Lost in migration

Migrant workers are an integral part of Pakistan’s economy and the labour market. Remittances from the overseas workforce are not only one of the major sources of income for families of these workers, but for the country as well. And yet, the exploitation of Pakistani low-wage migrant workers in other countries remains an alarming endemic, a source of national shame.

Today is the United Nations International Migrants Day, commemorated every year on December 18 to call for migration that is “safe, regular and dignified for all”. Migration is a great issue for our globalized world, and a force for dignity because it allows people to choose to save themselves, letting them choose participation over isolation. The regulation of labour migration in Pakistan, however, remains weak, leaving thousands of mostly low-wage workers vulnerable to human trafficking, forced labour, ill treatment in detention overseas and even death.

There are close to 11,000 Pakistanis imprisoned in foreign jails, of which over 7,000 are in the Middle East. The Pakistani-Saudi migration corridor, in particular, is considered one of the costliest in the world in terms of recruitment costs for economically disadvantaged workers. But somehow, individuals and groups who seek to coerce and deceive some of the individuals seeking employment overseas to smuggle prohibited drugs to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, operate with significant impunity.

Migrant workers, struggling to make ends meet, jump at the opportunity to seek work and better life prospects abroad. Some of them then also end up being duped and coerced into smuggling narcotics to the Gulf countries and are, ultimately, sentenced to death and executed. This is a telling measure of the gaps in the recruitment regime for low-wage migrant workers in Pakistan and the inadequacies of our government in responding to the incarceration of these workers abroad.

Private firms responsible for the recruitment of workers for jobs abroad are known as overseas employment promoters (OEPs). Pakistani law prohibits the use of unauthorized intermediaries. In practice, however, these prohibitions are poorly enforced. Unregistered subagents remain a critical intermediary between prospective workers and employers overseas. This is especially the case for individuals from rural areas who account for a significant portion of all labour migration from Pakistan.

Pakistan’s 2,157 unlicensed OEPs are spread out over the seven cities of Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Malakand District, Quetta, and Multan. Because of this, the first contact many individuals have with an ‘agent’ is an unlicensed individual or company operating outside the system that is supposed to regulate labour migration from Pakistan. Many migrants use direct or process visas, also known as ‘Azad Visas’, which can be bought and sold in the unregulated ‘migration market’ to travel to the Gulf. For OEPs who have obtained Azad Visas for workers, the entire documentation process is carried out by a third-party actor, with individuals seeking to work abroad having little to no input in the process.

Once migrant workers are imprisoned abroad, they must navigate an unfamiliar criminal justice system without consular assistance. Many prisoners do not seek consular services because they feel they would be wasting their time, energy, and limited phone calls since our embassy and consulate have a reputation of being unresponsive and unhelpful. Pakistan has also yet to implement a uniform consular policy that provides adequate protocols to officials to provide financial and legal assistance to Pakistanis imprisoned abroad, despite a significant number of its citizens in prisons all over the world.

In light of these discrepancies, it is absolutely imperative that the government increases its oversight of procedures of recruitment and monitoring of information passed through informal networks by implementing stricter checks on the so-called Azad Visas. It also needs to enforce the mandatory attendance rule of pre-departure briefings for prospective migrants as stipulated under the Emigration Ordinance 1979. These pre-departure briefings would help low-wage workers who have never travelled abroad better understand the work and living conditions abroad along with their rights and obligations.

There is also an urgent need to improve outreach programmes at airports, and in cities and towns with a high volume of labour migration. This will help in providing assistance to migrants and screen them before they board their flights.

Lastly, we need to seek to protect rather than prosecute individuals deceived and coerced into trafficking drugs while migrating abroad for work by formulating and applying a coherent, effective and non-discriminatory consular protection policy to provide adequate legal and financial support to Pakistani prisoners. The Pakistani government should provide legal aid and ensure the presence of a translator during trial proceedings in foreign countries along with carrying out internal coordination between Pakistan and host countries’ authorities responsible for labour migration.

Inadequate oversight and lack of proper enforcement of existing protections is a literal death sentence for scores of Pakistanis who simply seek a better life and improved prospects for loved ones abroad.

The writer is a political and legislative strategist for Justice Project Pakistan.

Twitter: @MalaikaSRaza