Social Protection by and for Temporary Work Migrants and Their Households in Northwest Bangladesh
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SOCIAL PROTECTION BY AND FOR TEMPORARY WORK MIGRANTS AND THEIR HOUSEHOLDS IN NORTHWEST BANGLADESH Final Report (Bangladesh) January 2008 Md. Azmal Kabir Lead Researcher (Bangladesh) Nazmun Nahar Lipi and Sadia Afrin Research Assistants (Bangladesh) and Janet Seeley Co-Principal Investigator A telephone booth in the study village used by the migrants’ families Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalization and Poverty University of Sussex Acknowledgements We are grateful to our colleagues from the West Bengal team, Dr Ben Rogaly, Deeptima Massey and Abdur Rafique for their considerable intellectual inputs to this research that have contributed much to the development of our analysis. We are indebted to DFID and the DRC on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty for supporting this research and Jane Bartlett, Karen Parsons and Jo Jones of the Overseas Development Group of the University of East Anglia for their help and support in the management of this project. Our greatest debt lies with the people of `Badalpara’ and, particularly, the 20 migrant households that the team very often visited asking, we are sure, too many questions! We are grateful for the welcome the team received in the village and the friendship you gave them while they stayed with you. We hope this research can make a real difference to you, and the experience of migration you and your children face now and in the future. Thank you. Dr Janet Seeley School of Development Studies University of East Anglia 2 C O N T E N T S Maps, Tables and Figures 5 Abbreviations and Bangla Terms 6 Summary 8 Chapter 1: Background to the Study 11 Research Objectives 12 The Conceptual Context for the Study 12 Migration and Social Protection 12 Research Questions 14 Migration, Risk and Vulnerability 15 Migration and Policies 16 Chapter 2: Research Setting: Methods and Case Studies 17 Site Selection 17 Methodology 21 Sample Selection 21 The Study Village 23 General Background 23 Occupations in the Village 26 Wealth Distribution in the Village 27 The Case Study Households 30 Chapter 3: Migration and Distant Labour Markets 33 Definition and Perceptions of Migration 33 Who Migrates? 35 Types of Migration 35 By Occupation 36 By Destination 37 By Reason 37 Mechanisms and Processes of Migration 39 Preparing to Leave Home 39 The Journey Itself 40 At the Destination 42 Factors Determining the Migration Destination 46 Factors Determining Nature of Migrant Employment 47 The Timing of the Migration 49 Where do People Migrate for Rickshaw Pulling? 49 Where do People Migrate for Agricultural Wage Labour? 51 Where do Carpenters Migrate? 53 Where do Maidservants Migrate? 53 Summary 54 Chapter 4: Migration – A Livelihood Option for Poor People? 55 3 Earnings and Remittances 55 The Amount of Income 55 Mechanisms for Income Transfer 56 The Uses of Income 57 Uses for Economic/ Productive Purposes 57 Uses for Reproductive Purposes 60 Summary 62 Chapter 5: Migration and Those Who Stay Behind 63 Women in Bangladesh 63 The Impact of Migration on the Family 64 The Effect of Family Structure on Those Staying Behind 65 Concern About Leaving the Family Behind 65 Increased Women’s Workload 66 Decision-Making for Everyday Household Requirements 68 Health Care in the Absence of Migrants 69 Managing Education in the Absence of Migrants 69 Child Labour/ Child Work at Home 70 Repaying Loans While the Migrant is Away 70 Communication with Migrants 72 Summary 72 Chapter 6: Migration and Formal and Informal Forms of Social Protection 73 Kin and Social Networks 73 Borrowing or Taking Loans in Cash or Kind from Relatives and Neighbours 74 Moving to Wife’s Parents’ Household 74 Relationship with Rich/ Influential Households 74 Non-Governmental Organisation Services 75 Government Support in a Crisis 77 Other Forms of Relief 79 Social Institutions: Shalish Committees 79 During Festivals 80 Monga 80 Support from the Informal Sector 80 Summary 80 Chapter 7: Conclusion 81 References 83 Annex 1: Data Collection Methods Used 85 Annex 2: The Case Study Households 89 Annex 3: Census Form for Initial Data Collection on All Households in the Village 111 Annex 4: Checklist Used for Collecting of Information on the Village 113 Annex 5: Checklist Used to Guide Visits to 20 Case Study Households 114 4 Maps, Tables and Figures Maps Map 1 Bangladesh and Location of Research Site 7 Map 2 Gaibandha District 18 Map 3 Sundarganj Upazila 20 Map 4 Main Work Destinations of Temporary Migrants from the Village 45 Tables Table 1 Upazila of Gaibandha District by Poverty and Nutritional Status 19 Table 2 List of Case Study Households with Migrants 22 Table 3 Ex-migrant Households 22 Table 4 Non-migrant Households 22 Table 5 Age Distribution in Village 24 Table 6 Numbers of Family Members by Sex of Household Head 25 Table 7 Education Level of Household Heads 25 Table 8 Landownership by Sex of Household Head 26 Table 9 Wealth Rank Categories 28 Table 10 Households by Sex of Household Head and Wealth Category 29 Table 11 Households by Religion and Wealth Category 30 Table 12 Migrants’ Households and Wealth Category 30 Table 13 Case Study Household Migrant Details 31 Table 14 Ex-migrant Households 31 Table 15 Non-migrant Households 32 Table 16 Wealth Rank and Migration Status 35 Table 17 Calendar of Work for Agricultural Wage Labourers 51 Table 18 NGO involvement in the village 75 Table 19 NGO involvement in 20 Case Study Households 75 Table 20 Case Study Household Involvement with Government and Non-Government Programmes 79 5 Abbreviations and Bangla Terms Bangla : Bengali language Bigha : Unit of land measurement (1 bigha = 1335.4 sq metres or 1/3 rd of an acre) Decimal : Unit of land measurement (1 decimal = 40.3 sq metres) Eid : Greatest religious festival of the Muslim community HSC : Higher Secondary [School] Certificate (HSC) Madrasa : A Muslim school, but not necessarily solely religious in mission Monga : Time of scarcity of work and food, which is an annual event in some parts of Bangladesh, particularly the North West, in October/November. NGO : Non Governmental Organisation Para : Cluster of houses making part of a village Purdah : Seclusion and accompanying set of restrictions on women’s activities Ramadan : Muslim holy month (ninth months of the Islamic calendar) during which people fast from dawn to dusk Seer : Unit of weight (1 seer = 850 grams) Shalish : Informal judiciary meeting convened by local leaders to resolve conflicts Samaj : Society Samity : Group formed by NGOs SSC : Secondary School Certificate Taka : Currency unit of Bangladesh (£1 = 130 taka, as of December 2006); divided into poisha (100 poisha = 1 taka ) Thana : The lowest-level administrative units in Bangladesh; divisions are partitioned into districts, which are further divided into thanas ; also refers to the police station Union Parisad : Lowest tier of local government Upazila : Lowest administrative unit (another word for `thana’) VGD : Vulnerable Group Development (card) VGF : Vulnerable Group Feeding 6 Map 1: Bangladesh and Location of Research Site Research area 7 Summary This is the final report of the Bangladesh findings of the research project on ‘Social Protection by and for Temporary Work Migrants’, which focuses on Bengali speaking temporary work migrants and their families from rural areas in Murshidabad in West Bengal and Gaibandha in north-western Bangladesh. The research, involving fieldwork with sending communities of migrants, explored how families left behind respond to the absence of the temporary worker and how migrants in their temporary workplaces and as they travel, cope with the risks and hazards they face. The research examines the forms of social protection provided by the state, non-governmental organisations, kin and community which may provide support to migrants and those left behind in the sending community. In addition, attention is paid to the ways in which state and civil society structures and policies may increase the vulnerability of migrants and their families. The objectives of this research were: o To understand the changing causes and consequences of seasonal/temporary migration for individuals and households in the study area; o To examine vulnerability (and security) of those staying behind in the work migrants’ households; o To investigate the practices and measures taken for social protection by those who stay behind; o To examine the role of public action in providing social protection for migrants and their households during the migration process. In Chapter One, we give the background to the subject of study and detail the specific research questions that we set out to answer. In Chapter Two we explain how data were collected during the eight months of fieldwork. The main methods of data collection were participant observation and in-depth interviews. A small team of three people spent time in the village (which we call Badalpara) getting to know the people in 20 selected case study households and others in the wider community. We go on in this chapter to provide an overview of the study village and the type of environment in which the people who participated in the study live. We explain the types of formal provision that exist in the village in terms of social protection that people may access on a regular basis (savings and credit, old age allowances) or at times of need (VGF cards) if they are fortunate enough to gain access to these schemes. We then present the list of our case study households and give some information on the wealth rank and educational status of migrants from households in the village to introduce the nature of the variation in terms of wealth and access to NGO and government services. In 2005, members from 83 households migrated for work, so migration affects more than one-fifth of households in the village.