7/29/2020
The South Asian-Gulf migrant crisis - The Hindu
Rehabilitate, reintegrate, and resettle
The countries of origin are now faced with the challenge of rehabilitating, reintegrating,
and resettling these migrant workers. To facilitate this, the Indian government has
announced ‘SWADES’ for skill mapping of citizens returning from abroad, but
implementation seems uncertain. Kerala, the largest beneficiary of international
migration, has announced ‘Dream Kerala’ to utilise the multifaceted resources of the
migrants. Bangladesh has announced a special package for the resettlement of return
migrants which includes money on arrival, money to launch self-employment projects,
and compensation for the families of those who died abroad from COVID-19. The Overseas
Employment Corporation in Pakistan has come out with special programmes to upgrade
the skills of returnees.
The past three major crises in the Gulf – the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the global economic
crisis, and Nitaqat in Saudi Arabia – had not triggered a massive return migration.
However, the unprecedented nature of COVID-19 along with the fluctuation of oil prices
has triggered unpredictable levels of reverse migration. In the past, high unemployment
among the natives, the economic crisis, demographic imbalance, and the Arab spring
triggered the movement for nationalisation of labour in the GCC countries. Now, the
movement for nationalisation of labour and the anti-migrant sentiment have peaked.
Countries like Oman and Saudi Arabia have provided subsidies to private companies to
prevent native lay-offs. However, the nationalisation process is not going to be smooth
given the stigma attached to certain jobs and the influence of ‘royal sheikh culture’.
Also read | Most COVID-19 positive Indians abroad are in the Gulf
Paradoxically, countries that are sending migrant workers abroad are caught between the
promotion of migration, on the one hand, and the protection of migrant rights in
increasingly hostile countries receiving migrants, on the other. The need of the hour is a
comprehensive migration management system for countries that send workers as well as
those that receive them. No South Asian country except Sri Lanka has an adequate
migration policy. The pandemic has given us an opportunity to voice the rights of South
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