Roots & Routes Vol 10, No. 4, April, 2021

Photo credits : https://www. Photo credit: FandimeFilmu imdb.com/title/tt1630027/

www.grfdt.com

Roots and Routes, Vol 8, No. 13-14, July- December, 2019 1 Editor’s Note

Dear Readers, Greetings!

The adverse impact of the pandemic is on the rise, and migrants all over the world are largely getting affected. Although good initiatives are being taken by some governments and civil society organisations, many states are still Contents not prioritising welfare policies for the migrants who have been hard-hit be- Movie Reviews cause of the mobility restrictions. There is a need for global solidarity as it is Book Review the only hope for the entire humanity to come out of the narrow nationalistic Blog vision that has constantly neglected the importance of migrants. Therefore, bringing the voice of the migrants to the world community through all pos- Editorial Information ©GRFDT. Roots and Routes is printed, itive means is essential. On this note, Global Research Forum on Diaspora designed & circulated by and Transnationalism (GRFDT) is constantly striving to bridge the gap be- GRFDT tween the policy and implementation through its various activities. Depicting its monthly works, GRFDT brings to you its organisational newsletter “Roots Editor and Routes” for April 2021. Abhishek Yadav The newsletter contains movie reviews, book review and one interview. Lina Editorial Committee Mansour has reviewed the movie titled “Almanya: Willkommen in Deutsch- Abhishek Yadav land”, providing the telling account of Turkish immigrants living in Germany. Ani Yeremyan Fabrizio Parrilli has reviewed the movie titled “Bienvenue a Marly-Gomont” Arsala Nizami Feroz Khan (The African Doctor), describing the integration challenges of an African Gurram Srinivas family in . Moreover, Richa Kundu has reviewed the book “Modern Kishlay Kirti Greek in Diaspora: An Australian Perspective”, explaining the crucial role of Mahalingam M language in carrying over the cultural legacy and how different generations Monika Bisht Ranjan of immigrants deal with their linguistic identity. At last, my interview pub- Naziya Naweed Nitesh Narnolia lished by the Global Policy Institute, Queen Mary University of London, has Olatunbosun Emmanuel been given a place in this issue. It describes the challenges being faced by OGUNSEEMI researchers in conducting migration research during the pandemic. Parul Srivastava Pratik Satyal Paige Fabry Hoping for your feedback on the issue and any suggestion for the betterment Rahul Kumar of the newsletter will be highly appreciated. Rajiv Mishra Feel free to email at [email protected]. Rakesh Ranjan Razia Sultana Sabah Khan Happy Reading! Sadananda Sahoo Sharlene Chen Smita Tiwary Srinita Bhattacharjee Zohra Hassani

Design and Production: Rakesh Ranjan & Feroz Khan Email: [email protected] Website: www.grfdt.org Abhishek Yadav

Roots and Routes, Vol 10, No. 4, April, 2021 2 Movie Reviews

Almanya: Willkommen in Deutschland – A Cross-cultural Examination Seventy years after Germany’s infamous come “home” with him to help build the house. Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle) and the Throughout this road trip, the audience gets to bilateral deals with various countries to bring in understand the story of how they all came to Ger- foreign labor for the restructuring of the coun- many in the first place and how this has affected try, Germany’s ethnic diversity has not been the their struggle with their heritage now. same since. In the 2011 trag- ic comedy Almanya: Wil- Almanya is a movie intended kommen in Deutschland ( not only to bring Turkey to a Welcome to Germany), di- wider audience, but to cultural- rector and writer Yasemin ly examine what we know about Şamdereli presents us the the integration of guest workers story of three generations of in Germany in a balanced dra- a Turkish immigrant family matic, and comic way. in Germany that adapts and portrays identity politics and Şamdereli pays attention to questions of belonging faced blob:https://web.whatsapp. by the Turkish guest workers com/86d22be1-cba5-49ce- and their descendants. 9a38-0a942f9a173a small de- tails that eloquently bring to Almanya spans two parallel life realistic challenges of iden- storylines taking place in dif- tity. In a lighthearted manner, ferent time periods, one of a the family attempts to celebrate family moving from Turkey Christmas just to feel like they to Germany as foreign work- belong with their surround- ers, the other is of the same Photo credits : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1630027/ ing society, but are soon faced family years later returning to Turkey for a visit as with the horror of their first time seeing Christ German citizens. When six-year-old Cenk Yilmaz, on a cross. Their grapple with the language is an born to a German mother and a Turkish father, re- experience that almost every immigrant faces alizes that he was neither chosen for the German upon arriving in a foreign country. Canan’s sto- nor the Turkish football teams in his school as ryline is of a Turkish girl who gets pregnant from neither sides viewed him to be enough to belong her non-Turkish, non-Muslim boyfriend and this to their group, he begins to question his identity as well gives us an insight into how cultures and and asks his family “am I German or Turkish?” In traditions are not easily preserved by generations order to understand his heritage, his 22-year-old born outside of them. The movie does a great job cousin Canan tells him the story of their Grandfa- balancing comedy and drama and at times tugs ther Huseyin who was among the 1,000,001 guest at the audience’s heartstrings. Although Turkish, workers to arrive in Germany in the 1960s to fill Huseyin was refused burial on Turkish land due in the labor shortage at the time. Huseyin who to his recently acquired German citizenship. We has just acquired his German citizenship tells his are presented with the harsh reality of the in-be- family that he purchased land in his home village tweenness that immigrants live through, always in Anatalya in Turkey and he needs his family to a fine line away from being neither this nor that.

Roots and Routes, Vol 10, No. 4, April, 2021 3 The question of ‘home’ becomes very prominent in eskamen Menschen” (We called for work- this movie. What we know about the term ‘home’ ers, and people came) by the Swiss author Max ceases to exist and its place comes to a concept Frisch in 1965. It felt like a strong reminder that in only an individual can identify for themselves. Ad- the midst of statistics and numbers, in the midst of ditionally, the quotes used to accentuate the par- headlines and news on immigrants, we forget the allel between the family before and after coming stories of individuals who are not just a collective to Germany resonate with the viewer and become identity meant to be solely discussed and talked impossible to resist. about as policy issues. The quote serves as a beau- tiful conclusion to a movie that starts by painting “We are the sum of everything that hap- itself as a historical retelling of a significant time pened before us, everything that was done period in Germany’s transformation, yet contin- under our eyes, everything that was done ues as a coming-of-age story of a family that finds to us. We are every human being and ev- itself in two completely different countries that erything whose existence influenced ours come to create who they are as a whole. or was influenced by us. We are -every thing that happens after we are no more Lina Mansour is currently pursuing a Masters and what would not happen if we had not in European Politics and International Relations. come.” She previously worked for the International Orga- nization for Migration (IOM Egypt) and has a par- Perhaps one of the strongest ways to end a mov- ticular interest in Euro-Mediterranean relations. ie was the quote left on the black screen replacing She is an avid reader who enjoys books about cul- the most commonly seen The End. The audience tural and identity politics. sees the words “Wirrieften Arbeitskräfte, Linkedin: @linamansour Twitter: @mindoflina

Roots and Routes, Vol 10, No. 4, April, 2021 4 Bienvenue A’ Marly-Gomont: A Tale of Integration beyond Stereotypes and Prejudices

‘Welcome to Marly-Gomont’ is a comedy movie based on a true story about the difficult process of The beauty of this film lies precisely in identify- integration of an African family in a small French ing the cold reception of citizens with an innocent community. ignorance due more to geographical than mental closure. As much as Seyolo tries to get into the The story takes place in the good graces of the communi- 70s. At the Faculty of ty, the inhabitants continue to Medicine, students are cel- go to the doctor of the nearby ebrating their graduation village, and the few who go, ready to practice the profes- claim not to pay since they do sion of a doctor. Among these not consider him a real doctor. students, SeyoloZantoko, a The distrust of fellow citizens native of the Democratic Re- is then pushed and increased public of Congo (former Zaire by Jean-Marc Lavigne, the op- governed by the eternal dic- posing candidate for the mu- tator President Mobuto), has nicipality elections against the the intention of blob:https:// more welcoming and tolerant web.whatsapp.com/3fc9d- Ramollu. 4cb-2b4e-4d9a-8f93-bd- 3ba4c04fe4 refusing the The climate of indifference opportunity of becoming and distrust changes after the Mobuto’s personal doctor. His Doctor helps a woman, who dream is to continue to live in had always considered him a his adopted country, but this dirty monster, to give birth to time together with his family: his wife Anne and her child. However, the accomplishment gained his two children Sivi and . by the confidence of the village’s citizens does not last long. After his wife finds out that he has de- Not having French nationality yet, Seyolo takes clined to be President Mobuto’s personal doctor, advantage of the first and only job offer submitted she decides to leave Seyoloand moves to Brussels to him by the mayor René Ramolluof the remote with her cousin. village Marly-Gomont, in the northern country- side of Paris, a place where no French doctor is In the end, the day of the municipal elections will willing to go. The doctor’s family thus arrives in be decisive for the permanence of the Zantoko France, convinced that they are going to live in family in Marly-Gomont and, in general, in Eu- Paris. However, they find themselves in a peasant rope. With Ramollu’s victory, Seyolo can continue village with more cows than inhabitants, where no to be a doctor and will remain in the little village one has ever seen the shadow of a black man be- with his family for life. fore. Consequently, it will be very challenging for the Zantoko family to be accepted in the village, One of the peculiarities of the film is that it is and for Doctor, Seyolo to gain the trust of his pa- based on a true story. In fact, the screenplay was tients. also written by Kamini Zantoko, one of Seyolo’s

Roots and Routes, Vol 10, No. 4, April, 2021 5 sons, who is now a famous rapper and comedian. thing that had transformed into love. A simple The movie does not only deal with racism, stereo- love that said here we were at home”. types, and prejudices. The theme of the story is more nuanced and complex, but the director Ju- Furthermore, the representation of distrust and lien Rimbaldi has been able to describe it in a very racism that characterize the inhabitants of a little funny way which hits at the heart of every person European village are dictated more by excessive regardless of the political, religious, and cultural stereotyping than by malice. It is just ignorance belonging. It is never too excessive and, at times, that separates the Zantoko family from the small moving. He has superbly depicted how a tradition- and isolated community. Just imagine what would al community in Europe has managed to break have happened if the story had taken place in a down barriers and to welcome a foreign family, multicultural city like Paris or Brussels. despite the solid prejudices and stereotypes. Finally, one of the most impressive and hilarious moments of the movie is the portrayal of the mix- The performance delivered by the actors is remark- ture between the varied and bizarre personalities able. The cast playing the family is composed of of the village’s inhabitants and the Zantoko’s fam- Mark Zinga (SeyoloZantoko), AïssaMaïga (Anne, ily relatives’ explosive extravagance. The grey vil- Seyolo’s wife), BayronLebli (Kamini), MédinaDi- lage becomes slowly lighted up with bright colors. arra (Sivi). In addition to the principals, there is a The union between the two cultures produces a superb cast of local characters. The ability to make wonderful story of true humanity, mutual friend- people smile while dealing with important issues ship, and respect. such as discrimination and integration, which for the current times remains a significant problem in I think the seriousness and the funniness of the Europe, is outstanding. movie make it adaptable to be watched by all peo- ple of different ages. I strongly recommend you However, the movie does not only tell the story of watch it with your children, and I recommend all a foreign family in another country, it also shows schools in Europe to show this movie to their stu- how to reach a peaceful integration in a foreign dents to discuss racism and integration. It is only community. An impressive scene is that when the in this way that the hope of a multicultural society young Kamini refuses to go to school on account of will take shape. being the only black boy. His father Seyoloadvic- es him with the following words: “Only education Fabrizio Parrilli, Master’s degree Student of matters. Especially when you’re black”. He demon- International Cooperation on Human Rights at strates to his son how education, hard work, and the University of Bologna, Italy. His areas of in- respect may help him in every context and situa- terest are mainly focused on international issues, tion. Another touching scene is represented at the contemporary history, protection of human rights, end of the movie, which displays Sayolo’s funeral political and cultural dynamics. He loves travel- and his son Kamini saying: “At his funeral when I ing, discovering new cultures and having fun. My saw his patients arrive… it was like he’d given us motto is live, love, laugh. all the same appointment. This last appointment E-mail:[email protected] was the proof of what he always wanted, some-

Roots and Routes, Vol 10, No. 4, April, 2021 6 Roots and Routes, Vol 10, No. 4, April, 2021 7 Book Review

Turbulent Journey of Little Adu to Find a Secure Place

“Modern Greek in Diaspora: An Australian Per- Greek diaspora in the UK, USA, and other parts spective”(2018) is a narrative, descriptive and of the world. Within this chapter, the author then qualitative study conducted by discusses the history of migration Angeliki Alvanoudi. This book un- about how World War II and the derscores the fact that migration Greek Civil War had affected the is not just relocation or movement Greek population, and why the of people from a place of origin Greek settlers chose to leave their to a place of destination. But mi- own country and migrated and set- gration is also about the transfer, tled in Australia around 1829 and amalgamation, exchange of cul- 1974. This chapter also discusses tures and languages in the place of the type of migration from Greek destination. Angeliki Alvanoudi, to Australia, a labor-induced mi- a post-doctoral linguistics schol- gration, that comprised of both ar at Aristotle University of Thes- unskilled male and female workers saloniki in Greece undertook this with no prior knowledge of En- research of exploring the extent glish migrating to Australia. And of the Greek language being spo- at the same time, the author tried ken by the immigrant Greek com- to explore and understand the lin- munities in Cairns in Australia. guistic changes over time in terms Alvanoudi delves deeply into how the earlier of migration. Greek immigrants, that is first-generation immi- grants spoke in Greek within Australia, but with Alvanoudi for her research study, first of all, select- time there has been borrowing of language from ed the three generations of immigrants. First-gen- English into the Greek language (among the sec- eration are Greeks, who migrated to Australia from ond and third-generation immigrants). Through Greece in their adolescence. The second-genera- this study, Alvanoudi not only presented a break- tion are Greeks who migrated to Australia in their through study on migration that is solely based on pre-school years. The third-generation are Greeks qualitative methods, but it is also the first proper who were born in Australia to the second-gener- study that has been conducted on the Greek dias- ation people. Data for the study were collected pora in Australia. Her study thus opened up new from the first-generation Greeks aged from 50 to possibilities for future research in the domain of 90 years, with a sample size of 30. As well as from migration and linguistics. the second-generation Greeks aged from 40 to 80 years with a sample size of 15. Whereas data were The sequencing of topics in the book is lucid and not collected from the third-generation. Because explicit. This book has a total of six chapters that the third-generation immigrants mostly com- deal with several aspects of Greek and English prised of young children and teenage population linguistics. With each chapter having its own sep- and they had very little or no knowledge of Greek arate introduction and conclusion. In the first (due to more interaction with the English-speak- chapter, titled -“Chapter 1: Introduction”, where ing world/community of Australia). For the re- she highlights the past studies conducted on the search methodology, qualitative techniques such

Roots and Routes, Vol 10, No. 4, April, 2021 8 as – Participant Observation were applied; then, Chapter 4: Conversational Code Switching Self-Reports of participants were taken into ac- count; Content Checking Techniques were also The fourth chapter deals with the general inter- used along with 23 hours of Audio Recordings and action of immigrants and the underlying reasons 2 hours of Video Recordings of the participants in why the immigrants switch to English while speak- order to obtain the “real-life language data” (by re- ing in Greek. Alvanoudi from her conversation ex- al-life language data, the author meant that – by cerpts (provided in both English and Greek ver- directly conversing with the Greek immigrants she sions) highlights the reasons, why the participants will be able to collect the most needed primary switch languages. These reasons are a selection of data, that is free of bias and errors, for the study the next speaker, pursuing response of recipient, of linguistics and the role played by migration in accomplishing actions that invoke asymmetry be- shaping up a language). tween speaker and hearer, closing or opening of sequences, reporting direct speech, making strong Chapter 2: Borrowing and Contact-Induced positive assessments, delivering new information, Change redoing the second pair parts, showing disagree- ment with the prior speaker, and lastly dealing The second chapter discusses the changes in Greek with the possible trouble in hearing or under- due to English. These changes in Greek are major- standing any word or sentence. ly due to lexical borrowings, loanwords, and loan shifts. These borrowings result from an intense, Chapter 5: Participant – and active communication of the third–generation immigrants with English-speaking people in Aus- Related Code Switching tralia, where English is the dominant language. The fifth chapter discusses how the preference of participants and speakers switches from Greek to Chapter 3: Mixing Codes English, or English to Greek depending on their competency in one language and incompetency in The third chapter discusses the mixing of codes/ another language. Through excerpts of conversa- code-mixing, which are a common feature of tions between participants that highlight in which Greek conversation in Australia. The participants language the participants had competence, it was do insert certain English words while conversing found that the first-generation immigrants had in Greek, but these additions of English words do problems in switching to English while convers- not change the meaning of Greek sentences, as ing in Greek. However, those participants did use these words do not have meaning. These inserted one or two English words without knowing their words generally include English adjectives, verbs, meaning and they repeatedly used the same En- noun phrases, prepositional phrases, nouns, and glish words in conversation with Alvanoudi, so as adverbs. Alvanoudi denotes these inserted words to receive the correct word or confirmation (from into the Greek language led to the formation of bi- Alvanoudi) that they have spoken it correctly. lingual compound verbs. Furthermore, Alvanou- Whereas in the case of second-generation, they di also talks about the “pragmatic marker” words have more competence over English, but they do that are found in the English language, such as: ac- struggle to find Greek words while conversing in tually, almost, basically, and because. These words Greek. are generally used to open and close speeches or express the attitude of the speaker. Furthermore, Chapter 6: What Can We Conclude? these same words were later also used in Greek as pragmatic markers, thus creating hybrid struc- The sixth chapter deals with the findings from the tures in Greek conversation. study and basically summarizes the entire study along with clearly underlining the social factors,

Roots and Routes, Vol 10, No. 4, April, 2021 9 that help immigrants to maintain their language observation approach used in the study does not within their community. These factors include provide any other research techniques to deal with marital status, friendships, education, religion, the error of Observer’s Paradox, as Alvanoudi has employment, and generation. also mentioned in the book that while doing her Alvanoudi gives here detailed evidence of all those audio and video recordings, she did not interrupt social factors (mentioned above), such as – in the her participants which might lead to a different case of generations, the first-generation and sec- type of code-switching. Secondly, the structur- ond-generation immigrants used their native lan- al aspects of how there is a convergence between guage to converse in daily life as compared to the English and Greek have been depicted. Still, it re- third-generation. Then, in marital status, endoga- mains very hard to comprehend the nuances of lin- mous marriages were practiced as such marriages guistics, which are acknowledged by Alvanoudi as will lead to less induced changes in the minority well. Thirdly, there has been no discussion wheth- language. In terms of family, both nuclear and er there is any effect of borrowing or switching in joint families promoted the maintenance of lan- terms of English being influenced by Greek. Last- guage and in the case of friends, it was observed ly, the study had been conducted only in Cairns, that first-generation immigrants used to make so the results of the Greek diaspora, maintenance, friends or created network ties with people from and borrowing of linguistics cannot be generalized their own ethnic background. Apart from that me- for all those Greek diasporas living in different dia in Cairns is also helping in maintaining the parts of Australia. language as news reports, current affairs and other television shows are being broadcasted in Greek. Lastly, it can be concluded that the overall lucid- But at the same time, the study also highlights ity and comprehensibility of this study on Greek how English being the predominant language has diaspora makes it a brilliantly written book which become one of the most important and driving makes it important academic reading for any factors of upward social mobility. Furthermore, it scholar who is interested in migration, diaspora, was also found over time, that conversing in Greek and linguistic studies and specifically for those became seriously limited among the third-gener- who want to study/understand the usage of qual- ation as compared to the first-generation people, itative techniques in migration studies, history to which Alvanoudi predicts that if this continues of migration and struggle of immigrant people to then slowly the Greek language will lose to English preserve their ethnicity through language and cul- in terms of maintenance. ture.

Furthermore, limitations of this study have been Richa Kundu, Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), observed and they are – firstly, the participant Oxford Brookes University, United Kingdom.

Roots and Routes, Vol 10, No. 4, April, 2021 10 Blog

Migration, Pandemic and Civil Society: Reflections on Online Field- work in India Suyash Barve and Abhishek Yadav

On 14 September 2020, in response to parliamen- on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT) is tary questions, the Union Minister of State for La- Research Associate on the ‘Migration, Pandemic bour & Employment (India) said that there was no and Responses from Civil Society Organisations: state-wise data available on assistance provided to Lessons from Brazil and India’a project support- workers. Indeed, in the early phases of the lock- ed by QMUL Global Policy Institute’s Research down the government lacked information about England QR Strategic Research Priorities Fund living and working conditions of many workers, that maps the best practices from the work of civ- many of whom were contracted to work on pub- il society organisations. The project report will be lic infrastructure projects for instance. The role of launched on April 21st 2021. fieldworkers and surveyors from CSOs in filling this gap was vital and was even acknowledged by Speaking to Suyash Barve, Policy Associate the Minister in his response, which illustrates an at Global Policy Institute, Abhishek Yadav important factor of governance in India which has discusses the impact CSOs had during the more than 1.2 million non-government organisa- lockdown as well as some practical field- tions. work challenges he faced.

Fiscal incentives, relief packages and other subsi- When we talk about CSOs, it can mean a dies announced by the government to alleviate the broad range of organisations from corpo- economic burden of lockdown relies on the mix of rate foundations to grassroots NGOs - how regional governmental authorities, local bodies, did you define the range in terms of this re- self-help groups, non-government organisations search? and professionals for effective on-ground imple- mentation. Civil society organisations (CSO) have For our project titled “Migration, Pandemic and proven more effective in some cases than govern- Responses from Civil Society Organisations: Les- ment machineries in distributing immediate relief sons from Brazil and India”, we specifically cate- to the affected, as a result of their networked pres- gorised Indian civil society organisations (CSO) ence. Despite severe structural, capacity and fund- into three categories- Non-Governmental Organi- ing issues many CSOs carried on with providing sations (NGOs) working for migrants; faith-based vital relief work despite the stringent lockdown. organisations; and migrant led organisations. From a governance and policymaking perspective, Therefore, we interviewed representatives of these there are important lessons to learn from how or- above-mentioned organisations. To give you some ganisations overcame these challenges since their insights from the project report : we selected spe- work uncovers systemic gaps. Researching devel- cific states including Bihar, Delhi, Kerala, Maha- opment sector organisations presents complex rashtra and Uttar Pradesh to understand the chal- methodological challenges as well, not least with lenges faced by the migrants during the pandemic. understanding the role of local bodies, region- Kerala was chosen specifically to understand the al authorities and government departments and complexities associated with return migration CSOs. from the Gulf countries and also to understand Abhishek Yadav, from the Global Research Forum the impact of pandemic on remittance practices as

Roots and Routes, Vol 10, No. 4, April, 2021 11 Kerala is the largest remittance receiving state of Religious sanction of charity has a long tradition India. Metropolitan cities like Delhi (administra- in India - was this factored in from the point of tive capital) and Mumbai, Maharashtra (financial view of data collection/selection of organisations? capital) were chosen as they attract a large number It is very true that India is known for its religious of migrants from different parts of the country for diversity and for its associated welfare work. Yes, their infrastructural projects and heavy industri- we interviewed many faith based organisations al/construction work. Organisations representing representing various religions including Hindu- Tibetan refugees in Delhi and Southern part of the ism, Islam, Sikhism and Christianity. We found country were also interviewed. Uttar Pradesh and that religious organisations played a crucial role Bihar were chosen as large part of out-migration is during the pandemic in providing humanitarian taking place from these states due to many factors. assistance to the migrants without any sort of bi- We noted the presence of push factors leading to ases relating to religion. out-migration such as lack of employment or less- er wages, lack of industrial development, lower What are some of the key limitations of living standards, lack of affordable better educa- collecting data on the COVID-19 pandemic tion and health facilities. During the pandemic that is sure to have a long-term social, eco- and subsequent lockdown, heavy internal migra- nomic and psychological effect? tion was witnessed from Delhi, Mumbai and oth- er major metropolitan cities to Bihar and UP. For Mobility Challenge- In person meeting and inter- the purpose of research, an attempt was made to view could not be conducted to gain more realistic assess the existing policy gaps, identify good prac- perspective from the ground. tices (local, state and national level), and under- stand new partnerships or collaborations of CSOs Technological Challenge- Not all NGOs working among themselves or with governmental agencies. in India are quite efficient at using new means of technology including virtual meeting applications Civil society frequently has to invoke the or platforms. Even if they know, there might be is- state to provide relief at scale to vulnerable sues regarding the network fluctuations in certain populations - does the work of government rural and remote corners of India. agencies reflect in the collected data? Probability of Bias- Since we could interview only Yes, we did get to know of many initiatives taken those representatives who responded to our email by local agencies, state governments and central request and follow up call, it may be considered government to assist migrants. Food Corporation that it led to methodological complexity and cov- of Indian warehouses were opened and CSOs re- ered only those respondents who were somehow ceived foodgrains at a very lower price. At local comfortable with any sort of digital mode of in- level, Fair Price Shops also helped migrants in dis- terview (Phone, Zoom Application, Google Form tributing foodgrains under the Public distribution etc.). system. Though we have taken responses from 27 organ- Lots of collaboration took place formally and in- isations across India, we do not claim to have all formally with the governmental agencies. At India representation due to the limiting factors many places both NGOs and government agen- like paucity of time and restriction in mobility due cies worked together to help migrants. However, to the pandemic. in overall terms, it was observed that due to the massive demand of relief and assistance, govern- What challenges did you face while doing mental initiatives fell short in providing relief to the field research - remotely coordinating the migrants. interviews, internet access etc?

Roots and Routes, Vol 10, No. 4, April, 2021 12 We used to send official emails to the organisa- care facilities and restriction in mobility affected tions (which were involved in humanitarian work women and elderly more. Many respondents told during the pandemic) to request them for inter- us about the rise in cases of domestic violence to- view. Then we used to call them through mobile or wards women. Children also got affected by the telephone to know their response and availability lack of nutritional diets due to shut down of Aan- for the interview request. Afterwards as per their ganwadis (child care centres), the elderly were convenience, we conducted interviews through more vulnerable due to underlying health compli- various channels including Zoom application, mo- cations and mobility restrictions. In terms of class, bile/phone calls and Google Form. poor migrants specifically living in slums or streets were more vulnerable comparatively. We did face many challenges, some of them are as follows: What is it like to do field research in your • Network Issue- We faced issue of fluctuation of own community (ethnic, regional, linguis- internet network during the course of interview. It tic) versus field research in other regions? also led to the voice distortion for which we had to ask questions multiple times in some cases. We allowed our respondent to speak in their pre- • Technical Challenge- Many representatives from ferred language so that language does not become the selected organisations were not technically a barrier, in fact it became a more positive factor. very comfortable over new virtual platform appli- We conducted interviews through remote means cations and hence we adopted flexible approach in several parts of India. In terms of advantage, by conducting few interviews through mobile calls the common language (linguistic affiliation) and by using Google Forms. helped the interviewer to familiarise oneself with • External Voice Distortion- Since many of our in- the interviewee in a very short time. It also helped terviewees and interviewers were either at their the interviewee to become more comfortable while workplace or their home, some external voices answering the questions. used to create some sort of distraction to both sides. If interviewer is from the same region from where • Lack of Familiarity- The familiarity which usual- the interviewee also belongs, it provides a better ly develops during in-person interviews, could not atmosphere to understand the issues of each oth- be developed due to the digital or remote sort of er because of common geographical and cultural interviews. legacy factors importantly in it thereby providing deeper context of the migration related issues as- In addition to it, we had to ensure that an addi- sociated with the region. Common linkages from tional team member from our side always remain the region does provide more connectedness and there during the interview as in case due to some frankness during the interview process. technical or network related challenge, interview- er could not connect, then the back-up interviewer During interviews we found that interviewees be- initiated the interview proceedings so as to value longing to different regions were also very- com time of the interviewee. fortable in answering our questions irrespective of linguistic, regional or religious factors. Respon- Some academic research on the effects of dents wanted to share their inputs and insights re- COVID-19 suggest the impact of the pan- garding their humanitarian work during the pan- demic is intersectional - class, gender, demic thereby showcasing that humanity is much caste-based - what are your reflections on more important rather than language, region or this following data collection? ethnicity and more so during such an unprece- dented pandemic. We came to know that interplay of intersectional- ity did matter a lot. The lack of sufficient health- Migration, Pandemic and Responses from

Roots and Routes, Vol 10, No. 4, April, 2021 13 Civil Society Organisations: Lessons from launched on April 21st 2021. Brazil and India, is a collaborative proj- ect that explores the role and work of civ- You are welcome to republish this blog post which il society organisations working with mi- is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribu- grants during the COVID-19 pandemic in tion-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Interna- Brazil and India. Funded through Queen tional License. Mary’s Global Policy Institute’s Research England QR Strategic Research Priorities This blog has previously been published by Fund, the project is led by Professor Parva- QMUL on April 9, 2021. URL: https://www.qmul. ti Nair from Queen Mary’s School of Lan- ac.uk/gpi/projects/migpanbrin/blog/items/ guages, Linguistics and Film and Dr Marcia migration-pandemic-and-civil-society-reflec- Vera Espinoza from Queen Mary’s School tions-on-online-fieldwork-in-india.html of Geography. The project report will be GRFDT Publications

Roots and Routes, Vol 10, No. 4, April, 2021 14