By Matters India Reporter
Bengaluru, May 25, 2022: Caritas India May 25 launched an App at a national conference on migration in Bengaluru, capital of the southern Indian state of Karnataka.
The App, Pravasi Bandhu, was jointly released by Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore and Manjunath Gangadhara, additional labor commissioner of Bengaluru.
The application is available on android mobiles and could be accessed from their play store, the organizers said.
The conference on the theme “Building lives of migrants today for a sustainable tomorrow: Migration and SDGs” was held at Indian Social Institute and it stressed migrants as an important part of society.
Gangadhara said the migrants’ concerns are the human rights issues, labor rights issues and livelihood issues. He pointed out the existence of a policy gap and stressed the need to work for a national policy for migrants. The migrants, he added, are engaged in precarious work deprived of just wages, decent work and living conditions.
He stressed the need for all to work jointly to ensure the rights of migrant workers. The government official assured his support to Caritas India’s efforts to help the migrants and requested the Catholic aid agency to share with him the recommendations of the conference.
Archbishop Machado, the chief guest, referred to Pope Francis’ message for the Migrants and Refugee Day that said no one should be excluded. The migrants must be welcomed at host states and should have access to social services, the archbishop said.
The conference discussions focused on access to health, employment, decent living and working conditions and creating safe pathways for migration from gender perspective. Two migrant workers shared their experiences as a domestic worker and a daily wager.
Father Paul Moonjely, Caritas India executive director, while summing up the conference outcome, said Caritas India will act on the conference recommendations and collaborate with likeminded organizations to help the migrants.
He noted that the conference recommended identification of gaps and opportunities for the migrant workers and creating an enabling environment for them.
The Caritas India chief stressed the need to register migrants both at the source and destination. Some Indian states, he added, ensure safety and security of the migrant laborers by setting up cooperative for them, and providing access to health services. These have to be replicated in other states as pilot projects, Father Moonjely asserted.
He also called for collaborating with the federal and statement governments to ensure for migrants access to health services, social security and other forms of protection.
Leeza Jose, thematic lead, Caritas India, who moderated the conference, acknowledged migration as “inevitable, necessary and highly desirable.” She wants people to consider migrants as an asset to every country as they bring labor.
“They need to be given dignity they deserve as human beings and the respect they deserve as workers,” she added.
World-building is a beautiful project. Migrants are ambassadors of the Good News. They come along with energies, patience, and a burning desire to serve. Migrants awaken enthusiasm and jest for life in the host populations.