Interviewed by Coeditor of Line Rider Press, Jess McDermott
Jess: Thanks for submitting a poem dedicated to migrant laborer Chhabu Mondal and for being willing to answer some questions about migrant workers in India and the harsh reality many migrant workers of the world face. You mentioned in your submission that Chhabu Mondal was a migrant worker from Bihar who committed suicide hours after he sold his phone for Rs 2,500 and used the money to purchase a portable fan and some ration to feed his family.
How did you hear about Chhabu Mondal? And do you often hear about horrific instances like this happening in India?
Santanu: I read about this incident in a national news portal online, sometime after the lockdown was implemented nationwide in India. I would be lying if I say I don’t hear about these cases often in my country. But since the lockdown there has been a surge in such cases, particularly about the migrant labourers who have had to travel barefoot from one state to another, with their entire life turned upside down due to no work.
Jess: How did you become interested in migrant workers’ conditions and why did you choose to write a poem for Chhabu Mondal?
Santanu: I won’t call myself interested in migrant workers’ conditions specifically, but these news reports and stories emerged so often after the lockdown that it affected me in some way. I started reading more and more about migrant workers, their work conditions, their family, the meagre income and the how the media depicted them. I felt somewhat helpless- unable to be of any assistance to fellow countrymen in such distressing times, and looked for ways in which I could be of help. There were community kitchens which were set up in my town and in my university, where I donated a modest amount and somehow I tried to do my bit.
The poem came out of a deep sense of helplessness that I felt after reading the news. Often in these news articles the names of the labourers were not mentioned, and just a picture would be there- accounting for the nameless, grief-stricken faces on the run. But here was one story that was covered fully, from the name to the address, and it moved me deeply. The name came back to me and the poem is a testament to that sense of helplessness that I felt everytime that happened.
Jess: What do you see as the biggest issues facing migrant workers in India right now? Do you think these issues are similar to the issues facing migrant workers in other countries, too, or what is unique to India’s situation?
Santanu: The migrant workers have faced havoc since the lockdown. Due to the precarious nature of labour jobs in India, many daily labourers, who are often migrants, have lost their livelihood due to lockdown. This has had terrible outsomes- including starvation, separation from family and no alternative forms of employment. The inter-state migrant workforce represents the lowest paying and most insecure jobs, in key sectors such as construction, hospitality, textiles, manufacturing, transportation, services and domestic work. There has been no alternative to that ever since the implementation of the lockdown in the country. And these migrant workers are more vulnerable to COVID- 19. Migrants (including domestic migrants) may not be able to get home and may not have access to local healthcare or the same legal rights as local workers. Those without a right to work may be particularly vulnerable at this time. Many migrants live in crowded accommodation or dormitories where social distancing is challenging to implement. They have limited access to personal protective equipment, such as masks or sanitiser. Many migrants who are now jobless, may not be eligible for assistance from the government, or eligible for receiving unemployment benefits. Food shortages and homelessness are therefore on the rise, and lead to the risk of modern slavery.
Dilip Ratha of World Bank has said in an interview how migrant crisis in a country like India will have long-term consequences in the upcoming future.In India last year, remittances had touched an all-time high of $83 billion. From that peak, we expect it to come to $64 billion this year. For India and other south Asian countries such a decline in what is otherwise a steady flow is going to cause hardships in terms of meeting international payment obligations. It’s not just remittances — foreign direct investment is expected to fall by 37% for developing countries as a whole. The decline will be similar in India. Stock and bond markets are likely to fall more. In that context, balance of payment difficulties could come up in many countries and India needs to manage its balance of payments situation very carefully.
Jess: What has India’s response been to the spread of COVID-19 and how has this pandemic affected migrant workers in India?
Santanu: There is an insightful article in The Wire, which talks about the ways in which the entire migrant crisis has been dealt by the media and how the government has showed a palpable sense of apathy towards the entire issue. The trains that were started to bring the migrant labourers home have been a disaster- numbers of them have died during the journey without food, and have come back disease-ridden. The crisis has been portrayed as a natural calamity and a tragedy, not as a result of the disastrous state politics. This type of coverage allowed sympathy and mourning, and encourages relief work, but completely avoids the hood of state mechanics. It directs us what to think about, but not what to think, stated The Wire, and they are absolutely correct in their assessment. No word on the police brutality on the migrant workers whose only crime was to walk the distance to reach home, and no word either on how the state would take decisions into looking after them.
The article can be found here.
Jess: Being in the United States, myself and many others have been deeply concerned not only about the treatment of migrant farm workers in the US who have not received proper protection or pay/paid leave, despite working to feed us all during this international crisis, but also about the central American migrants camped at the US/Mexico border, which has become a major human rights crisis, as Donald Trump and his advisors have seemingly demolished any chance of asylum for these migrants that I would call refugees, it seems essential to understand the history of migration and the treatment of immigrants, and we appreciate you shedding light on this issue in India.
Is there anything else you’d like us to know or understand about this topic? Any suggestions on how to support migrant workers in India?
Santanu: The migrant crisis has to be analysed from a perspective that includes the future of work and production for them. Work needs to be reimagined. In areas where people will return, this is the great opportunity to renew rural economies and make them resilient. But this is not going to be easy. We must direct our vision towards schemes for providing livelihoods for renewal — do all we can to build the rural economy, driven as it is through value addition in agriculture, dairy and forestry.
It needs a new blueprint; a new compact between the rural and the urban.