The Great Leveler by Walter Scheidel , Austrian economic historian, argues that throughout human history, there have been four types of catastrophic events that have led to greater economic equality: pandemic, war, revolution and state collapse. Currently, the world is going through one of them: a massive COVID-19 pandemic.

The  validity of Scheidel’s argument for the current pandemic can only be assessed after it is over, the pandemic has been described as a leveller more loosely, both because the disease can strike anyone, and also because the resultant lockdowns have led to widespread job losses and economic hardships across the range of the income and occupational distribution.

“The COVID-19 outbreak has thrown most countries into a humanitarian crisis that humanity has not faced in modern times. The world is uncertain around how long this crisis will last and what damage it would do to the economy, livelihoods of citizens, and the availability of basic healthcare to those who need it the most. Unfortunately, with ever-changing virus transmission dynamics, it hits the most vulnerable groups of population killing tens of thousands of people who remain virgin ground for the virus”.

For the first time in the history of India , two instances grabbed India’s attention . One was the plight of migrants and their heart rending visuals and other was the pandemic . As per the National commission on Rural Labour ,1991, around 10.5 million circular migrants are there in rural areas only ; 4.5 million interstate migrants and 6 million intra state migrants .

A European migrant origin country, Portugal has seen steady growth in its immigrant population from the second half of the 1970s, particularly from the Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa, such as Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, and, from the 1990s onwards, Brazil and the eastern European countries, namely the Republic of Moldova, Romania, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Between 1990 and 2010 the proportion of international migrants increased from 4.4% to 8.6%.

The state of emergency was declared in Portugal, through the Decree of the President of the Republic after the first case was reported on March 2, 2020 .The decree imposed extraordinary urgent measures in the form of restrictions over domestic and international movements and the application of social distancing rules. Because of the ongoing Pandemic ,the country had approved a new decree that allows legal immigrants with pending residence application who applied for legal residence to have access to health care services .The immigrants were given same rights as the Portugese citizens including the use of health system and financial support from the government.

The Pandemics of the past was not concerned with migration but in present times pandemics such as swine flu, zika, corona has not left any stone unturned. It is always said that when migrants move from one place to another they may not only lose their jobs and livelihood but also carry the infections with them. That is why they are stigmatize, vulnerable and distressed sections of the society. Most of the countries denied basic human rights to them and made them vulnerable to the outbreak of Corona virus.

In Common Home, Development and Migration in Portugal (2019) describes about the conditions of migrants in Portugal, their societies of origin, destination and transit. This edition of Common Home also highlights the fact, data and analysis regarding the migration patterns of Portugal. The author signify measures adopted by Portugal which proved to be boon for the immigrants in Europe. Anupriya Alok in his paper “Impact of Covid-19 on Indian Migrants: Challenges and Issues” (Alok, 2019) discuss about the key problems faced by the migrants in a democratic society like India. They faced loss of Jobs and unhuman tragedy during lockdown period. This Paper also attempts to highlight the painful story of migrants who were forced to walk back to their hometowns barefooted. It is a stark reality to note down that in a country like India which claims to be free from injustice and inequality is struggling hard to cope up with the Migrant crisis. The International Migration Outlook of 2020 published by OECD highlights the shocks related with migration and the lessons to be learnt. It attempts to explain the migration pathways that can be adopted in the case of refugee crisis Leila Ezzarqui in the the “Research on Migration” attempts to study the nature and problems encountered by the migrants in Europe. Europe accommodates diverse set of people from various other parts of the world including the migrants. Thus there is an urgent need to integrate and accommodate the migrants in Europe. This Research is a sheer example of the ways to integrate migrants and achieve a diverse, open democratic society based on the principles of Human Rights.(OECD, 2020)

Ritu Kumar Ahmad, Mohammad Shakil Ahmad, Riyaz Ahamed Shaik “India’s Response to COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on Migrant Workers – A Public Health Perspective” discuss about how the current pandemic has led to severe impact on diversified income groups and social habit of the people. Other than that the Daily bread winners and Migrants are the worst affected lot as they were more susceptible to illness, infection and harsh events. (Ahmad R., Shakil M., Shaik R., 2020)

“COVID-19 and Migrant Workers: Challenges and Opportunities for Odisha” Shibalal Meher and Jyotsnamayee Nanda emphasise on the conditions of Migrants during the outbreak of Corona Virus in India. The Lockdown created uncertainty in case of food security and livelihood issues. This paper studies the influx of migrants to odisha during the times of health crisis that paved the way to address such vulnerability in future course of action.(Meher S., Nanda J., 2019)

The sudden eruption of migrant crisis makes us realise the urgency of the matter. Humanitarian

Measures for the migrants cant be underestimated. Countries like Portugal provides the best example as to how one can tackle with the crisis with a Humanitarian approach. India if adopts such approaches could be helpful in mitigating a strategy for the migrants and reducing the socio economic adversities of Covid-19.

Trends of Migration in India and Portugal
In past , Migration used to take place because of Natural disasters and hazards . In todays arena though such types of migration continue to exist , but new forms of migration due to civil war , genocide , demonetisation , violence , etc takes place .
“Migrants are the most vulnerable populations on the globe. In 2019, almost 33 million children were living outside of their country of birth. By the  end of 2018, a total of over 31 million children were living in forced displacement in their own country or abroad due to violence and conflict. Around 13 million child refugees, and 1 million asylum-seeking children, and approximately 17 million children displaced within their own countries. It is estimated that 3.7 million children live in refugee camps or collective centres.”

The UN Migration Agency (International Organisation for Migration )defines a migrant as any person who is moving or has moved across an international border or within a State away from his/her habitual place of residence, regardless of (1) the person’s legal status; (2) whether the movement is voluntary or involuntary; (3) what the causes for the movement are; or (4) what the length of the stay is.

The number of internal migrants in India was 450 million in 2011 . It increased from 30% in 2001 to 37% in 2011 .The nature of movement has remain unchanged as a major chumk of movement has taken place within a same state . As per the World bank data , India has witnessed the lowest level of internal migration . As per the World Economic Forum data , Pune and Surat are the most affected by migration in Asia .Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka account for one third of the total inter state migrants .

As per the Census of India, The number of migrants increased from 31crore in 2001 to 46 crore in 2011. In India 99% of total migration was both internal and international migrants . Majority of the migrants migrate to urban areas due to marriage and job opportunities . The socio economic development of the southern states has attracted more people.

The Economic survey of 2017-2018 depicts that 9 million inter state migration took place after 2011.Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are one of the largest source of origin  of migrant states and Maharashtra , UP , Gujarat , Kerala are the major destination states of migrants .

During covid-19 most of the migrants in the destination states faced issues with respect to health , food , education , and economic services. They became vulnerable to unemployment, violence ,starvation , fatigue , restlessness

If we compare the trends of migration in India with that of Portugal ,during 1960’s  more than two million people left Portugal and went to  Brazil and  USA. It represented a much greater intensity of migration. Portugal has always remain instrumental in promotion of health and migration statistics .

In mid 1990’s Portugal saw the resurgence of new forms of migration . Unlike India , Immigration in Portugal is the result of social and historical reasons . It takes place due to seasonal migration in agro-tourism sector , student migration ,labour migration and economic crisis .

The country has recently decided to grant temporary residency rights to all immigrants and asylum seekers who applied for residency in the country before the country’s state of emergency for Covid-19 was announced on 18 March 2020. Anyone with these rights will be given access to the country’s national health service, bank accounts, and work and rental contracts until 1 July 2020 at least.

Challenges Faced By Indian Migrants Highlighted During Covid-19

The Pandemic and subsequent Lockdown, loss of employment and social distancing prompted a chaotic and painful process of mass return for internal migrants in India. The Pandemic has highlighted some grave issues that the migrants have been facing in India since years. Some of them are:

Lack of Awareness: Lack of awareness among migrants about their rights as ‘workers’ and as ‘migrant workers’.

Lack of social security: Restricted access to basic needs such as identity documentation, social entitlements, health benefits and poor implementation of minimum safety standards under the.

Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979 (ISMW Act) like insurance cover and pension schemes for the poor.

Lack of affordable housing and basic amenities in urban areas: The proportion of migrants in urban population is 47%. The inadequate supply of low-income housing options leads to the spread of informal settlements and slums.

Lack of portability of state-provided benefits: For example, the benefits under the public distribution system (PDS) lacks portability.

Work harassment: Labour agents coerce workers and do not pay minimum wages as stipulated by law.

Human trafficking: Many migrants, specially young girls  are deceived and trafficked.

Debt traps: Workers who engage in seasonal work, such as in agriculture, are often trapped in a situation of debt and bondage

Work safety: Unsafe working and living conditions, lack of occupational health and safety possess greater threat.

Sexual harassment: Possibility of violence at the workplace and sexual harassment of women.

Health risks: Greater threat of nutritional diseases, occupational illnesses, communicable diseases,etc

Exclusion:  Lack of access to public services and social protection for migrants due to regulatory and administrative procedures in destination states.

Issues in informal  sector: “More than 80% of India’s workforce is constituted by the informal sector, that accounts for 400 million  workers.” The labour market and migrant workers regularly face conflicts, physical abuse and disputes at worksites for non-payment of wages

Legal and constitutional issues: The state is unable to ensure a decent living for the workers which is their right under Article 2l.

Insensitive legal machinery: There is a lack of legal machinery to deal and quickly dispose legal disputes of sensitive nature in the unorganized sector.

No say in the big decisions: Due to their mobile nature, they don’t find any place in the manifestos of trade unions.

Political exclusion: They are often ignored by political parties because they don’t count as votes, especially in the case of inter-state migrants.

Language barrier: Many migrants also face harassment due to their region of origin, language and culture.

Lessons to be Drawn From Portugal

Opportunities for Migration and Development in the Country- Portugal

As countries around the world seal off their borders in response to the coronavirus pandemic, another set of lines are being redrawn within – around those considered members of society and those who simply take up space. Refugees, asylum seekers and migrants already lacking the protection of their home countries were further marginalised in their virus-control strategies, But there is one exception to this case: Portugal.

1. Legislation

Portugal granted temporary residency rights to all its immigrants and asylum seekers  whose residency applications were pending before the country’s state of emergency was announced on 18 March 2020, giving them access to country’s health services, bank accounts, work and rental contract until 1 July 2020.

Portugal also supports inclusion of Migration in Sustainable Development Goals 2030 as a global agenda. This shows its  political commitment for fighting poverty, reducing inequalities, promoting full access and profit of human rights (such as health, education, water and sanitation, among others), and reaching for equality and equity for migrants.

2. Regularisation of Job

The rules in Portugal has made the visa policy and residence permit smooth and swift. Thus,  this has enhanced the process of regularisation for migrants. The skilled and semi skilled migrants are able to set up new businesses with less difficulty. Moreover, Portugal has also extended rights for the migrants on Humanitarian basis . Considering the economic hardships and vulnerabilities of the Migrants, India should also adopt such Humanitarian approaches towards migrants.

Portugal considers regularisation of labourers as opportunity for social integration and for active contribution to Portuguese society. Even those who do not have a legal proof of their entry into the country’s border but fulfil all the other requirements established in law, have been working in Portugal for over a year and pay regular taxes are given concession from residence permit.

3. Labour Reforms

Portugal follows the policy of “give and take”, once a migrant finds a job and pays taxes, they become official migrants by law .Regularisation as mentioned before gives them an opportunity for social inclusion. Portugal not only grants job in the transport, hotel, tourism, and infrastructure sector but also provide shared services within groups. The Regularisation and friendly legislations can help India to combat migrant crisis especially during Pandemics.

4. Entrepreneurship Opportunities

There are no institutional and legal barriers with respect to bank credit or funds or license for entrepreneurship purpose. The national policies lead to Job creation, innovation, and growth of migrant population . On similar , Skill India and Start Up India initiatives of India if implemented properly can prove to be a blessing for the migrants at times of crises .

Portugal has amended the national framework to ease the process of acquisition of Portuguese nationality by foreigners, this has increased the number of acquisitions to twenty thousand per year as of 2008. Portuguese legal framework also provides opportunities for regularisation of foreign students opting for professional courses and the entrepreneur immigrants by reducing bureaucratic delays thereby making visa and residence permit more flexible.

5. Governmental Efforts

The National Government, state government, Municipalities all are a part of integration of migrants in the economy . There are ample number of services in Portugal to give them training and develop their capabilities. The Portuguese government even provide information to the families of migrants on covid-19.

Further, Article 64 of the Portuguese Constitution talks about granting country’s National Health Services (NHS) to all residents – including foreign citizens irrespective of their economic, social and cultural conditions.

Immigrants without a residence permit, or who find themselves in an irregular situation under the immigration legislation in force, still gain access to the NHS by presenting a document from the civil parish in which they live, certifying that they have been living in Portugal for more than 90 days. Portugal’s migrant detention infrastructure includes short-term detention of undocumented migrants and asylum seekers entering the country, whose hygienic conditions are in line with minimum standards.

6. Role of Local Government

The Municipalities in Portugal have a separate integration plan for migrants to cater to their basic minimum necessities . It is also significant to note down that the municipalities in India should try to understand the pattern of migrants and adapt themselves to meet the basic demands of the migrants.

7. Human Rights and International Organisations

Apart from this Portugal is a signatory to almost all the major Human Rights conventions that protects the Migrants’ rights directly or indirectly like ILO Convention 97 on migration for employment, the ILO Convention 143 on migrant workers. In fact in 2015 it became one of the the first twenty countries to ratify the ILO Convention 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers.  Further these conventions are regularly reviewed in the country and are implemented through the participation of all relevant stake holders.

In 2015, Portugal also unveiled a strategic plan to encourage more migration to the country and is consistently ranked among the top countries in the Migrant Integration Policy Index. Portugal also received an award from the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) for best migrant education policies and antidiscrimination laws of all the new immigration countries. In 2011, Portugal was ranked second among 31 developed countries for its policies in the area of migrant integration by MIPEX for two consecutive times. Portugal was also recognized as the country with the best legal framework in the protection of migrants’ rights in the United Nations 2009 human development report.

Possible actions that can be taken by India :

i. Inclusion of Migrants and undocumented children in response to mitigation efforts for covid-19.

ii. Provide information to the families of migrants on covid-19 about their movement.

iii. Ensure basic necessities such as water, shelter, food, healthcare facilities to the displaced and jobless migrants.

iv. Universal access to healthcare and medical care facilities to the needy migrants.

v. Education strategies for the children of migrants for the purpose of continuous learning.

vi. Integration of migrants at the societal level and combat mass deportation of migrants in context of covid-19.

vii. Develop the skills of migrants to combat the future crisis and provide them adequate job opportunities.

viii. Expand the legislative measures and social protection schemes to minimise the adversities faced by migrants.

ix. Social, Economic and Political Inclusion of migrants to eliminate stigma and discrimination of migrants with respect to covid-19.

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