This picture is that of scores of people waiting at the main street in Perumbavoor, 10 kilometres away from where Anna and I live. Every morning by about seven in the morning, about five hundred or more people wait in groups like this on both sides of the road, waiting to be hired for jobs at the construction sites, farm, estate, etc.
They are migrant workers from, West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, etc. Almost all of them would be hired most of the days, but those who do not get hired have a hard time. Those hired would earn at least five hundred rupees a day which is two times the wages they would earn in their home town, if at all they can find a job.
The work force in Kerala is largely from other states of India, which speaks of the upward mobility of the employed in Kerala to white collared jobs, with fewer people available as artisans, farm workers, domestic helpers,etc.
I got to know some of them who work in the hospital. There is more people than there are jobs as a result of which, many get only fifteen days of employment.It is stressful as they stay away from home for three to four months and do not save much from what they earn. They live with an uncertainty and anxiety, that addiction to drugs, alcohol, etc is on the increase among them. The majority among them are in the mid twenties, who are school drop outs and unmarried.
The silver lining in this situation is an effort by the Non- Government organisations to form job hubs with continuity. There is a campaign to offer them insurance cover, subsidised health care and paid holidays. There are some caring groups, who befriend them and help them to find temporary accommodation.
Theirs is a story of travails of life in a globalised world, where opportunities for better prospects in life come at a heavy cost. We use them to get our work done, but do little for their welfare. The economic development safeguards the people at the top of the pyramid, and those in the bottom of the pyramid are left to fend for themselves.
Theirs is a story of travails of life in a globalised world, where opportunities for better prospects in life come at a heavy cost. We use them to get our work done, but do little for their welfare. The economic development safeguards the people at the top of the pyramid, and those in the bottom of the pyramid are left to fend for themselves.
I am looking around to see if church congregations can be enthused to become their 'neighbour'!
M.C.Mathew(text an photo)
M.C.Mathew(text an photo)
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