The venue of the open forum on ‘Immigration: Expectations and Challenges’ organised as part of the third edition of the Loka Kerala Sabha on Friday presented the two faces of the lives of expatriates.
NRI businessman M.A. Yousuf Ali, who inaugurated the session, said the country would prosper through immigration, but at the same time, Keralites who reach all corners of the world would be the first to suffer whenever there was a global crisis – be it the COVID-19 pandemic or the Ukraine war. For instance, expats from Kerala bore the maximum brunt when Saudi Arabia strictly enforced the Nitaqat (naturalisation) law, he said.
The interactive session also witnessed expatriates seeking Mr. Ali’s support to nudge the State government into providing better rehabilitation for distressed returnees. He also stressed the need to be truthful in life to achieve more heights in career by narrating an analogy at the event.
S. Irudaya Rajan, immigration expert who spoke at the session, said migration was “nothing short of a search for money.” Money brings comfort and prosperity into life, but at the same time, a good number of expatriates who went in search of money have also lost out in their lives as well, he said.
First, migration is not a solution to unemployment. Around one million women in Kerala live without the presence of their husbands in their daily life. So is the case with around 20 lakh children in the State. So, strengthening the local economy is the best solution to enhance the living standards of the people in the State. In the long term, migration will not do much good, said Mr. Rajan.
