On the home front
Nepali migrant workers, traditionally known as Lahure, officially started to travel abroad in 1815 AD when the then British government established the British-Gurkha regiment within its national army. Since then, labour migration has come a long way. In the 1980s, a large number of Nepali youths began seeking foreign employment for different reasons, but mostly because there was not enough productive employment within the country.
So far, efforts to manage overseas labour migration have been concentrated in three major areas, namely the safe transfer to and from destination countries, decent working conditions and fair recruitment practices. However, the problems and challenges of the families left behind by migrant workers back home are increasingly disturbing social and family cohesion. Unfortunately, it has largely remained out of the sight of policy makers, development partners and other stakeholders.
The social cost of overseas labour migration is increasingly showing its ugly face in society, particularly in rural areas, in the form of extra-marital affairs, divorce, increased number of women-headed households, returnees with occupational diseases, HIV/AIDS, work-related injuries resulting in permanent disabilities, deaths and social crimes.
Rural society in Nepal, as in many other developing countries in the region, has its own structure, functions and values. A large number of the youth seeking foreign employment come from this rural setting. Any unexpected or unplanned change in the roles and responsibilities among family members could bring quite a shock to the foundations of family and society, resulting in familial and social problems. This is what is gradually happening in Nepal due to the excessive amounts of labour migration that is taking place every year.
According to the Nepal Labour Force Survey 2008, among those seeking foreign employment, 91.3 percent are male and only 8.7 percent are female. This means that the number of women-headed households is increasing. Women are already overloaded with family obligations stemming from discriminatory practices. Anecdotal evidence shows that increasing and prolonged family pressure will result in family disputes and break-ups. Therefore, the families left behind by migrant workers need help in order to save them. After all, it is for the wellbeing of the family that most people decide to embark on the journey of labour migration in the first place.
At the community level, labour migration may bring different kinds of changes which can be either negative or positive. For example, if a poor rural family purchases a big colour TV with its remittance, it may send the wrong message, though it was not intended at all. Dramatic changes in behaviour or lifestyle of a member of a closely interwoven community could damage social cohesion.
At present, in the absence of adequate productive employment in the country, Nepal cannot afford to immediately stop people, especially young men and women, from taking up foreign employment. The best it can do is minimise all kinds of risks and negative impacts and maximise the benefits associated with it. Thus, the ultimate goal of any government should be to create sufficient productive jobs within the country.
In the meantime, the following recommendations may help maximise family and social cohesion: (a) Educate potential jobseekers, being the head of the household, about the potential challenges their family could face in their absence and train them to plan accordingly to minimise family vulnerabilities; (b) Establish a better communication system between migrant workers and their families back home because regular contacts between them enhance mutual understanding, consultation and attachment with each other which eventually helps to make positive family decisions in difficult times; (c) Promote gender equality within the family and society at large; (d) Establish better access to basic services that help women-headed households to fulfil family responsibilities, for example, establishment of community-based childcare facilities with priority to women-headed households; (e) Promote good governance in the management and administration of overseas labour migration; (f) Educate potential jobseekers to use only official channels and go for skilled jobs rather than ordinary labour in order to get better benefits; (g) Encourage productive investment of the money brought home by returnees which can generate more jobs in society or innovative ideas that can help the whole community, for example, investing remittances in a community drinking water project could benefit all; (h) Establish an efficient, user-friendly and reliable mechanism for transfer of remittances so that women who have a low level of education and awareness can easily access remittance services in a timely manner.
Most of the migrant workers dream of a happy return and reintegration with their own society. There are success stories. Nevertheless, many of them end up in a social dilemma. Migrant workers not only bring remittances and skills, but also changes in their behaviour, lifestyle, outfits and eating habits which they adopt abroad. These changes are not necessarily welcomed in a rural society and problems begin to surface creating severe readjustment difficulties.
Further, their knowledge or skills might not be easily applicable in the home country making it difficult for them to establish a business or find a job. Many of them are not so keen to work because of the low pay compared to what they are used to earn overseas. Consequently, they remain unemployed for a long time, and may even become alcoholics or drug addicts. Their savings gradually deplete and they get into family disputes. It is, thus, very important to have a good return and reintegration policy to save the families of migrant workers even after they return home safe and sound with renewed self-confidence and a dream after many years of hard work in foreign countries. The focus of such a policy has to be on keeping the families intact and reducing use of remittance on material goods while maximising its use on productive sectors.
Rajbanshi is associated with the ILO. Views expressed in the article are his own
Posted on: 2011-10-20 09:08
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