‘Bring returnee migrants, families under social safety’

A migrants' rights organisation has appealed to the prime minister to announce a social safety net programme for the returnee migrants and their families, who are not being included in any of the social protection schemes declared by the government.

Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program (OKUP), a grassroots migrants' organisation, said over the last one month, they had telephone calls with about 1,600 migrant workers and their families.

An analysis of those calls gave an idea that estimated 25 percent migrant families are now facing a serious economic crisis as migrant members of the families have no longer been able to send money home.

"Many of them have extremely limited or no access to food, putting them on the brink of starvation. Existing health risks are also worsening due to families' inability to purchase essential medicines," said Shakirul Islam, chairman of OKUP, in a statement.

Apart from that, these migrant families are also facing difficulties in accessing emergency support being provided by the government. The government has announced provision of ration for 50 lakh people, but the migrant families are not being included in the list since they do not fall into the category of people living below the poverty line, he said.

Some of the migrant families also hesitate to approach local leaders because of social prestige, though they are now going through food crisis.

Some 40 percent of migrant workers are now living in hardship, since the current lockdown in many countries in the Middle East and Southeast Asia has caused losses of their jobs or salaries, OKUP said.

"Many have been badly affected by the current crisis. It is estimated that several hundred thousand migrant workers might be forced to come back following the global recession caused by this pandemic."

Therefore, Shakirul said, it is imperative that the government announces social protection schemes for the returnee migrants.

Migrants are an integral part of this society, not only for the fact that some one crore migrants send home $18 billion yearly, but they are also citizens of this country, and four to five crore people depend on their income, he said.

"We urgently call upon the honorable prime minister to announce a social safety net for the families of migrant workers and returnees," he added.

We also request the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment to take measures in this regard as swiftly and comprehensively as possible, in order to ensure the migrants and their families are not left behind overall welfare, food security, and protection."