OPINION:
In this write-up, I had highlighted the plight of a growing number of youngsters from Punjab who risk their lives and careers by emigrating to foreign countries as illegal migrants or workers.
Inadvertently, many of them end up overstaying their visas – most of them working illegally and being exploited in the process by opportunistic employers. Each year, a large number of Punjabi youth end up in immigration detention centres in various countries.
In January 2020 when I had written the above-stated article for SBS Punjabi, the world had not yet woken up to a full-blown pandemic. There were rumblings of a dreaded virus making its way through mainland China as the rest of the world hoped that it would not make its way across the Chinese borders.
Fast forward to July 2020 and the entire world is currently knee-deep in its fight against overcoming the COVID-19 outbreak. At the time of writing this piece, over 14 million people had been infected worldwide with over six hundred thousand reported deaths globally.
In addition to the obvious healthcare and mortality crises, this pandemic has laid bare the socio-economic disparities that had long prevailed in our society. Specifically, this pandemic has highlighted the gross societal inequalities in our communities and how these have manifested themselves into pronounced suffering for those who remain under-privileged, displaced, or vulnerable.
Temporary skilled migrants have not displaced Australian workers despite fears immigrants threaten the local job market, new analysis found. (AAP) Source: AAP
Most of the South East Asian countries have enacted stringent lockdown measures over the past couple of months in order to harness the COVID-19 outbreak amongst their communities. They have had a varying degree of success in flattening the curve through their efforts. As the COVID-19 infection rates started to drop due to the containment measures put into place across the South East Asia region, a worrying trend has emerged in Singapore and Malaysia over the past couple of months– the growing number of infections amongst the ‘foreign workers’ (including the ‘illegal immigrant’ cohorts) in these countries.
The term ‘foreign worker’ in this part of the world refers to the scores of migrant ‘labour’ workers residing in these countries. Most of these workers come from countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, & Myanmar and are engaged in labour-intensive jobs predominantly in the construction sector. According to a news report Malaysia has about 2.2 million documented foreign workers and about 3.3 million illegal workers.
These workers usually stay in densely populated dormitories and residences making it hard to adhere to social distancing norms. They have inadequate access to healthcare and screening facilities and rely on their local employers to do the ‘right thing’ by them.
In Malaysia, over the past month or so, majority of the new COVID-19 infections have been recorded amongst these ‘foreign workers’ from the construction industry and amongst the illegal immigrants detained at various immigrations detention centres in Malaysia.
These rising infections amongst this lowest societal realm of migrant labourers and illegal immigrants are not unique for Malaysia and Singapore. Most of the gulf nations that rely on a huge migrant workforce are faced with similar challenges in their fight against this pandemic.
I am reminded of my conversation with the young man I had met in January 2020 during my flight from Kuala Lumpur to Amritsar. During his chat with me, he had told me that the living conditions in the immigration detention centres were extremely sub-standard and that they had very little representation from the Indian diplomatic authorities to assist in their release from these detention centres.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Source: SBS
Malaysian detention centres continue to house illegal immigrants, and a sizeable number of Punjabi youths are bound to form a part of this detainee population. Several of them may have no access to diplomatic assistance or decent healthcare. Chances are a number of them may not even have the means to contact their own families back home.
The pandemic will run through these facilities like fire through dried grass, and several families may be left to rue the loss of young people (I hope I am wrong with this assumption). Employers and agents in this region are known to hold these labour workers to ransom by holding on to their passports, leaving them with no choice but to endure their misfortunes.
Those labour workers who are not in detention, remain equally vulnerable as they face an existential crisis – devoid of work for an extended period of time, with minimal (or no) savings, and no access to any government assistance schemes in these countries.
I am hopeful that the Indian authorities are doing all they can with various governments to check up on these labour workers and ensure that they receive the healthcare and diplomatic assistance that is warranted in these unprecedented times.
More importantly, the reason why I chose to write this article is that I hope this pandemic and the ordeals faced by these labour workers and illegal migrants serve as a stern deterrent for the youth in Punjab who chance their lives at the lure of overstated (and false) promises made to them by opportunistic travel agents – making them travel on short term visas with inadequate work rights to fend for themselves.
Often, they are trafficked unlawfully to underpaying employers that hold no regard for their safety and well-being. Making them work in sub-standard workplaces until the immigration authorities turn up and these young men and women end up in over-crowded detention centres to face a pandemic that remains in no mood to slow down in a hurry.
Sanam Sharma Source: Supplied
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. They do not reflect the views of SBS Punjabi.
