Behruz Rahmonov, 18, student of the Dalyan University of Languages in China, and Bunyod Pulodzoda, 23, student of the Khujand State University, were awarded with modern big screen smart LG TV sets for winning IOM Tajikistan social media essay contest announced under USAID Dignity and Rights project.

Behruz has shared with Facebook audience his personal and family experience of migration named “Dad will bring a gum”. In a brave come out, the young student tells his own story of going through psychological impact of being far from his migrant father and the financial impact of it to him and his mother. The story teaches families of migrants how to overcome obstacles and reach a better life. The story has a happy end, which is a rare case in reality. It was also shared on web-site of Avetsa.tj news agency. Behruz says to avoid the same fate of being a migrant worker in Russia as his father and being far from his children, he did his best to win a scholarship to study in China. As Behruz now studies in China, his father, the hero of his story, received the prize on his behalf.

“Who protects and defends a Tajik migrant?” – is the title of a material submitted by Bunyod. Bunyod published his piece on Facebook and Odnoklassniki, as well as at akhbor.com web-site. The current situation in labor migration from Tajikistan in the Russian Federation is well analyzed and the challenges Tajik migrant workers face in the destination country is described. The author has shared the material in three most popular social media networks in Tajikistan and got the most engagement by likes and comments among all other materials. Bunyod lives in Khujand and on his behalf the prize was given to his brother.