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.
Prof. Nasra Shah from the Lahore School of Economics, Pakistan provided several insights about the impact of the pandemic on Pakistani migrants in the Gulf countries.
Establishing Pakistan’s historical links with the Gulf countries, Prof. Shah said that migration has been taking place since the early seventies. In recent times, it has increased by leaps and bounds with almost a million migrants making the journey in 2015. She pointed out that network connections have been a major facilitator and have enabled irregular migrations.
Mostly vulnerable low-skilled migrants earning their livelihood in the Gulf
Almost half of these migrants are low-skilled and about ten percent are classified as highly skilled labourers. An estimated ten to fifteen percent of the migrant labourers were employed in the gulf in an irregular capacity before the pandemic. They would always be more vulnerable in times of crisis. With the closure of businesses, workers of all skill levels will face loss of jobs. Being mostly employed in the informal sector, the low-skilled migrant labourers will face the highest risk of unemployment. These labourers had to pay large sums of money to land these jobs in the first place.
She listed five reasons about how the irregular migrants are going to face difficulties due to the pandemic situation- theywill find it harder to hide from authorities like they did before, loss of support from networks which supported and protected them as it becomes too risky, friends and relatives might be reluctant to shelter them in fear of being found out, sponsors who may have provided a certain amount of protection and facilitation will be less likely to do so anymoreand strict search in high risk areas makes hiding irregularities difficult.
Difficult conditions back home with an uncertain future lying ahead
Prof. Shah pointed out that since the migrants come from all over the country, both the rural and urban areas are going to be equally affected by the virus and its effects on health and economy. Return of these migrants will put a lot of stress in the labour market back home. Another crucial point to consider is that the strength of the network connections, which played a pivotal role in sending these migrants to the Gulf, will be highly strained and tested in the near future. This will be especially true of situations where their compatriots were acting as facilitators in case of low-skilled workers employed in the informal sector.
Opportunities for becoming more skillful for labourers are relatively rare in the Gulf countries. As a result, people remain stuck in one profession for almost their entire leaves. Hence, Prof. Shah insists that there is a need to keep an eye on the policies of the host countries along with the Kafala system and that it is important to look for more data for further studies.
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.