A panel discussion on GCM Objective 17, which aims at eliminating all forms of discrimination and promoting evidence-based public discourse to shape perceptions of migration, was held on 19th January 2021. The event was jointly organized by Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT), Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), Cross Regional Center for Refugees and Migrants, and The Civil Society Action Committee. The participants included six experts on migration who are involved in different professions. The session was moderated by Ms. Paddy Siyanga Knudsen who is a Migration Governance analyst.
Need for a social and legal approach to tackle xenophobia
The panel discussion began with Mr. Vasco Malta, who focused on the relation between the COVID-19 pandemic and the discrimination faced by the migrants. Mr. Malta, who is Head of Mission, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Portugal, pointed out that discrimination has been exacerbated due to the misinformation regarding COVID-19.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, numerous xenophobic incidents, hate speeches based on their real and perceived national origins have been reported to the IOM and UN.
“We have received reports of refusal to sit beside people belonging to certain ethnicities on public transports. Kids are being bullied in school. Employees are being sacked based on their assumed nationality”:Mr. Vasco Malta.
Mr. Malta further pointed out that businesses belonging to certain racial groups are being forced to shut down. Migrants are suffering from discrimination in the context of healthcare, socio-economic and legal issues. There has been a massive rise in xenophobic rhetoric against migrants on social media.
He suggested two lines of interventions as the solution. First, a solid legal policy framework aiming to prevent xenophobia and hate crimes against migrants should be adopted. Second, a community-based approach to reduce prejudice and facilitating social cohesion should be cultivated. We need to urgently combat xenophobia and hate speech in online forums and promote evidence-based and stigma-free language in all communications.
Civil society organizations have to be involved
Ms. Elena D’Anna, the Communications Officer, No Cap Association, works at promoting fair working conditions. She elaborated on the multi-parameter ethic label, which certifies products that don’t involve any exploitation of workers, thus reinforcing worker’s rights.
The certification starts with the exchange of documents with an enterprise that is followed by inspections both by No Cap inspectors and DQA experts, a third-party entity authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture. If the first parameter of this label, the ethical work condition, is fulfilled, the product obtains the No Cap label. There are other parameters as well.
“If the product obtains No Cap Ethic label, No Cap work is then split into two levels- on one level, it ensures services related to the workers such as free accommodation, transportation to the place of work, legal assistance, and medical visits to the workers. The enterprises are themselves encouraged to employ workers, both Italian and migrants, who have been victims of gang mastering or human trafficking. The other level is the distribution side. We promote No Cap products both on the communication and the commercial side, thanks to relations we’ve been building for the past 10 years with fair trade shops and national and international big distribution channels”:Ms. Elena D’Anna
Ms. D’ Anna believes that No Cap has been truly revolutionary because it goes from activities on the field to relations with other actors of civil society. It has helped a lot of migrants to be regularized in the Italian territory, moving them from ghettos to decent accommodations.
Individual and family conversations need to be examined
Ms. Eva Garzón, the Migration and Displacement Lead at Oxfam Intermon, stated that though the official data tells us that 3.5 percent of the world population are international migrants, within the public discourse it is assumed to be about 40 to 60 percent.
“A false narrative has been created contrary to the evidence. That’s why it is important to bring the migration debate back to the field of evidence and data as the discourses that circulate regarding migration shape the individual behavior and institutional practices”:Ms. Eva Garzón
According to Ms. Garzón, some people have been cunning in exploiting our deep-rooted fears through the anti-migration rhetoric. But through research, we have gained awareness about how our communication practices are important in shaping the public discourse on migration. Individuals and institutions can reinforce damaging stereotypes, and hence we need to emphasize the importance of individual actions in our professional capacities and family discussions.
Misleading information has played a huge role in creating negative perception of migration. Maldita.es is a fact-checking news outlet that fact checks information on migrants and refugees that they receive through the community.
Ms. Garzón stressed creating a strong value-based migration narrative that can substitute the criminalizing discourse. “We need to shift from a discourse of ‘invasion’, ‘problem’, ‘crisis’ to a discourse of ‘project’, ‘entrepreneurship’, ‘aspiration’, and ‘family’ which is what migration is actually about”, said Ms. Garzón.
Trade unions crucial to ensuring the ‘visibility’ of migrants
The panel included a renowned labor rights expert, Mr. Mustafa Qadri, who is the Founder and Executive Director of Equidem. He began by reflecting on the work done by Equidem in the last 12 months amidst the pandemic. The low waged workers have been at the receiving end of the racial discrimination and the consequent modern-day slavery in the Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar.
When the pandemic hit these countries, the governments made discriminatory changes to labor protection laws that required the employers to protect the benefits of the nationals while making it easier for them to hire and fire, and weaken the protection of non-nationals on the other. These legislative changes amount to racial discrimination.
“These laws apart from being discriminatory acted as a green signal to employers to exploit workers- to keep them without pay in large crowded accommodations as the workers could not return home. At the same time, they were forced to keep working at much-reduced wages. This led to starvation, to severe anxiety, to even suicide”: Mr. Mustafa Qadri
He also pointed out that most of the financial support by the government catered to the wealthy class. Migrants have faced discrimination in accessing medical care. While the Gulf governments promised free medical services to migrant workers if they tested positive for COVID-19, the service was very poor for low waged workers. They had to wait for a long time for the assistance of a medical professional. Many were put in overcrowded quarantine facilities and the quality of the food was poor as well.
For Mr. Qadri, the business communities need to take responsibility for making sure that basic international standards for work are available to the workers and that they are treated with dignity. He also stressed how important it is for the workers to form trade unions to collectively demand their rights. It will make sure that the business enterprises keep being accountable to the workers on issues of wage and working conditions even if the workers don’t come from the same ethnic background.
Rhetoric of ‘othering’ has to be tackled through dissent
Mr. Marvin Hokstam, journalist and founder of AFROMAGAZINE, talked about his experiences regarding migration in different countries. He emphasized that migrants get discriminated against in almost every part of the world- western or non-western, and detailed the vulnerabilities of immigrants and their descendants.
“Right-wing nationalists always remind you of your ‘otherness’. I have always deplored nationalism because it is stupid not to consider the wealth brought about by the migrants and travelers”: Mr. Marvin Hokstam
Having moved to the Netherlands eight years ago, he has been encountering racism since his arrival but not without being loud and clear about demanding the dignity he deserves as a human being. He pointed to the racist traditions of the Black Pete or Zwarte Piet, and how even years of anti-racist activism hasn’t been able to abolish them.
Mr. Hokstam stressed that it is impossible for journalism to be objective when it comes to racism. Very often the journalists have sided with racists by calling anti-racism activists leftist terrorists. An activist was even asked to go back to where he came from. He, along with other journalists have called on a motion asking every Dutch journalist to uphold the ethics of humanity.
Institutions need to create trust among migrant communities
The last speaker was Mr. Andrew Khoo, who is a member of the Bar Council Migrants, Refugees and International Affairs Committee in Malaysia. He stressed how the issue of racial discrimination was prevalent in Malaysia, Myanmar, and Brunei before the advent of the pandemic.
For Malaysia, Brunei, and Myanmar, the issue of race is interlinked to religion. The interplay between racial, religious, and national identity becomes very important. The main source of discrimination lies in the very fundamental structure of these countries.
“If we look carefully, these issues are present within the ‘locals’ because of the entrenched rights mentioned in the constitution. There has been an uneven playing field from the beginning because of certain privileges provided to some communities and it is often justified by citing historical circumstances.”: Mr. Andrew Khoo
Though certain privileges were time-bound, they have been continuing till now due to a lack of clarity in the constitutions. The arrival of migrants has further added to the crisis as the majoritarian forces have stoked up fears of loss of rights and privileges enjoyed by a certain group of citizens. As a result, the low paid migrant workers are restrained access to any form of immigration status. There are laws in place but migrants are often afraid of complaining to the police as they are instruments of the government.
He concluded by emphasizing that we need to find out ways to make the complaint mechanism safer so that the migrants can live without any fear and work with their dignity intact.
Subhadip Mukherjee is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. His interest areas include Postcolonial Studies, Transnationalism, Cosmopolitanism, Diaspora Literature, Literary Theory, Indian Writing in English, and Climate Fiction. Twitter profile @SubhadipMuk.