IMAGE OF A MIGRANT IN THE POPULATION OF THE BORDER REGION OF RUSSIA'S NOTIONS

The issues of adaptation and integration of migrants are one of the main directions of the sociology of migration. The success of a migrant's adaptation depends not only on himself, but also on the local community. Each of them faces the consequences and difficulties of migration to varying degrees. And the actions of each of the parties determine the success of migration processes. The article examines the issue of the adaptive potential of the host community through the study of migrant images in the perception of the population of the border region. The paper presents the results of a psychosemantic experiment conducted in the Altai Territory in 2020-2021 (n = 85). The average age of the respondents is 31.4 years. The image of a migrant in the perceptions of the population is explored through the role positions "migrant", "migrant from the CIS countries", "labor migrant". As scales, 28 pairs of categories were used, describing persons with different social activity. Based on the analysis of average values and factor analysis, the semantic spaces for assessing the mental representations of the "image of a migrant", "the image of a migrant from the CIS countries", "the image of a labor migrant" were built. There is a negative perception of the images of “migrant” and “migrant from the CIS countries”. They are characterized by such categories as "hardy", "alien", "distant", "impatient", "cunning", "arouses hostility", "warlike". A labor migrant is defined by the population as honest, responsible, hardworking, religious, sociable, easy-going and ready to help. The image of a “labor migrant” inspires more confidence in the population and is perceived more positively than the images of a “migrant” and “a migrant from the CIS countries”.

LABOR FORCE RECRUITMENT TO THE OECD AND MIDDLE EASTERN COUNTRIES IN THE REPUBLIC OF TAJIKISTAN: TRENDS, MECHANISMS, CONSEQUENCES

The article examines the trends in labor migration from Tajikistan. Although Russia and Kazakhstan remain the main labor migration destinations for Tajiks, emigration from Tajikistan to OECD countries is becoming increasingly more noticeable. New Tajik communities are actively forming in the OECD countries, potentially becoming networks of attraction for new migrants in the near future. The forms of labor migrant recruitment in Tajikistan, including digital technologies, are examined. Despite Tajikistan’s attempts to regulate labor migration more actively on the basis of bilateral agreements with OECD countries, Russia still remains attractive for Tajik labor migrants. So far, Russia’s competitive advantages are the absence of a language barrier, the absence of the need to obtain a visa and work permit, a common mentality, and the prospects for obtaining citizenship. However, the rigidity of migration policy and the drop in wages in Russia are potential negative factors that will contribute to the reversal of some of the labor migrant flows from Tajikistan in favor of the OECD countries. Also, the active participation of intermediaries in migrant employment, as well as the OECD countries’ active policy that aims to attract labor migrants will lead to Russia’s loss of a significant part of Tajikistan’s migration potential. The possibility of reorientation of a part of labor emigrants to OECD countries is becoming feasible due to the widespread study of the English language in Tajikistan and the cutbacks in teaching the Russian language, the active development of private and state labor force recruiting systems.

Heterogeneity of Internal Migrant Household Consumption in Host Cities: A Comparison of Skilled Migrants and Labor Migrants in China

Improvements in migrant families’ consumption are crucial to economic development after the economic crisis. With China’s participation in economic globalization, industrial transformation and college enrolment expansion, a new type of migrant worker has emerged, skilled migrants, who have attained a college diploma or above and whose consumption behaviors differ from traditional labor migrants because education helps to improve the income and consumption structure. This study uses comparative analysis and Tobit model to examine differences in income and consumption patterns, and determinants of consumption between skilled migrant and labor migrant households. Education helps to increase income and alter consumption behaviors. The income and consumption levels of skilled migrant households are significantly higher than the levels of labor migrant households, and the propensity to consume among skilled migrant households is higher than among labor migrant households. Moreover, the consumption structure of skilled migrant households is more advanced than that of labor migrant households. Education indirectly influences consumption by influencing economic, familial, individual, settlement intention, and social security factors. These factors have different effects on skilled migrant and labor migrant household consumption. Authorities should improve the education level and social welfare system to cover migrant households, especially for low-income labor migrants, to improve their consumption.

De-border Yourself/Desfronterízate

In 2018, amid US president Donald Trump’s ongoing calls to “build the wall” along the US-Mexico border, protestors in the Mexican border city of Tijuana took up his incendiary rhetoric and turned it against the caravans of Central Americans on their way to seek asylum in the United States. This essay explores the deeper logics of recent anti-migrant sentiment in Mexico by unpacking a promotional video that was popular there during Trump’s campaign. Though the video ostensibly controverts Trump’s call to “build the wall,” I argue, it ultimately reinforces an underlying distinction between the “we” it convokes and the undocumented labor migrant to the United States. The essay thus seeks the roots of contemporary Mexican xenophobia in older dynamics of class distinction within Mexico. Tijuana, finally, helps grasp how the border exacerbates these dynamics, and why US racism can make distinctions among Mexicans and among Latin Americans fiercer and more pernicious.

Reproductive Health Issues and Depression in Wives of Labor Migrant Workers

Background: Young Nepalese men have been forced to migrate to other countries in search of better opportunities. Wives of these migrant workers are in a vulnerable state and face various problems. The aim of this study wasto assess the prevalence of reproductive health problems and depression in this sub-population and to compare it with women living together with their husbands.Methods: This is a hospital based case control study where depression and reproductive health problems including gender based violence were compared between wives of migrant workers and women living with their husbands. Structured questionnaire was used to assess reproductive symptomatology and Becks depression Inventory-II was used to measure level of depression. Results: During the study period, 38.65% (2193) of all women were wives of migrant workers. India was the country where most 34.6% (73) men migrated. Mean duration of migration was 51.96 months (SD= 63.27). Moderate to severe depression was present in 42.6% (90) of wives of migrant workers and 80.09% of these women experienced some form of gender based violence. Reproductive tract symptoms and gender based violence and depression were significantly more present in these women (p<0.000). Conclusions: Depression and reproductive health problems weremore prevalent in wives of labor migrant workers than in women living with their husbands. The physical and mental health needs of this sub-population warrants screening strategies and preventive measures.Keywords: Depression; reproductive symptoms; migrant workers; wives.

Self-Esteem among “Left-Behind Children” of Labor Migrant Parents in Rural Northern Vietnam

To assess the self-esteem of left-behind children of migrant parents, this article presents the results of a survey on the self-esteem of 1,119 children aged from 9 to 15 (469 children of labor migrant parents, and a control group of 650 children of non-migrant parents) living in three rural areas of Northern Vietnam including Phu Tho, Bac Ninh, and Ha Nam provinces. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) has been used for this study. A comparison between the self-esteem scores of the left-behind children and the control group reveals that children with labor migrant parents have lower self-esteem than their counterparts living with their parents. The research found that differences in the self-esteem scores of left-behind children were related to a number of significant factors, including the duration of parental migration; whether mother or father or both worked away; places where the children live; the frequency of communication between parents and children; and the child’s satisfaction with their study. The research suggested that factors such as feelings of loneliness, the child’s satisfaction with their study, harmony with friends, and the frequency of migrant parents returning home are all significant predictors of self-esteem of left-behind children. Received 9th May 2019; Revised 13th June 2019; Accepted 20th September 2019