Nurshat Ababakirov
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According to statistics, the number of people, who leave abroad for a better life, is growing, especially, in less developed countries like Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan whereas more developed countries like Russia and Kazakhstan seem to be able to constantly absorb cheap labor. Even though many underline the vitality of remittances that labor migrants send back home, human rights violations are widely practiced, which stem out of the illegal presence of many migrants and lack of common migration policies among CIS countries. |
Nurshat Ababakirov
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Dear colleagues,
I would like to invite you to the discussion of possible improvements of external migration policies of Central Asian states and means to achieve better working environment for migrant workers in foreign countries in front of increasing migration flows from the Central Asian countries to other CIS countries.
With the emergence of new independent states such issues like migration, which almost never bothered the citizens of the Soviet Union for at least 50 years, tend to be underlined in the states’ current agendas. Labor migration underpinned by the decade-old economic liberalization of the Central Asian states gained its speed when states deal with such challenges as weak economies, political instability, and social insecurity. Also as the habit of economic interdependence and social familiarity among citizens of former members of Soviet Union endure up to now, the people of Central Asia still tend to move across borders, seeking a better opportunities.
Even though for many labor migration bears negative connotation – rise of unemployment, increase of crime, or simply triggering nationalistic sentiments – it has proved effective in maintaining the living conditions in rural areas of our region. The considerable portion of population of Central Asia lives on remittances sent from abroad. The sum being sent home annually from guest workers amount to $260 million in Tajikistan, one of the largest source of labor migrants from Central Asia, and $160 million in Kyrgyzstan (only via Western Union). However, due to unregistered remittances and hand-to-hand transfers it is hard to estimate exact sum is being sent to Central Asia. Moreover, according to experts, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan are having overabundance of labor force by 10-15% out of physically able people, which in the case of confinement would certainly aggravate the situation in certain countries as well as in Central Asia. While destination countries, in their turn, enjoy cheap labor for their economies.
However, the labor migration, which looks economically beneficial for both sides, labor’s countries of origin and destination countries, goes not that smooth to overweight above said advantages. Unfortunately, it is accompanied by human right abuses such as human trafficking, enslavement, and extortion on borders as well within the states. Since most of the migrants are from rural areas of Central Asia, their knowledge of legal conditions and regulations in foreign countries is limited. Yet the latter laws are not equally settled among CA countries with other CIS countries as well, thereby making the movement of migrant workers somewhat problematic.
So far there have been many promising achievements over building bilateral and multilateral agreements among states to facilitate movement of migrant workers, raise knowledge of the potential workers about prospective difficulties, upgrade qualification of migrant workers in order to make them more adaptable in foreign country. However, there remain much to be done in the future. The issue was also prioritized in the Central Asia Human Development Report 2005.
Therefore, this offered opportunity to discuss the issue will be of outmost use to work out possible ways and solutions to increase overall wellbeing and safety of migrants in particular and Central Asian people in general. In order to reach underlying aspects of the problems of labor migration, we may touch such spheres as:
- State legislation
- International norms and treaties
- Social, security and integration
- Demographic landscape
- Illegal and legal, regular and irregular migration
- Business proposals
- Role of NGOs and their cooperation with government
We will very appreciate your active participation and sharing your unique and invaluable ideas.
The discussion, which will start on March 18 and be online for next two month, is supported by the following links to background readings:
Central Asia Human Development Report 2005
Prepared by the UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and CIS, 2005
http://www.cagateway.org/cahdr
LABOUR MIGRATION IN CENTRAL ASIA, RUSSIA, AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN
Prepared by IOM (author: Dr. Elena Y. Sadovskaya)
http://www.iom.kz/files/Summary%20of%20Analytical%20Overview.doc
Enhancing Job Opportunities: Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union
Prepared by The World Bank, http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTECA/Resources/laborstudy05-ch1.pdf
Irregular Labor Migration from Central Asia to the United States
Prepared by Central Eurasian Studies Review, (author: Saltanat Sulaimanova, PhD Candidate, Department of Public Administration, American University,
Washington, DC, USA, salta@american.edu) in 2005,
http://www.american.edu/traccc/resources/publications/saltan03.pdf
Development Policies, Migration and Peace-building Central Asia
Prepared by Innovations and Reproductions in Cultures and Societies (IRICS) in December 2005 (Ajay Patnaik (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India))
http://www.inst.at/irics/speakers_n_s/patnaik.htm
Labour Migration in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: Current Issues and Next Political Steps
Prepared by UNESCO (author: Katja Patzwaldt) in 2005.
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001395/139530e.pdf
Enhancing the efficiency of overseas Filipino workers’ remittances
Prepared by Asian Development Bank in 2005
http://www.adb.org/Documents/TARs/PHI/tar-phi-4185.asp
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Atan Jakshylykov
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There are positive and negative sides of the problem with migration. As far as it concerns temporary migration, it is OK: the exuberant supply of labor finds the corresponding demand in foreign countries. Economically it is pretty convenient. Hopefully, in the long run as the economical determinants goes up, employment rate increases, the country may call back the army of gustarbeiters. Will they come back? is another question. Although their human rights are abused tremendousely, as it seems, people fet used to. Unless it is profitable, it is tolerable... |
comment['user_name']
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Проблема миграции Центральной Азии в страны близлежащего зарубежья, в частности Россию закономерна. Так как миграционный феномен наблюдается в основном в слабо развивающихся странах. В этом я вижу главное объяснение. В результате безработицы населения, низких доходов и ненадлежащей работы соответствующих институтов повышаются темпы трудовой миграции. Что в результате сказывается на потере молодой рабочей силы для самой страны. Несмотря на то, что нелегальный мигрант получает в два раза меньше, он по - прежнему находит эти условия лучше, чем в своей стране. Хотя конечно ясно, до тех пор, пока государство не позволит жить лучше, тенденции будут усиливаться. Тем более что женская миграция также стала актуальна. И даже если расценить денежные переводы для семьи в родную страну как преимущество, то понятно, что большинство из них осуществляется неофициально «мимо гос. кармана». Если взвесить все за и против, то возможно миграция скорее будет убыточным явлением для государства.
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comment['user_name']
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The migration problem in Central Asia in nearby countries, particularly in Russia is evident. As migration phenomenon is observed mostly in under- developed countries. As the result of high level of unemployment population, low incomes and inefficiency of appropriated bodies activity the rates of labour migration increase. So this turn into loss of young labour force for the country. Despite, that the illegal migrant gets wages in 2 times smaller, he is still finding these conditions better, than in native country. Until the government can’t create conditions for the better life, the biases will increase. Especially since the level of women migration became higher. Even if consider money orders for family as advantage for native country it is clear that the most of them are made by unofficial ways “past by the government pocket” . In case of analyze all for and against, it is probably that migration will be unprofitable for the state. |
Atan Jakshylykov
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I am sure that this problem has many different positive and negative sides. But in order to gain an understanding, we have to define the most important sides, like the mood of those migrants in terms of whether they return after long time they spend abroad. Just thin, a man had worked abroad for a while. He or she has familiars and maybe connections there. And now there are job offers in his home country that are competitive to the one he has. Here is the question, will return back? |
Nurbek Ababakirov
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Yes, it is fair to say that migration issue has positive and negative sides. But what we have to be concerned about is whether the positive outcomes will continue to be positive in the long-run.
Most of us are familiar with traditional or seasonal migration in villages when adult family members from south go to north or abroad eager to earn some money during the winter time, when the agricultural season is over. It used to be quite beneficial for families to have some extra income from seasonal migration, until their home income fell as a result of low market prices for their crops and underdeveloped agricultural resources. Consequently our old traditional migration is turning into the form of migration when people choose to stay abroad not only seasonally but permanently. There are estimated 500 thousand people from Kyrgyzstan working abroad, commonly in Russia and Kazakhstan, who support their families by transferring money and it is upsetting to admit that the money they transfer makes the half of our national budget. The government is having economic benefits from emigrants, but it doesn’t seem to benefit in the long-run. Many adults including teenagers leave the country while those who remain are the people of older ages. And there is no hope that the economy will grow without young generation and intelligence that tend to stay abroad once they leave the country.
There are 90 thousand people in Kyrgyzstan expecting the Russian citizenship to be issued and leave the country. Most of them are our intelligence who look for better opportunities and those who are not satisfied with the political instability of the country.
Is there any way that government can prevent the high emigration and call back all the people who left the country? Maybe the government has to stop or finish dealing with its internal problems and concentrate on issues that can create opportunities for people, which will contribute for better future. I believe, there are some intelligent and professional people in the government whose duty is to lead the country for prosperity.
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Atan Jakshylykov
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It is particularly difficult to predict the events in the long run espesially in Central Asia. Thinking in terms of the people that work there, we may conclude that returning to the homeland where economic prosperity flourishes is a wounderful idea that, I am sure, deeply rooted in the minds. Still, we may presume that patriotic feeling is not the basis we should rely on. But do we a choice? Could governments suddenly work for people in the direct meaning of this expression? I consider that natural laws change first, rather than our wishes concerning the officials come true. Not to fall down from the current state is our best option. Atan Jakshylykov, a less optimist |
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