MPI's Migration Information Source Newsletter

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May 15, 2021

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Feature
Iran Loses Highly Educated and Skilled Citizens during Long-Running "Brain Drain"
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/iran-brain-drain-emigration
Large numbers of well-educated Iranians have left their country of birth since its 1979 revolution, in a "brain drain" that has held back Iran's economy and cultural institutions. Iran's isolation from the world has worsened in recent years, and a stuttering economy, currency freefall, and widespread impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to the underlying factors encouraging emigration, as this article examines.

Feature
Europe's Tackling of 'Root Causes' of African Migration Has a Mixed Record
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/europe-migration-africa-eutf
The European Union has tried to leverage development assistance to address root causes of migration from Africa, including poverty, instability, and conflict. The EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, unveiled in 2015, has supported more than 250 programs totaling nearly 5 billion euros across 26 countries, but has had only partial success addressing the underlying drivers of migration, as this article explains.


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EDITOR'S NOTE

Slowly, changes are coming to end the notoriously terrible conditions for migrant workers in Qatar.

The tiny Gulf Arab nation, where 2 million foreigners account for approximately 95 percent of the labor force, has long been criticized for its kafala ("sponsorship") system under which employers enjoy near-total control over the status of migrant workers. (The system is also used in some other Middle Eastern countries.)

But in recent months, many elements of Qatar's kafala system have effectively been dismantled. After cooperation with the International Labor Organization (ILO), a new law went into effect in March creating a minimum wage covering workers of all nationalities in all sectors. The law, which also requires that employers cover some food and housing expenses, is the first of its kind in the region, and will directly benefit more than 400,000 workers, ILO estimates.

Last year, the government enacted reforms allowing workers to change jobs without their employer's permission and removed the need to obtain an exit permit to leave the country. By April, 119,000 migrant laborers had reportedly switched jobs.

The changes come as Qatar prepares to host the FIFA World Cup next year. Soccer's world governing body was heavily criticized for its 2010 decision to locate the games in Qatar, where temperatures regularly reach over 110°F for long periods of the day. Migrant workers in construction and other fields have been crucial to Qatar's ability to host the competition, but have often worked in extremely hazardous conditions. A recent investigation by The Guardian found that more than 6,500 migrant workers from five South Asian countries have died since FIFA's decision--an average of 12 per week.

Migrants in Qatar and other Gulf Arab countries were also particularly hard hit by impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many were vulnerable to both the virus and the economic downturn that has accompanied it. Writing in the Migration Information Source last year, Bangladeshi diplomat M.N.I. Sorkar described the challenges of several million of his country's migrants in the Gulf, as well as the communities in Bangladesh who depended on their remittances.

Still, the pace of change in Qatar is slow--and reforms of the kafala system have been tendered before yet changed little. Foreign laborers remain dependent on their bosses in many ways, and workers have said their employers simply ignored the legal changes, punishing employees for trying to switch jobs.

The World Cup kicks off next November. Qatar seems eager not to have its labor practices overshadow the competition, but it has yet to finish the job.


Best regards,

Julian Hattem

Editor, Migration Information Source

[email protected]


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NEW FROM MPI

Rethinking the U.S. Legal Immigration System: A Policy Road Map
www.migrationpolicy.org/research/rethinking-us-legal-immigration-road-map
By Muzaffar Chishti, Julia Gelatt and Doris Meissner


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HAVE YOU READ?

Labor Migration in the United Arab Emirates: Challenges and Responses
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/labor-migration-united-arab-emirates-challenges-and-responses

COVID-19 Pandemic Profoundly Affects Bangladeshi Workers Abroad with Consequences for Origin Communities
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/covid-19-pandemic-profoundly-affects-bangladeshi-workers-abroad-consequences-origin

Border Challenges Dominate, But Biden's First 100 Days Mark Notable Under-the-Radar Immigration Accomplishments
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/biden-100-days-immigration


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MEDIA CORNER

"Island of Hope: Migration and Solidarity in the Mediterranean" looks at social solidarity efforts between natives and migrants in Sicily, by Megan A. Carney, a guest on MPI's "Changing Climate, Changing Migration" podcast.
www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520344518/island-of-hope

Ruth Milkman, Deepak Bhargava, and Penny Lewis are the editors of "Immigration Matters: Movements, Visions, and Strategies for a Progressive Future," which offers a forward-looking vision of U.S. immigration policy.
[link removed]

Journalist Jo Napolitano tells the story of a pivotal lawsuit involving refugee students in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in "The School I Deserve: Six Young Refugees and Their Fight for Equality in America."
www.beacon.org/The-School-I-Deserve-P1638.aspx

Historian Becky Taylor reviews refugees' reception and treatment in the United Kingdom in "Refugees in Twentieth-Century Britain: A History."
www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/history/twentieth-century-british-history/refugees-twentieth-century-britain-history

Rebecca Hamlin examines the conceptual distinctions between refugees and other migrants in "Crossing: How We Label and React to People on the Move."
www.sup.org/books/title/?id=31446

"Small States and the European Migrant Crisis: Politics and Governance," edited by Tómas Joensen and Ian Taylor, reviews how smaller European countries responded to the increased numbers of asylum seekers and other migrants in 2015 and 2016.
www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030662028


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