Migrant workers with COVID-19: Recognizing the crucial role non-governmental organizations perform

Non Governmental Organizations

Abstract Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have played a crucial role in conducting Search and Rescue (SAR) operations off the Libyan coast, assisting almost 120,000 migrants between 2014 and 2019. Their activities, however, have been increasingly criticized. The accusation that NGOs facilitate irregular migration has escalated into investigations by Italian and Maltese courts and various policy initiatives restricting non-governmental ships and their access to European ports. Although all NGOs investigated to date have been acquitted, the combination of criminal investigations and policy restrictions that has taken place in Italy since 2017 has severely hindered non-governmental SAR operations. Given the humanitarian repercussions of reducing NGOs’ presence at sea, the merits and shortcomings of the arguments underlying the criminalization of non-governmental maritime rescue warrant in-depth research. To that end, this article fulfils two interrelated tasks. First, it provides a genealogy of the accusation against NGOs and the ensuing combination of legal criminalization, policy restrictions, and social stigmatization in restraining their activities. Second, it uses quantitative data to show that empirically verifiable accusations like the claim that NGOs serve as a pull factor of migration, thereby causing more people to day at sea, are not supported by available evidence. By doing so, our study sheds new light onto the criminalization of humanitarianism and its implications.

Systems and mechanisms to develop health volunteers to improve the health of the immigrant workforce in four Thailand provinces

Journal of Health Research ◽

10.1108/jhr-10-2020-0451 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Preecha Suvarnathong ◽

Teeradej Chai-Aroon ◽

Uthaithip Jiawiwatkul ◽

Pasakorn Intoo-Marn

Keyword(s):

Migrant Workers ◽

Migrant Health ◽

Content Type ◽

Health Volunteer ◽

Funding Sources ◽

Village Health Volunteers ◽

Public Health Office ◽

Mechanisms Of Development

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate the provincial-level systems and mechanisms to develop health volunteers to improve the health of the immigrant workforce in Thailand.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study obtained data from document research, in-depth interviews with 58 people involved at policy and provincial levels working to develop health volunteers to improve the health of the immigrant workforce. Data were collected from May–October 2017; then the content of the conceptual framework was analyzed, the research objectives were examined and summary and induction analysis interpreted data from documents, observations and interviews.FindingsThailand has four systems for developing health volunteers to improve the health of the immigrant workforce: recruitment, training and knowledge management, welfare and motivational and financial and other supportive resources. Development is driven through the mechanisms of the Provincial Public Health Office with Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and network partners. The health volunteer development exhibits two patterns: developing migrant workers to become migrant health volunteers and developing village health volunteers to perform health care for the immigrant workforce. All development patterns mainly rely upon the regular operating budget, which is often inadequate. Frequently, some provinces make attempts to seek other funding sources. In fact, health volunteer development is subjected to local authorities of the four provinces whose systems and mechanisms of development differ from one another.Originality/valueThe findings from this study could help develop health volunteers to significantly improve the health of the immigrant workforce in the Thai health service system.

Labor non-governmental organizations in China: Mobilizing rural migrant workers

Journal of Industrial Relations ◽

10.1177/0022185612473222 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 55 (2) ◽

pp. 243-259 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Yi Xu

Keyword(s):

Migrant Workers ◽

Rural Migrant ◽

Rural Migrant Workers

Metamorphosis of educational understanding: Temporary integration regarding Syrians in Turkey

BORDER CROSSING ◽

10.33182/bc.v8i2.449 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 332-354

Author(s):

Sahizer Samuk

Keyword(s):

Migrant Workers ◽

Short Term ◽

Educational Assistance ◽

Central Attention ◽

Educational Integration ◽

Directorate General ◽

The Moment ◽

Turkish Migrant

The integration of refugees in Turkey has been realized in the field with the help of DGMM (Directorate General on Migration Management), Kızılay and UNHCR mainly, and by many more international and non-governmental organizations that have supported refugees by answering their short-term needs such as giving them cards for shopping, clothes, preparing them for winter (“winterization”) and providing educational assistance. I conducted 15 interviews with state officials, various NGOs and a few refugees. During my research many interesting points about integration policies (to-be-formed) at the moment in Turkey were discovered. One interesting finding was that the state officials do not like to use the word “integration”, as it is reminiscent of the way Turkish migrant workers were treated in Germany, where assimilation and integration were understood as the same concept. I use the term “temporary integration” for the case of all refugees, but this article will focus mostly on the Syrians. Within the context of temporariness, this article’s central attention will be the educational integration of Syrian refugees in Turkey. I argue in the paper that the temporariness and the nostalgia with the Ottoman past are two main elements mostly present regarding the educational integration of Syrians in Turkey.

Advocating Women Migrant Worker’s Rights through Social Services Organizations in Malaysia

10.31219/osf.io/heg89 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mashitah Hamidi

Keyword(s):

Social Services ◽

Migrant Workers ◽

Participant Observation ◽

Government Officials ◽

Criminal Cases ◽

Skilled Worker ◽

Service Sectors ◽

The Government

Dependency on migrant workers is a growing situation in Malaysia particularly the ones from Indonesia, the world's largest non-skilled and semi-skilled worker importer. Despite their decision to migrate in order to obtain better livelihood, there are various risks faced by Indonesian migrant workers, including exploitation. To this day, the problems faced by women migrant workers are mostly dominated by documents forgery, fraud, overstay, unpaid wages, sexual abuse, involvement in criminal cases, and other rights violations that are not in accordance with the proper work contracts. Indonesian women migrant workers are often segmented to work in production sectors, such as manufacturing, service sectors such as domestic work and the cleaning industry. This study used qualitative research with in-depth interviews and participant observation to access, collect the preliminary data from the government officials, NGOs and unions related to migrant worker’s social welfare. The finding indicated that there were several migrant workers' rights that have been agreed upon to provide significant protection for migrant workers in destination countries whether they are related to employment or social security. However, with the different legal ratifications of specific countries, the destination country has the freedom to restrict any access to certain migrant workers' freedoms. In other words, protection is subject to the laws and constitutions of the country which have been formulated locally. However, in the case of migrant workers’ rights violations, most parties work together to resolve the issues. This includes establishing non-governmental organizations to curb issues of social inequality that help all parties involved.

Designed Intervention

The Frontlines of Peace ◽

10.1093/oso/9780197530351.003.0004 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 93-120

Author(s):

Séverine Autesserre

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

Crucial Role ◽

Intervention Strategy ◽

Top Down ◽

Timor Leste ◽

The World ◽

International Aid Agencies

Chapter Four further explores the limitations of “Peace, Inc.”: the traditional way to end wars. United Nations peacekeepers, foreign diplomats, and the staff of many non-governmental organizations involved in conflict resolution share a specific way of seeing the world. They often assume that the only path to peace is through working with governments and national elites and mediating formal agreements between world leaders. As a result, most international aid agencies use a top-down strategy of intervention, ignoring the crucial role of local tensions in fueling violence. Foreign peacebuilders also regularly rely on other widely held beliefs, such as the notion that education, elections, and statebuilding always promote peace. Anecdotes from places as varied as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Timor-Leste, along with a detailed story of the massive international efforts in Congo, highlight the possibility for devastating consequences while explaining why these detrimental assumptions and this flawed intervention strategy nevertheless persist.

Advocating Women Migrant Worker’s Rights through Social Services Organizations in Malaysia

Journal of Social and Political Sciences ◽

10.31014/aior.1991.04.03.304 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Mashitah Hamidi ◽

Keyword(s):

Social Services ◽

Migrant Workers ◽

Participant Observation ◽

Government Officials ◽

Criminal Cases ◽

Skilled Worker ◽

Service Sectors ◽

The Government

Dependency on migrant workers is a growing situation in Malaysia particularly the ones from Indonesia, the world's largest non-skilled and semi-skilled worker importer. Despite their decision to migrate in order to obtain better livelihood, there are various risks faced by Indonesian migrant workers, including exploitation. To this day, the problems faced by women migrant workers are mostly dominated by documents forgery, fraud, overstay, unpaid wages, sexual abuse, involvement in criminal cases, and other rights violations that are not in accordance with the proper work contracts. Indonesian women migrant workers are often segmented to work in production sectors, such as manufacturing, service sectors such as domestic work and the cleaning industry. This study used qualitative research with in-depth interviews and participant observation to access, collect the preliminary data from the government officials, NGOs and unions related to migrant worker’s social welfare. The finding indicated that there were several migrant workers' rights that have been agreed upon to provide significant protection for migrant workers in destination countries whether they are related to employment or social security. However, with the different legal ratifications of specific countries, the destination country has the freedom to restrict any access to certain migrant workers' freedoms. In other words, protection is subject to the laws and constitutions of the country which have been formulated locally. However, in the case of migrant workers’ rights violations, most parties work together to resolve the issues. This includes establishing non-governmental organizations to curb issues of social inequality that help all parties involved.

Non-governmental organizations as key partners in mental health in Europe

Die Psychiatrie ◽

10.1055/s-0038-1670733 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 11 (01) ◽

pp. 27-34 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A. E. Baumann

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Policy ◽

Policy Development ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Action Plan ◽

Mental Health Policy ◽

Health Action ◽

Health Action Plan

SummaryThe shift towards a rights-based approach to health which has taken place over the past decade has strengthened the role of civil society and their organizations in raising and claiming the entitlements of different social groups. It has become obvious that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are central to any successful multi-stakeholder partnership, and they have become more recognized as key actors in health policy and programme development and implementation. There is a broad spectrum of NGOs active in the area of mental health in Europe which aim to empower people with mental health problems and their families, give them a voice in health policy development and implementation and in service design and delivery, to raise awareness and fight stigma and discrimination, and foster implementation of obligations set by internationally agreed mental health policy documents. With the endorsement of the Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020 (20) and the European Mental Health Action Plan (19) stakeholders agree to strengthen capacity of service user and family advocacy groups and to secure their participation as partners in activities for mental health promotion, disorder prevention and improving mental health services.

Challenges to immigrant associations and NGOs in contemporary Greece

MIGRATION LETTERS ◽

10.33182/ml.v10i3.133 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 342-358 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Apostolos G. Papadopoulos ◽

Christos Chalkias ◽

Loukia-Maria Fratsea

Keyword(s):

Civil Society ◽

Economic Crisis ◽

Hot Spot ◽

Geographical Range ◽

Legal Form ◽

Social Actors ◽

Migrant Integration ◽

Concentration Patterns

The paper explores the challenges faced today, in a context of severe economic crisis, by immigrant associations (ΙΜΑs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Greece. The data analysed here was collected between October 2009 and February 2010 and incorporates references to all recorded migration-related social actors operating in Greece. The paper takes into account such indicators as legal form, objectives, financial capacity and geographical range of activity, concluding with a typology of civil society actors dealing with migration issues. This study aims at informing the migration policymaking and migrant integration processes. By a spatial hot-spot clustering of IMAs and NGOs, we also illustrate the concentration patterns of civil society actors in Greece.

STATISTICAL METHODS FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF AIR POLLUTION OF JHANSI CITY, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA

FLORA AND FAUNA ◽

10.33451/florafauna.v24i1pp187-196 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

Author(s):

V. S. CHAUHAN ◽

BHANUMATI SINGH ◽

SHREE GANESH ◽

JAMSHED ZAIDI

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Uttar Pradesh ◽

Ambient Air ◽

Ambient Air Pollution ◽

Base Line ◽

Multivariate Statistical ◽

Large Cities ◽

The Status

Studies on air pollution in large cities of India showed that ambient air pollution concentrations are at such levels where serious health effects are possible. This paper presents overview on the status of air quality index (AQI) of Jhansi city by using multivariate statistical techniques. This base line data can help governmental and non-governmental organizations for the management of air pollution.