On the occasion of International Labour Day, the Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT) organised a virtual panel discussion on “COVID-19: Issues and Challenges of Migrant and Diaspora Communities” on 1st May 2020.
Ashook Ramsaran, president GOPIO (global organization of Indian people origin) international. Ashook Ramsaran is currently president of Indian diaspora council international. He is president and C.E.O. of re-mix cooperative and electronic manufacturing enterprise in New-York. He has been named amongst the top 100 Indian business persons in the U.S. He was recipient of Indian Pravasi Samman award. Ashook Ramsaran discussed the topic of “how the salary reduction impacted U.S.A., Canada and their Gulf countries during the time of COVID -19.”
The poor and unskilled migrants are the first casualties of this war: Ashook Ramsaran
Ashook Ramsaran stated that the percentage of people working in business and trade reduced about 20% to 25% employment. The salary reduction also affects those who are working at home domestically and the destination countries of the USA, Canada, Europe, Oceania, and the gulf states. Ashook Ramsaran stated about the reduction effects of migration in India where so many migrants migrate from villages to cities in search of work.
Ashook Ramsaran stated that of those migrants who are living in the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), there are 4.1 million people of Indian origin. Ashook Ramsaran pointed out that in the United State (US) there are 250,000 migrants on H-1B visas which may not renew. Ashook Ramsaran stated that employment is a significant factor in US states. Ramsaran noted that when the business reduces about 20% to 25% in every sector, it will dramatically cut the H-1B visas . Those impacted directly are medical workers, software designers, automation engineers and bioengineering.
Reported by Deepika Deepika has completed M.A. in Sociology from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. Presently, she is living in Kolkata and has keen interest in writing and journalism. She can be reached on Twitter @Deepika56370612.