SHAPING MIGRATION – INCREASING PEOPLE’S OPPORTUNITIES THERE ARE MANY REASONS WHY PEOPLE LEAVE THEIR HOMES – BUT ALMOST ALWAYS IT’S THE HOPE OF FINDING A BETTER, MORE PEACEFUL AND SAFER LIFE, OR THE CHANCE OF HELPING THEIR FAMILIES BACK HOME BY EARNING A HIGHER INCOME. THE JOURNEY IS OFTEN A LONG ONE – AND NOT JUST GEOGRAPHICALLY. CREATING PROSPECTS FOR PEOPLE – IN THEIR OLD AND NEW HOMES
As well as providing safety and emergency aid, creating prospects for the future is therefore the key task in GIZ’s programmes – for refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and migrants. Migration in particular must be managed. This can also mean building prospects where people would most like to be: at home. A FRESH START IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY
Displacement does not always take people to other countries. Most people fleeing from violent confl icts go to more peaceful parts of their own country. Virtually unnoticed by the global public, Colombia has the highest number of IDPs anywhere in the world – some 6.8 million people have fled the civil war. Often they are unwelcome, because resources and infrastructure are barely sufficient even for the local population. Safe water, housing, schools and work are in short supply – for everyone. The local authorities and provincial governments are often not in a position to provide IDPs with prospects for a fresh start in life. They are being supported in this complex task by GIZ, which is implementing several projects in Colombia on BMZ’s behalf. In Caquetá Department, for 32
GIZ Integrated Company Report 2016
instance, one of the regions in Colombia hardest hit by the armed conflict, GIZ is supporting the mayor’s office in Florencia, the department’s capital, in setting up a victim support service point for IDPs. The service point aims to allay their fears of further displacement, and encourage them to register. In order to qualify for compensation, IDPs must be entered in the register of victims. This also makes it easier for them to find a job. The first results of this engagement are plain to see. Almost 4,000 people have found work, many of them single mothers. Forty small enterprises have started up, and around 100 people have received training in the booming construction industry. And members of a first indigenous community who were forced to leave their homes are now living at a new location where they can preserve their culture outside their traditional territory. APPS FOR BETTER PROSPECTS
Alongside wars and conflicts, a lack of prospects is the most frequent reason why people leave their homes. Boosting economic activity is therefore one of the key tasks in emerging economies and developing countries. This is why Tunisia intends to encourage young people to enter the promis-