DUSHANBE, April 3, 2012, Asia-Plus – A fire at Kachalovsky market in Moscow is not the first and not the last tragedy, Ms. Gavhar Jurayeva, Chairperson of the “Migration and Law” Information and Legal Center, said in an interview with Firstnews, commenting on the fire that swept through a market warehouse in southern Moscow Tuesday morning.
Ms. Jurayeva noted that an overwhelming number of labor migrants are working in the Russian Federation illegally that worsens their social situation in Russia even more.
“Unfortunately we begin settling the situation not from the source but from the effects like this fire,” she noted, pointing to the necessity of establishing “civilized migration space.”
First of all it is necessary to resolve the problem of mediators and the number of illegally working migrants, the expert said. “It is necessary to legalize those who have already been working here and take under control those who do not work,” said Jurayeva, “It is necessary to attempt to get rid of mediators.”
According to her, the Center has repeatedly offered the Government and the Federal Migration Service of Russia to initiate establishment of centers under their own control.
“An adequate price for work permit is 3,000 Russian rubles but not 25,000 Russian rubles taken by mediators and an adequate price for registration is some 300 Russian rubles but not 2,000 Russian rubles,” the human rights activist noted.
“Many migrants cannot leave [Russia] because they do not receive wages in time. They are just callously tossed out to sink or swim, with no income whatsoever. Migrants may find themselves in basements without money for returning home.”
“Migrants from Central Asia’s nations are attached to their land, relatives and traditions. They do not seek a better fate here. They return home in a couple of years,” Jurayeva said.
Meanwhile, Russian media sources report the Kachalovsky market fire death toll rose to fifteen. Fifteen people have been killed by a fire that swept through a market warehouse in southern Moscow, RIA Novosti said. Most of the dead were from Tajikistan and the rest may have come from other countries in the region, state media said.
