Dear Reader,
As we complete a year’s worth of Migration Matters (12 issues!), a quick request to share this among your network so we can grow it further! We curate MM for anybody who is interested in keeping up with migration and anything related to it.
NOTE: This month, IMN together with the Indiaspend School of Data Journalism launched a first of its kind migration course. Mapping Migration is designed for journalists, media enthusiasts, policy wonks, students of the social sciences, and anybody with an interest in better understanding migration. This 9 part course, taught and curated by IMN, lays out some of the basic concepts in migration to help you not just craft better migration stories but also become critical consumers of the migration stories currently being told. Find out more:
And now, on with Issue #12!
The Lede
There is often a fear amongst vulnerable populations about access to social security and loss of trust in the government due to 2020 migrant crisis. This fear is aggravated in the informal sector and to tackle this, the Central government, in compliance with the Supreme Court of India, has initiated the process for launching the long-awaited national database portal on unorganised and migrant workers; a time-bound implementation of this portal would ultimately help the informal workers with better social security entitlements. The e-Shram portal was launched on 26th August 2021, and its toll-free number is set to assist workers seeking registration with just a bank account and Aadhaar card. The Working People’s Charter however points out that linkages with Aadhaar may be an issue. WPC also points out that the portal lacks detailing about several schemes, includes the possibility of gender exclusion (by asking for the individual’s father’s name), and may exclude migrants who are registered under different boards, etc. The scheme operates only for individuals, leaving no provision to include details of families or dependents of the workers - hence leaving out the migrant household. WPC also proposes a number of modifications.
READ: WPC’s take on the e-Shram portal + a piece summarising views on this in Newsclick.in + a short piece from IMN Migration Fellow Harshita Sinha on the practical experience of trying to register someone in the portal
The other big news this month, with heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences for forced migration and displacement in Asia is the Afghan crisis. Following a hasty U.S. withdrawal, images of Afghans desperately trying to flee their country - some of them losing their lives in the process - have provoked an international outcry. Several nations including the USA, Germany, France, Italy, and UK are conducting evacuation efforts of their nationals and Afghans. As of August 22, 2021, some 6,000 U.S. troops were working to evacuate U.S. military, American citizens and Afghans who are approved for Special Immigrant Visas. SIVs are a special program to protect Afghans who risked their lives working for U.S. troops in Afghanistan. India, too, has evacuated Indian and other nationals from Kabul and instituted an urgent e-Visa for Afghans. Given the geographical realities, Pakistan and Iran continue to be the top 2 destinationcountries especially since most refugees from Afghanistan leave the country on foot. For decades, Afghans have also fled to Europe and are distributed across countries like Greece, France, Germany, etc and even in the first 3 months of 2021, 7000 Afghans were granted permanent or legal status in Europe. Prior to the current crisis, it is known that at least 3.5 million Afghans remained uprooted within Afghanistan because of violence, political unrest, poverty, climate crisis and lack of economic opportunity in 2021. With the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan may now be unsafe for women and girls, ethnic minorities, journalists, government workers, educators and human rights activists. Although countries like Turkey mention that they donot wish to become “Europe’s refugee warehouse”, others such as Austria and Switzerland have refused to take in Afghan refugees in large numbers.
NOTE: A brief hurdle in the Indian e-Visa process emerged on August 25 when India cancelled all visas in Afghanistan due to reports that the visa granting agency’s passports had been captured by the Taliban. The agency has, since then, refuted the reports.
READ MORE: An overview from Hindustan Times on which countries are taking refugees + An important editorial from the Mixed Migration Centre on why migration from Afghanistan is a lifeline and must be allowed + a beautiful overview of Little Kabul in New Delhi - a haven for Afghan refugees in Homegrown
CHART OF THE MONTH
Credits: The Conversation
The climate clock in New York indicates that we only have around 6 years and 120 days to reverse the cycle of climate change and the deadline is sooner than we can imagine. The very concerning impacts of climate change include extreme heat, food insecurity, drought, displacement, and worse. On August 9th 2021, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) finally released its long awaited climate report. A combined effort of hundreds of scientists across the world comprising a review of over 14000 papers and studies, the report is a confirmation of the human origins of climate change. The view is a bleak one indeed, and holds consequences for the whole of society, and the future of migration so we recommend you have a look at both the original and this short, but detailed summary from Quartz.
What Else?
A recent UNICEF report revealed that during the past year, almost 15 million children are displaced from their birth countries. It was found that most of these children were boys from countries like Afghanistan, Morocco and Syria. The report noted that there exist several differences between girls and boys who are displaced - these include differences in the reasons why they migrate, migration-specific risks they face and likeliness to be educated. In conclusion, it states that governments must address these risks and take steps to mitigate them.
The Telangana government has decided to roll out a migrant workers policy. This policy is meant to empower migrant workers by providing them and their families with various financial and health related benefits. While it is still in the draft stage, if passed this policy is expected to help approximately 15 lakh migrant workers in the state.
The Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill 2021 will soon be introduced in the Indian Parliament but this bill is often questioned on its mere need. However, Pankhuri Agarwal, writing for Open Democracy points out that the Bill seems like a complex amalgamation of existing laws; it does not refer to any of the existing laws directly but states that its provisions will override any existing laws. It also does not provide any clarity on the working mechanism between several structures and it is difficult to deduce the main motive of the Bill considering overlaps and intersections with existing laws. Keeping in mind that it stands in isolation, it also does not acknowledge the voices of the concerned target intersectional population, the emphasis must be on effective implementation of the existing laws rather than creation of new overlapping laws.
Climate change is caused by those belonging to financially forward sections of society, yet it is the marginalised sections that face its consequences. Anshu Gupta in Times of India explains how climate change does not only cause an increase in global temperature but also leads to a number of other disasters such as poverty, unemployment and increasing income inequalities.
A study conducted in late 2020 in Hanoi, Vietnam showed that ethnic minorities in the city were severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns. Most belonging to these groups lost their incomes and were forced to rely on borrowings from friends and family. To help those affected, local governments are making attempts to provide government packages to informal workers affected by pandemic restrictions. Read the report here.
The state of Kerala has started holding vaccination camps to vaccinate its 11.4 million migrant workers. This marks one of many efforts taken by state governments to inoculate as many as possible to reach its year-end target. Migrant workers are some of the most marginalized and disadvantaged in the population and the aim of such vaccination camps is to ensure that they do not have to take time off from work in order to get their jabs.
Good Finds
An interesting intersection of policy, advocacy, and programming through the lens of migration! “A Roadmap for Advocacy, Policy Development, and Programming: Protection in Mixed Movements along the Central and Western Mediterranean Routes 2021” tailors recommendations to improve the protection of refugees and migrants in mixed movements on the Central and Western Mediterranean Routes and should serve as a resource for strategic engagement with different asylum and migration stakeholders at local, national, and international levels.
A guide to the new Indian e-Visa for Afghans: Save and share! Considering the current crisis in Afghanistan, this guide provides step by step filing of application form for emergency E-Visa access to seek refuge in India from Afghanistan for all nationals and religions.
This open access book explores the use of visual methods in migration studies and presents a practical use of various visual methods in researching migrants while also tackling the question of representation of migration in public discourses.
Water, a basic necessity, is now a huge factor accounting to climate migration. Today, as climate change accelerates the global water crisis, the relentless increase in the movement of people around the world requires a considered response to turn crisis into opportunity. Learn more about water as a cause of migration and how we can turn this crisis into an resilience-building opportunity through this World Bank piece.
The first ancient human DNA found from key Asian migration route? Yes, scientists say that their genes could still be surviving today, even though their culture disappeared thousands of years ago. Learn more about migration through a historical and scientific perspective through this article in the uber prestigious journal, Nature!
This 2020 annual report by MIDEM and TUD covers European Emigration as a result of their discussions in 2019 on the theme of “Migration and Europe”. It is inspired by a talk given by Ivan Krastev at MIDEM in November last year and the East-Central European problem perspective that he consistently pursued therein. The report cover several topics of socio-economic and political consequences, right-wing populism, etc and might be a good read for anyone wishing to learn more on nation-specific emigration in Europe.
That’s all for this month! We will see you next month.
Best,
The IMN Team
Research & Drafting: Chaarmikha Nagalla
Editorial Support: Rohini Mitra
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