers for your postering? In some countries like Germany and canada where I have experience this is an established method.
Do you work with any organisations in the "receiving" countries? I would think they would also have an interest in helping keep your citizens happy where they are.
All the best from Berlin
HC
----------
Heather Cameron
Professor
Free University Berlin
University Challenge
Dear Heather,
Thank you for your comments and support. Currently, our main costs for media advertising are for TV and radio commercials despite the fact that we have 40% and 30% discounts respectively for these mediums from the TV and radio company. We have not had the opportunity (financially) to create any new TV ads in the past couple years, but are hope to be able create a new one by the end of this year. Prices for creating an effective commercial amount to 8,000 euros for a 30-second clip. We are looking into possibilities for reducing this price. Publishing informational booklets, pamphlets, and flyers is also very expensive for us and we have as yet been unable to find anyone who will discount these prices for us.
The problem with working with local groups is that all major businesses here are owned by the government. TV, phone, and transportation companies are all owned by the government in this region and are all, therefore, unwilling to work with us or fund any projects. The government staunchly denies the existence of human trafficking in Transnistria and refuses to support any organization working to combat this issue. Regional propaganda circulates the harmful misconception that human trafficking is widespread in Moldova, but non-existent in Transnistria (which considers itself not a part of Moldova). We meet regularly with other NGOs in Transnistria as well as with other NGOs in greater Moldova. We collaborate on projects and information, but not financially.
As far as working with receiving countries, we are in constant contact with the organizations operating similar hotlines in Turkey, Moscow, Ukraine, and Moldova and maintain strong ties to IOM offices in each of these countries. We have received funds from certain of these organizations for past projects and are currently seeking more consistent or permanent funding.
I hope this answers your questions. Let me know if you’d like more info. Thanks again for your interest!
Oxana
I'm blown away by your dedication to ending human trafficking despite the physical and financial opposition you have faced. The statistics prove the effectiveness of your campaign, and it's encouraging to see the direct and immediate results that your media outreaches have had on raising awareness and eliciting a response from the population of Transnistria. The videos are moving, and powerfully expose an issue that is easy to leave unexplored from the comfort of our own borders. Your fight to increase awareness of both potential victims and potential proponents of your cause is worth every bit of effort.
Dear Austin,
Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. Interaction is fighting hard out here in Transnistria, and your comments mean a great deal to us. One of our primary goals is raising awareness, and we believe that this is a fight we can win. Thank you so much for noticing our efforts!
To be entirely honest, I found the videos quite disturbing. The videos themselves are very well done, and I applaud Interaction's efforts to raise awareness in Transnistria. The one question that has not left me since watching, however, is what can I do to help? Perhaps the next awareness campaign can focus on what an ordinary guy like me, here in the United States, can do to help.
Dear Adam,
Thank you so much for posting this comment. We know the videos are disturbing, and we wish that the stories that they tell were not as common here. Thank you for watching them and for letting us know that you care.
There are some definitive ways that ordinary people can help out - although we doubt an "ordinary guy" would ask this question at all. Interaction has been working in conjunction with the International Office for Migration to create a means for US citizens to make tax-deductible donations that will go directly to the organization. We will be posting more information about this as soon as everything is in place. Please stay tuned and thank you so very much for your concern!
Until seeing this ad campaign, Transnistria seems to have been very much overlooked and it's truly uplifting to see the strong message Interaction is sending about the prevalence with which human trafficking occurs and the serious implications it has on the value of human life and existence.
Until seeing this ad campaign, Transnistria seems to have been very much overlooked and it's truly uplifting to see the strong message Interaction is sending about the prevalence with which human trafficking occurs and the serious implications it has on the value of human life and existence.
Dear Anita,
Thank you for your comments here. As you could probably tell from the application, Transnistria is a fairly unique place for an NGO, and we do have our share of challenges. We are glad and excited that you also care about the issues we face. Thank you for noticing our organization!
I really didn't know about Transnistria and am extremely saddened that human trafficking has penetrated it so completely. The worst part seems to be that often people don't know how to protect themselves from becoming victims of trafficking, and once they become victims, they also become victims of their own societies. With such ignorant and biased opinions of the victims of this violation of human rights, it seems to me that victims would have a terrible time returning to the societies from which they came. I see the efforts of Interaction as a great way to boldly address this issue by raising awareness among the people in Transnistria, where human trafficking is so rampant. Raising awareness helps in the prevention of this issue, stopping the problem before it starts with those who are exposed to the advertisements. Not only will Interaction's efforts help protect people from the enticements of those involved in the business of trafficking, but, for the unfortunate who have already become victims, this heightened awareness will increase their motivation to escape trafficking and will increase their confidence that they will be accepted back into the societies from which they came.
Dear Jeff,
Thank you for posting such a thoughtful and hopeful comment here! Our team thrives on this type of encouragement, and we appreciate the understanding you offer about the complexities of these issues. We also believe that a general awareness and understanding of these issues will help in the repatriation process and willingness of victims to come forward and return back to their families. We are committed to combating the apathy that allows these crimes to persist.
Although this application only mentions our awareness initiative, another side of Interaction's three-fold mission involves the reintegration and rehabilitation of victims. Our free hotline fields a substantial number of SOS calls, and we work in close partnership with the International Office for Migration to rescue victims in Moldova and in many other countries. We offer psychological counseling and assistance in job placement for those who have returned to Transnistria. Victims can also spend time in a shelter in Chisinau, Moldova, before returning home, and we would like to eventually establish a shelter within Transnistrian borders. Thank you again for your post!
Hi Oxana,
Even without subtitles, I understood immediately what was happening in the ads. I had no idea that Transnistria's government doesn't recognize trafficking as a risk and applaud you for sending such a clear message to the public there. It looks like you're also building a strong network of support through partnerships.
Why is the government so unresponsive? In thinking about barriers, which would you say is higher in Transnistria: invisibility of the problem or inadequate government response/action? Are human traffickers and perpetrators ever prosecuted in the country? If so, what are the results? Would it be possible to leverage your partnerships and form a strategy to get the government to begin acting?
--Alyssa
Changemakers.net
Alyssa,
Thank you for your interest and support. We've tried our best to answer your questions below.
Why is the government so unresponsive?
Given the fact that Transnistrian authorities design their laws to mirror Russian law, there is currently no law for the prevention of human trafficking in Transnistria. Russia also has no such law.
Transnistria declares itself economically, governmentally, and judicially independent of all other states. Transnistria wants to show the socio-economic situation of the people to be very prosperous and thus, local officials refuse to discuss wide-spread problems.
People living in Transnistria are issued Transnistrian passports by which they can freely pass through the Transnistrian borders. But in addition to these passports, all Transnistrian citizens have passports from another country as well, such as Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and others. Some Transnistrians even have multiple passports from various countries. Subsequently, Transnistrians cross the borders of other countries using these other internationally-recognized passports. Because of this, it is easy for Transnistrian authorities to say that illegal migration hardly exists in Transnistria. They claim that human trafficking is not a Transnistrian issue, but an international problem.
Inadequate response:
Invisibility of the problem: People don’t know about the problem of human trafficking, and returning victims don’t even realize that they have become victims. Those who have suffered from human trafficking don’t ask for help from the government or from social organizations because there are no government-supported social programs for victims in Transnistria. The only way this topic receives any attention is through Interaction’s media efforts.
Inadequate government response/action: From the moment work commenced in the prevention of human trafficking, our organization has encountered opposition from local authorities. Often, planned activities had to be rescheduled because of pressure from local authorities. This happened especially often with volunteer seminars and film screenings. Several times, the organization was unable to use our own bank account because local authorities forbid Interaction access to funds.
Are human traffickers and perpetrators ever prosecuted in the country? If so, what are the results? Interaction advises victims to contact local police and file a complaint. If the beneficiary agrees, then the issue falls under the criminal codes of human trafficking. In Transnistria, 7 cases have been opened, and 2 of them are now closed. The rest are still being investigated. Those found guilty in a court of law are sent to prison.
Would it be possible to leverage your partnerships and form a strategy to get the government to begin acting? Beginning this year, there is an initiative in the Transnistrian Parliament to develop a law preventing human trafficking. The law could be accepted, if enough funding remains in the budget. However, a deficit in Transnistrian budget limits possible actions, and many handicapped people and societal orphans remain without help and food. Transnistria lives off subsidies from Russia. Collaborations with government authorities are always short-term. Over the past six years, it has been impossible to secure contracts of collaboration. We foresee the same difficulties in collaboration regarding a law opposing human trafficking. We are waiting for the law to be accepted and in the future we are planning to rework the strategy and action plan regarding the prevention of human trafficking and distribution of help.
sorry for the horrible, condensed formatting in the above reply. The comments area was too small!
Hopefully the info was helpful nonetheless.
Oxana
Interaction's work is very compelling...
Good luck!
Hi Liberty,
Thank you for checking out our application and for helping us get the word out about the situation here!
Equality 7-2521
Your advertisements are brilliant visually and it's obvious what the gist of the message is, but I wonder if it would be at all possible to add subtitles?
Best of luck to you.
Thank you for the advice! We are currently in the process of adding English subtitles after getting your post yesterday. We're hoping those will be up by next week!
I wanted to wish your NGO the best of luck with this competition. This social injustice is largely unheard of in the public and I appreciate your dedication in highlighting its reality and thus begin the battle to combat this atrocity. May I also suggest contacting Linda Smith, the president of Shared Hope International. I met her last summer and she is incredibly supporting of other NGOs and nonprofits working with this social issue. Again, best of luck!
Thanks so much for the lead. We'll try contacting Linda. You are right - there are simply too few people who are aware of the issue outside of small organizations. Thanks for helping us raise awareness!