diff --git a/dr_botzo/karma/ircplugin.py b/dr_botzo/karma/ircplugin.py
index 87ac983..a8f1032 100644
--- a/dr_botzo/karma/ircplugin.py
+++ b/dr_botzo/karma/ircplugin.py
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 """Karma hooks for the IRC bot."""
 
+from __future__ import unicode_literals
+
 import logging
 import re