On 10 May 2020, a panel discussion was conducted by the Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism [GRFDT] on the topic, ‘Migrants and Immigrants during COVID 19: Country Specific Cases”.
The speaker Dr. A. Didar Singh spoke on the “Indian migration to the Gulf”.
Dr. A. Didar Singh, the panelist speaker, is a Former Secretary, Government of India and Former Secretary General, Federation of India Chambers of Commerce and Industry, (FICCI India).
In his address, he spoke about the macro level impact of COVID-19 on migrants, the specific fallout of the same on Indian migrants in the Gulf, and how technology has played a vital role, both positive and negative, in this.
He pointed out that the impact of COVID was felt largely in those parts of the world where large number of industries operate and hence have a very high number of migrant workers and professionals, specifically the GCC countries, along with regions like North Italy, London, New York etc. It is the migrant workers in these countries that faced the worst impact of COVID-19.
In the wake of the pandemic, the global GDP dropped to 1% or even lesser, which in turn has led to major job losses that forced migrants to return back to their home countries. He analyzed the current crisis as an instance of “reverse migration”, as “these migrants are compelled to move back to their own country because of no job, no food, no future” and have to now find “different ways to manage themselves”.
Speaking on the influence of and the important role played by technology in this “reverse migration”, Dr. Singh pointed out that during these trying times, technology gave a sense of “connectedness” for these migrants. He further affirmed the benefits of technology by citing the fact that thanks to technology, these migrants were able to connect with the Indian Embassy, get food through online shopping and most importantly, access information regarding the departure of their flights and related arrangements. Dr. Singh concluded his address by stating, “What we saw as globalization is now going to be seen as localization”, and stressed that the real issue ahead of us is how to find jobs locally for these migrants who have returned to their native places and help them to meet their ends.
Report by: Megha Rangaraj