KHOROG, July 3, 2009, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan needs a special organization for social protection of labor migrants and their families, representative of the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Mission in Tajikistan, Ms. Gulchehra Ibrohimova, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
According to unofficial data, more than one million of Tajiks travel to other CIS states, primarily Russia, seeking better employment opportunities and annual receipts of funds from them to the country reportedly amounts to billions of dollars. “We think that taking into consideration contribution labor migrants make to the country’s budget, it is necessary to provide for mechanism of support for them and their families,” Ms. Ibrohimova said.
A delegation of the IOM’s Mission arrived in Gorno Badakhshan to study the situation that emerged in families of labor migrants in the region.
“We have met with wives of labor migrants that have not received financial aid from their husbands for a long time. After several districts in Khaton and Sughd provinces as well as districts subordinate to the center, we have visited dozens of families of labor migrants in the city of Khorog as well as Shugnan and Rushan districts,” Ms. Ibrohimova said.
According to Rosella Varbaro Glenn, MA in Politics at the George Mason University (USA), during talks with members of such families it turned out that some labor migrants have not inquired about their families for two years and some of them have not inquired about their families even for more than ten years. “Therefore, social level of such families is very poor and because of lack of financial support members of these families cannot get proper education and timely medical aid,” she said.
Qamchibek Nasillobekov, the head of Badakhshonkhorijakor (GBAO state enterprise for external labor migration), noted that such a survey has been conducted in the region for the first time. “We are meeting with families of labor migrants, who have applied to us for help,” said Nasillobekov, “We are not able to solve problems facing them; however, we are trying to provide them feasible financial aid with support from other government bodies and public associations.”
According to Ms. Ibrohimova and Ms. Glenn, the main objective of the survey is to determine the main reasons for the situation that emerged and mechanisms to solve problems. “In perspective, we also plan to develop project and seek donors for development of mechanisms of solution of problems of families in pilot districts that found themselves in such situations,” said Ibrohimova, “The project will provide for establishment of a center to provide informational, legal, and, as far as possible, financial support to families of labor migrants.”
