Human dignity and cross-border migrants in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, and the resultant lock-downs and cross-border travel restrictions have reinvigorated public debates about the vulnerability of the global migrants, together with the responsibility of the States to ensure dignified treatment of migrants. Situating within the debates on capability-based development and human dignity and drawing on emerging evidence from Nepal, this opinion piece seeks to explore how returnee Nepali labour migrants from India are subject to dignity violation within the government's response to the COVID-19. The paper tentatively concludes that the Nepali government's decision to seal its border with India, and its subsequent interventions to curtail the flow of outbreak, have undermined the human dignity of Nepali migrants. In so doing, the paper raises a normative question as to whether, to what extent and for how long, poor and marginalised populations such as labour migrants should be expected to endure suffering and dignity violation in the interests of protecting the health of the population at large. The role of contextual politics in shaping the response to the intersecting nature of cross-border and public health crisis is highlighted. Attention is also drawn to the potential of political response against dignity violation, in exposing the ineptitude of the State to safeguard the well-being of its returnee migrants.

Moving across Borders: The Work Life Experiences of Czech Cross‐border Workers during the COVID‐19 Pandemic

“…This is in line with previous reports of unequal treatment of employees in the secondary sector (Haindorfer, 2020 ). The experiences of our study participants showcase the mental borders across two societies, which have led to increasing hostility and the subsequent blame and rejection of individuals who are simply making use of their right to free movement (Dhungana, 2020 ; Karstens, 2020 ; Nonnenmacher et al ., 2021 ). Our findings support observations made by Haindorfer ( 2020 ), confirming the existence of such mental borders and their reinforcement during the pandemic where discrimination was experienced not only in the workplace, but in everyday situations across both societies.…”

“…To contain the COVID‐19 pandemic and slow the spread of the virus, various governments in the European Union (EU) Schengen region closed their borders to neighbouring countries with significant effects on individuals, businesses, macroeconomic factors, and to society as whole (Dhungana, 2020 ; Medeiros et al ., 2021 ). One group that has been particularly impacted by these measures are the so‐called cross‐border workers (CBWs).…”

The Psychological, Social, and Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on Nepali Migrant Workers

“…(on a scale of 1–10 with 10 being the most effective). This question was included to account for potential distrust of the Government as a result of the lockdown at the India–Nepal border and the poor sanitary conditions of the government quarantine centers ( Dhungana, 2020 ). The response was recoded into a dichotomous variable where 1 = low confidence in the Government and 0 = high confidence in the Government.…”

“…The quarantine centers that were built by the Nepali government were quickly overwhelmed by the magnitude of migrant workers returning to Nepal from India, which is estimated at 2 million, mostly low-wage workers ( Shah et al, 2020 ). Furthermore, the poor sanitary conditions of the quarantine centers have raised ethical concerns regarding the treatment of Nepali migrant workers during COVID-19 ( Dhungana, 2020 ).…”

Migrant Care’s Role in Advocating the Educational Needs of Migrant Workers’ Children

“…This can also be done by establishing cooperation with the Consulate General in Malaysia and the Ministry of Education to imitate the formation of CLC in Malaysia. Implementation of the establishment of CLC following the mandate of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and able to provide education for the children of migrant workers (Dhungana, 2020;Alam & Houston, 2020). The education provided is "education for all" without discrimination to children of migrant workers who are usually excluded because they are considered illegal.…”