Millions of migrant labourers working in the Gulf countries face an unprecedented crisis as the coronavirus pandemic spreads across the globe with disastrous consequences for the employment sector. Faced with loss of jobs and being exposed to the deadly virus in the absence of adequate protection, these migrants are returning to their own countries which lack proper policies for reintegrating them. The irregular migrants are usually the most vulnerable in the face of such unforeseen global crisis.
This makes it all the more necessary for the researchers, experts and activists to engage in critical conversations regarding the issue in order to interrogate the consequences of the present pandemic on the migrants employed in the Gulf. On 27th May 2020, a panel discussion on the topic “Gulf Migration: During and Aftermath COVID 19” was conducted by the Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT).
Prof. Andrew Gardner from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Puget Sound, USA, focused on how the pandemic has brought the lives of migrant labourers in the Gulf countries under much needed scrutiny which can be very important in rethinking the largely inhuman policies to which they have been subjected to for long.
Rethinking urbanization and the spatial politics in cities
Prof. Gardner focused on how the pandemic has changed the foundations of the urban mode of life which has a huge bearing on the lives of migrants as most of the projects they are brought to work on are based in urban areas. Proximity, a usual feature of urban life, is now being seen as dangerous. This has led to certain doubts about the very foundations of ever-increasing urbanization which might have an impact on opportunities for migrant workers.
He also stressed that it is important to consider how problematic it is to segregate the migrant labourers away from the rest of the population and keeping them confined to certain places. This is a strategy being used by the Gulf governments to combat the spread of the virus which can have potentially dangerous implications for these workers. It will be interesting to see if the gulf states are sensitive enough to employ this strategy by not compromising the lives and rights of these people.
Confinement is a boon for domestic workers and a curse for migrant labourers
Talking about how the spatial politics effects the lives of labourers in the gulf, Prof. Gardner pointed out that the pandemic might actually turn out to be beneficial for the domestic workers in the Gulf. These domestic workers are mostly confined to certain spaces within the households where they are employed and have minimum contact with the outside world. This keeps them much safer than the South Asian migrants who are forced to live in mostly crowded places at a time when social distancing is utterly necessary.
Irregularity should not be simply seen as oppressive
Being an irregular migrant is very often considered as a position of extreme vulnerability. But Prof. Gardner would like to differ from this popular notion in considering irregularity or illegality as a “two-edged sword”. There is no denying the fact that irregular migrants are always in danger of being deported and exploited by various agents. But we must also not forget that such illegality offers choices within a rigid and inflexible labour market. It allows the migrant labourers to switch between employers and he is intent on observing how such flexibility in the labour market might allow the migrants to navigate the new reality brought about by the pandemic.
Enduring importance of the migrants for the ruling regimes
Towards the end of the panel discussion, Prof. Gardner reminded us of the massive importance of the migrant labourers for the Gulf countries in legitimizing the rule of authoritarian governments. The urban projects are the means by which the families that control the state distribute the state-controlled wealth among the citizens. Hence, we are not only seeing a huge economic dependency here but also socio-political dependency on the migrants by the Gulf leaders to perpetuate their hold on state-power. Prof. Gardner hopes that the relative ‘openness’ of countries like Qatar will be extended to researchers and experts as well for working closely with the migrants and the government to suggest better policies for these labourers.
Subhadip Mukherjee is currently pursuing Master’s degree in English at the University of Delhi. His interest areas include Postcolonial studies, Transnationalism, Cosmopolitanism, Diaspora literature, Literary theory, Indian writing in English and Climate fiction. Twitter profile: @SubhadipMuk.