6/22/2021 South Asia’s migrants share problems, share solutions | Nepali Times Advertisement OFW Investment Opportunities: Best Ways to Grow Your Hard-Earned… Ad Lessandra Homes Open He says the embassies of other South Asian countries have also not initiatied such meetings, perhaps because they are all also bogged down by day to day activities. However, there is more interaction between ambassadors of countries sending migrant workers. Sharmila Parajuli Dhakal, Ambassador of Nepal to Oman, says that when Nepal was Chair of the Colombo Process, the Nepal Embassy hosted a conference in 2018 on curbing human trafficking in Oman with representatives from both Abu Dhabi Dialogue, Colombo Process and the Oman government. Non-government actors across countries have also engaged in collaborative initiatives. Organisations like the Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA) have brought together civil society players from multiple countries, Panos South Asia has organised a joint fellowship for journalists from the region reporting on migration issues, and migration features prominently in the work of South Asian Regional Trade Union Council (SARTUC), a regional federation of national level trade unions of South Asia. After the onset of Covid-19, given the high incidence of migrants who were victims of wage theft, MFA has mobilised its cross-country members on a comprehensive global campaign (https://justiceforwagetheft.org/en/page/kjolr2n202) calling for migrants to be adequately compensated for their work. At the individual level, migrants often coordinate across nationalities even though freedom of association is discouraged and even barred in select destination countries. Just last week, a Malaysian court ruled in favour of 65 migrants that included Nepalis and Indians who had sued US tyre maker Goodyear (https://www.reuters.com/business/exclusive-us-tyremaker-goodyear-faces-allegations-labour-abuse-malaysia-2021-05-31/) for underpayment of wages who has been ordered to pay back the migrants. 58 Shares https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/south-asias-migrants-shared-problems-share-solutions/ 10/19