I never thought my tears would stop. I have cried for years and months and days, unable to understand why there were so many trials in my young life. My tears cease only when I work. I have suffered so much that for me, suffering symbolises life. Yet, as the darkest night discovers its own […]
In most cases, individual migrants agree to leave via India because they are unaware that such migration is considered illegal by the government. The national capital has become home to many Nepalese agents who leave migrant workers in a lurch after promising them a lucrative job abroad. Four months ago, Bir Bahadur who was working […]
Pakistani migrant workers leave Pakistan in a hope of better life and future in Malaysia, but most of them find what they were told are not entirely true and go into the lives of hardship. In this video, some of the Pakistani migrant workers talk about life in Malaysia filled with hardship and offer advices […]
New research on the mental health of family members of migrant workers ‘left behind’ in Sri Lanka has shown the high prevalence of Common Mental Disorders (CMD) in spouses and non-spouse caregivers, reflecting the flagging mental health among these two categories of people as a direct result of the economic choices made by family members.
Doha, with a population of 1.7 million, is the capital of Qatar, the world’s richest country. The country is preparing for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which means a massive construction boom. As the Qatari citizen won’t do the manual labour, tens of thousands of migrant labourers have taken up the burden. Even in this […]
More than 4 lakh people hailing from Telangana work in Gulf countries. They are often unaware of the politics, economy, cultural system or even the climate of their destination. As the plane crosses the terrain of Muscat towards Doha, Jyoti and Kumari look in wonder at the 3D display in front of them running images […]
“I want to go back to Muscat to earn as I am not getting a good job in my own country,” says 56-year-old Appukuttan who met his family in India after living miserably for 22 years as an undocumented worker in Muscat. All these years, he has missed the big moments of his personal life. […]
Ineffective complaint mechanisms coupled with missing coordination among grievance registration and redressing systems, and lack of awareness about their availability have been identified as major hurdles in access to justice for the migrant workers in a study. Conducted by the Punjab labour department with the support of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the study has […]
“You’re suffering from hepatitis C. So you can’t leave for Saudi Arabia,” tells the receptionist at a medical facility in the provincial metropolis to a migrant worker seeking reemployment in the oil kingdom. Anwar has earlier served as a cab driver in Riyadh for three years and has returned home a few months ago on […]
Under sustained international criticism Qatar has reformed its controversial laws governing migrant workers. But for significant improvement in labour conditions there have to be changes in the way the Nepal government and recruiters treat their own workers. After Qatar’s king approved an amendment to the law last week, more than 400,000 Nepali migrant workers, mostly hired for construction of […]