Papers by Priya Deshingkar
This project was funded by the UK's Department for International Development (DFID). DFID support... more This project was funded by the UK's Department for International Development (DFID). DFID supports policies, programmes and projects to promote poverty reduction globally. DFID provided funds for this study as part of that goal but the views and opinions expressed are those of the authors alone.
Journal of South Asian Development, 2022
The abrupt lockdown imposed by the Indian government at the start of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic i... more The abrupt lockdown imposed by the Indian government at the start of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 led to unprecedented scenes of human suffering. Millions of migrant workers were suddenly made redundant, evicted from their rented accommodation and unable to travel to their villages. The Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy reports that the Consumer Pyramid Survey for April 2020 showed a drop of 122 million workers, and 75% of them were small traders and wage labourers (Vyas, 2020). A majority of those made jobless and stranded were circular, inter-state, labour migrants from the relatively under-developed northern and eastern states of the country such as Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, working in and around major cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Surat and Kochi. Many belonged to lower castes and other marginalized groups including minorities and Adivasis . They worked in a range of occupations, mostly informal, such as helpers, assistants and packers, loaders, washers, cleaners, construction labour and domestic workers. Most were in the city to work and earn to send money to their families in the village or save for a better future for themselves. They stayed in the city for varying lengths of time ranging from a few months to several years with trips back home for major events and festivals. Although their jobs were precarious, the strategy of working in the city without job security or access to social protection served them well. Work was regular, wages were relatively high, and they could bring about changes in their lives in ways that would not have been possible in the places they came from. The disrupted all of that left in crisis the that receiving to leave cities go back their
Youth on the Move, 2022
Contemporary dominant literature and media reports on irregular migration portray migrants as vic... more Contemporary dominant literature and media reports on irregular migration portray migrants as victims of human trafficking and smuggling rings. They focus on the criminal aspects of the roles of those who involve in migration facilitation. This chapter challenges such arguments for downplaying the dynamism and social complexity of the organization of migration facilitation. With a visible departure from the existing hegemonic statist arguments, the chapter emphasizes the views from below. It highlights the roles of aspiring migrants, their families, and other social relations such as religious networks. In other words, it presents the active agency of the migrants and their families in planning, finding brokers, financing and playing active part in initialising the smuggling process with a purpose of realising the migrants’ desired future and the wellbeing of their families.
This paper seeks to clarify the nature of changes and trends in rural-urban migration, the releva... more This paper seeks to clarify the nature of changes and trends in rural-urban migration, the relevance of local labour markets and remittances and their place within the livelihoods strategies of the rural poor and to indicate the ways in which donor policies should be adapted to address these changes and trends. The main points covered in the paper are: 1. Temporary migration and commuting are now a routine part of the livelihood strategies of the rural poor across a wide range of developing country contexts. While past determinants of migration such as drought are still valid and important, there are new driving forces underlying the increase in population mobility. These forces are location specific and include improved communications and roads, new economic opportunities arising from urbanisation as well as the changing market context as economies become more globalised and liberalised. 2. The relative importance of migration is highly context specific as are its effects on the lo...
European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 2021
Between 2014 and April 2019, the government of Myanmar banned international migration for domesti... more Between 2014 and April 2019, the government of Myanmar banned international migration for domestic work to Singapore and criminalised the brokering of such migration as well as predeparture training and placement of migrants as domestic workers in Singapore. These measures were taken in response to concerns over the alleged abuse of migrant women as well as international pressures to eliminate trafficking and debt bondage. Experienced brokers and recruitment agencies who were trading openly up until then were forced to cease operations. At the same time, large numbers of inexperienced and uncouth recruitment agencies emerged to take advantage of the black economy created by the ban. This resulted in women migrating irregularly from Myanmar to Singapore being exposed to greater risks which the paper traces. Four discernible impacts of the ban on the recruitment practices and working conditions faced by migrant women from Myanmar before departure and after arriving in Singapore were i...
Key lessons • The criminalisation of migrant smuggling has not succeeded in eliminating the pract... more Key lessons • The criminalisation of migrant smuggling has not succeeded in eliminating the practice. • Risk-awareness campaigns do not deter irregular migrants as there are complex sociocultural reasons for migrating. • Efforts need to be made to open up more channels for legal migration and labour circulation.
The Routledge Handbook of Smuggling, 2021
Public Anthropologist, 2021
Sensationalist accounts of human smuggling from Ethiopia towards Saudi Arabia allege that operati... more Sensationalist accounts of human smuggling from Ethiopia towards Saudi Arabia allege that operations are controlled by criminal networks who converge in a variety of illegal markets posing a threat to national security. Such convergence narratives construct Ethiopian human smuggling as an organized criminal business that extracts profits from and inflicts violence on vulnerable people seeking a clandestine passage to work in the Gulf States. Our ethnographic research in Wollo, Ethiopia, challenges these narratives by showing that smuggling networks are developed through personalised relationships, based on co-ethnic bonds rather than extended and complex criminal networks. Smuggling has emerged in a particular context of surveillance and enforcement and the motives of smugglers are complex, making simple characterizations difficult. Smuggling is enabled by ethnic links on either side of the border where earnings from facilitation boost incomes in an otherwise impoverished context.
Asian Population Studies, 2016
Article (Accepted Version) http://sro.sussex.ac.uk Deshingkar, Priya (2017) Towards contextualise... more Article (Accepted Version) http://sro.sussex.ac.uk Deshingkar, Priya (2017) Towards contextualised, disaggregated and intersectional understandings of migration in India. Asian Population Studies, 13 (2). pp. 119-123.
Geography Compass, 2015
Migration for domestic work has become the subject of intense debate among international human ri... more Migration for domestic work has become the subject of intense debate among international human rights organisations and policy makers concerned with the welfare of workers who are predominantly women from poor and historically disadvantaged communities. This paper is a review of the literature on South-South migration for domestic work, undertaken to assess the evidence base that underpins this debate. It shows that there is little discussion of the reasons for such migration and the impact that it has on households at origin. There is an assumption that domestic workers are driven by poverty into occupations that entrench poverty. The literature is dominated by papers focusing on the shortcomings of legal frameworks for regulating working conditions and recruitment practices, resulting in extremely exploitative conditions of employment. Although a few papers discuss worker agency, these are clearly not inf luencing policy debates, which continue to treat migrant domestic workers as victims. There is a dearth of research on the impacts of migration on households at origin; a significant gap in the literature given that migration is often a household strategy intended to access more remunerative employment and remit money home. Scope and Design of the Review 1 South-south migration for domestic work was chosen as the focus for this review for three reasons. First, because it is an important occupation for rural-urban migrants from relatively poor households across the world. Second, because it has recently become an important topic in international discussions on human rights and decent work. And finally, because there appeared to be a lack of literature on the relationships between migration for domestic work and poverty. While there are no reliable statistics on domestic workers in a global context, estimates put the number at around 53 million worldwide, of whom the majority (83%) are women and from poor backgrounds (ILO 2013). The Asia Pacific region has the largest number of domestic workers (21.5 million), followed by Latin America and the Caribbean (19.6 million), and Africa (5.2 million). These figures do not include child domestic workers. It is anticipated that with economic growth and a growing middle class, the number of domestic workers will increase (ILO 2013). The International Convention on Domestic Workers defines 'domestic work' as work performed in or for a household(s), and a 'domestic worker' as any person engaged in domestic work within an employment relationship (ILO 2011). The term 'domestic work' covers a wide range of tasks and services, but this review is limited to migration for 'unskilled' domestic work, tasks such as cleaning, housekeeping and care work, as these jobs are more relevant for a discussion on migration and poverty. The review does not claim to be globally representative; it focuses on internal and regional migration (within geographical regions) for domestic work within Africa and Asia ('south-south migration'), to inform research being conducted at the University of Sussex under the DFID funded Migrating out of Poverty research programme. In order to maintain academic rigour, only empirical evidence generated through peer reviewed academic research has been reviewed and not non-peer reviewed literature and literature generated by NGOs.
The UK Department for International Development (DFID) supports policies, programmes and projects... more The UK Department for International Development (DFID) supports policies, programmes and projects to promote poverty reduction globally. DFID provided funds for this study as part of that goal but the views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) alone. The authors gratefully acknowledge the work of Matteo Sandi at the RPC on whose work some of this paper draws. We also gratefully acknowledge helpful comments received when an earlier version of this work was presented at DFID on
The UK Department for International Development (DFID) supports policies, programmes and projects... more The UK Department for International Development (DFID) supports policies, programmes and projects to promote poverty reduction globally. DFID provided funds for the Migrating out of Poverty RPC as part of that goal but the views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) alone. FAO disclaimer: The designations employed and the presentation of material in this working paper do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of FAO. All rights reserved. FAO encourages reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. Non-commercial uses will be authorized free of charge, upon request. Reproduction for resale or other commercial purposes, including educational purposes, may incur fees.
Journal of the British Academy
The authors provide critical insights into the creation of precarious and unfree labour in Ghana ... more The authors provide critical insights into the creation of precarious and unfree labour in Ghana and Myanmar by examining the inner workings of the migration industry and the roles of brokers, the state and employers in positioning migrants in exploitative work in Libya, The Middle East, Singapore and Thailand. The evidence is based on in-depth interviews with returned and current migrant construction workers and domestic workers, formal and informal brokers, transport providers and other stakeholders. The research shows that brokerage is culturally embedded in local systems of reciprocity and closely depends on the collusion and cooptation of state actors. The research suggests that rather than viewing migrants and those who mediate migration in opposition and the state as a benevolent facilitator, they should be analysed as co-constituting systems of brokerage, irregular migration and exploitative work. The findings highlight the need for states to take greater responsibility in managing their own involvement in creating modern slavery. At the same time, the findings highlight the ways in which migrants use brokerage to exercise agency by taking advantage of irregular migration routes and informal employment.
ERIS – European Review of International Studies
IOM Migration Research Series
Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
Economic and Political Weekly, Dec 30, 2006
Page 1. Economic and Political Weekly December 30, 2006 5401 Andhra Pradesh is home to 33 communi... more Page 1. Economic and Political Weekly December 30, 2006 5401 Andhra Pradesh is home to 33 communities officially designated as scheduled tribes (STs). They numbered 50,24,104 in the 2001 Census. The STs of Andhra ...
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Papers by Priya Deshingkar