The human face of the migrant crisis in times of COVID 19
The current migrant crisis owing to the pandemic led me to ponder over what it takes to trigger our action in response to the suffering of others? Do we care only under the fear of getting directly affected by adversity? Our delayed response to the issues of migrants at least, suggests the same. While crunching numbers and bracketing migrants under one category or the other serves the purpose of policy makers; dehumanizing human sentiments will continue to threaten the very foundation of what we call a ‘civilized’ society. Migrants during this crisis have not only lost their plot in the labor workforce, but are undergoing a psychological trauma of forced displacement (or reverse displacement) which doesn’t seem to bother us yet.
Majority of the current interventions led by different organizations, CSRs and the government include supplying essential services and generation of awareness about practices related to the prevention of COVID-19. However, these siloed interventions are facing financial, human and material resource constraints making it insufficient even to mitigate the immediate needs of food and shelter. In addition to that, the dialogue around counselling for depression and other mental health issues that may arise from the crisis would also require conscious reflection and space in the policy circles.
Recently, I had the opportunity to be a part of various forums and discussions on the social protection side of the pandemic which introduced me to field stories of migrants from different parts of the country. There were stories from regions as remote as Jhabua district of MP, to parts of Bangalore and Mangalore, Delhi and Orissa. These stories emerged from civil society agencies working very closely with the migrants across the country. I was not surprised on hearing the dire situation of the migrant community in India, but the longer term implications of the post pandemic phase were alarming.
The human face of the crisis is certainly not desirable to look at. The stories revealed that within the migrant community itself, the women and children would suffer the most because of their higher vulnerability. Ground realities are indicative of the rise of violence against women and children due to the hike in the rate of unemployment of men. Cases of suicides are also going to rise owing to growing debt and loss of land. Insights also revealed the post pandemic times will see an increase in school drop out among girls for the need to earn by each member in the household would be more than ever, further withering the gender equality dream away.
Field volunteers shared insights that clearly suggest that treating migrants with ‘dignity and respect is more important than sympathy’. This in my opinion would require us to zoom out and look for solutions that are self sustained by the community. The complexity and quantum of the problem will require a more thoughtful and holistic approach including mental health, a sustainable and resilient model of livelihood creation and other solutions aligned to social norms in the given context. It will also require us to act collectively to mobilize resources, services and knowledge in each of our capacities in the hope that when the dust settles, we all emerge victorious together.
(Ideas in the piece are inspired by the work of Inchara foundation, Sara Seva Sansthan Samiti, Integrated Rural Development of Weaker Sections in India and the Covid Action Collaborative)
About the author: Vatsima is a Research Associate at Catalyst Management Services. She holds a Masters in Public Policy and Governance from Azim Premji University, Bangalore and a Bachelors in English Literature from University of Delhi. Vatsima is interested in qualitative research in the domains of gender, livelihoods and social norms.
