[Reader-list] Migrant Workers: Narratives of Destination, Denial & Class

[Naeem Mohaiemen]

http://www.drishtipat.org/blog/2008/09/08/migrant-class/

Migrant Workers: Narratives of Destination, Denial & Class
NEW AGE, September 8, 2008

There is very little that the government doesn't know about how the
sector is run and there is very little that the powers that be have
done in the past for the poor workers because they are the ones who
are running the show. To reform the sector would mean going against
the best interest of the ruling class, writes Afsan Chowdhury

NOTHING describes better the nature of our state than the fact that
while we crow over the high dollar reserve generated by our guest
workers, we obstinately refuse to do anything serious about the
conditions of the people working in great difficulties and pain while
sending money home.
It is strange that the three economic sectors that keep Bangladesh
afloat have seen high levels of economic distress as far as the
workers are concerned. The narrative of the garments sector is well
known and for the last three decades it has made many rich and turned
the workers into a drill machine working for unacceptable wages and
benefits. The obligation to innovate lies largely with the owners who
seem to have singularly failed to take the sector forward beyond
sweatshop status and investment in workers is negligent because they
are many and replaceable.
The frozen food industry has one of the worst records of environmental
hazard and its role in accentuating disasters including destruction of
sweet-water sources have been documented extensively. More
significantly, the sector has formalised the idea that it is OK to
destroy nature if it brings money.
The largest of course in Bangladesh is the remittance economy sector
and this year in particular, it has exposed both the contribution of
the workers and the sorry treatment they get from their employers
abroad. The lack of will and ability of the authorities to act in
their favour displays how disposable the workers have become. This
inertia of the authorities is probably a statement of the position of
the authorities. It is reaching a point where one must start
conceiving plans for protection against government (in)actions and
proximity to those who are responsible for their denial of rights.

Narratives of destinations, denial and class
Some of the facts about migrant workers are well known and easily
forgotten. In the esteemed narrative of 1971, the migrant worker is
now imagined as an outsider finding space through its contributions to
the independence effort though without their support the international
movement for Bangladesh would never have taken off. Historically,
those who went away are thought of having done so after failing to
reach their socio-economic goal. The stigma of migration is very
strong in our society, especially when it comes to guest working in
the Middle East, Malaysia and similar places.
Migration is driven by economic ability, social connection and family
condition. Hence, the broad use of the term may hide the social
contradictions within.
Almost everyone migrates in one form or the other in the interest of
livelihood and other concerns. Possibly, the largest number of
migrants crosses the next door border to India and become part of that
country's bottom end of the underground economy. They generally join
the domestic aide, rag picking and also prostitution among the several
desperate professions they can enter. Those who go to India come from
the poorest class and are brothers of the migrants from many
devastated parts of Bangladesh who flock to Dhaka in a bid to survive.
As this migration is the least costly, and the least economically
lucrative, India attracts the poorest. As they don't compete in the
Indian job market, they are left alone except in the troubled North
East and Mumbai because they are thought to constitute a political
disturbance or a threat. India has been actively fencing and
patrolling the borders to shut this down though this cohort has still
managed to go. One goes to India when there is no other place to go.
The second destination of migrants is the Middle East and Malaysia.
Here the social identity of the people choosing to go there splits
into various classes, make this narrative more complex. The Middle
East attracts both kinds of people, from the workers to the engineers,
doctors and other professionals. The experiences vary widely.
The workers lead a precarious existence, unable to negotiate their
entry, their salaries, their security, benefits, etc from their
employers and suffer hugely. The fact that most of them may have
suffered a great deal at home just to reach here, in many cases
cheated out of their family savings, threatening the fragile security
of the family in general, points to a curious disconnect between the
experiences of the workers and the professionals.
There are hardly any references to the plight of the professionals who
go there. It is true they are also hard pressed in several sectors and
often face difficulties in migration, remittance and other areas but
in the end, they have a much better life and their problems often
mirror the issues they might have faced if they were at home.
The situation in the Middle East and Malaysia are horror stories for
the less endowed and both zones of guest working are destinations of
severe denials of rights and access to normal compensation for work
for the poor.
The third destination is the West where the most resourced are moving
to and many are also buying their socio-economic identity with money
earned at home. This destination is generally shut for the poor class,
and the middle and upper class migrants reach there. These places –
the US, the UK, Canada, etc – have also become destinations for the
second migration of the residential variety for many professionals in
the Middle East and elsewhere. Hence their status and character are
different from the working class migrants in the Middle East or
Malaysia.
However, since 9/11 many illegal middle and lesser class migrants in
the US have started to flock to Canada where anti-Muslim bias is low
and social pressure against racial profiling exists. Still, the
traffic towards the US remains high and possibly the highest intake
amongst the Western countries is still the US.
The conclusion is inescapable that the present extreme and visible
crisis is the result not just of incompetence and lethargy of the
authorities which extend to all sectors but also expresses the class
attitude of the state. There is very little that the government
doesn't know about how the sector is run and there is very little that
the powers that be have done in the past for the poor workers because
they are the ones who are running the show. To reform the sector would
mean going against the best interest of the ruling class.

A contest of will and the need to
challenge the status quo
Bangladeshis in general suffer from a perplexing and paralytic love of
all things which is often translated into their affection for
political parties. It is no secret that that a major source of funding
for politics comes from the manpower export and garments lobby and it
is naïve to think there will be any significant intervention to
regulate or regularise the sector as a whole. That literally leaves
few options since the government control over the sector is total and
between BAIRA, Bangladesh government and the many agents and
sub-agents, the chances of a pro-working class set of decisions are
remote when it comes to guest working.
The only way out could really mean a new alliance that needs to be set
up between the affected and intending migrants with strong political
intent that are able to contest the existing status quo. This involves
a new strategy where the state's monopoly in the sector needs to be
challenged and the existing regime of manpower agents need to face
competition, best if coming from migrants themselves. Is this
possible?
Even now, a large number of migrants flow down through family
connections and reports suggest that they are the best off. A set of
tasks that will enhance the capacity of intending migrants at home
before departure and at their place of work abroad is the simple
solution. Does seem like a simple solution.
The economic strength of the guest working class is very high but that
translates only into remittance data and not really advantage for the
workers. Yet the figures are startling.
According to the IMA Foundation, an activists group which has
contested the government and the authorities in their recent work
states, 'Contribution of Bangladeshi migrants in sending remittance is
double than the dollar earned by readymade garments (RMGs), 5 (five)
fold in FDI (foreign direct investment), 7 (seven) fold in overseas
development assistance and 8.8 per cent in total GDP.'
No economic sector can claim this kind of strength and no sector
experiences this kind of denial either. It would seem that the
socio-political perception of the workers is roughly the same people
have towards the RMG workers who are seen as human mules of burden and
work.
It has reached a point in Bangladesh where the huge number of poor
instead of shaming the establishment makes them more vulnerable to
exploitation and their loss of economic opportunities mean they are
easily replaceable.
It is the face of Bangladesh we think we don't have.