Even though outbreaks of COVID-19 in the Global South have been mild relative to those in Europe and the United States, the repercussions of the tactics used in coping with the pandemic in the developed world will have severe consequences in poorer countries, as this article by Daniel Moss at Bloomberg points out:
The Covid-19 pandemic is exposing deep flaws in the economic model that both encourages and exploits migrant labor. Too many rich countries are dependent on low-cost workers, and too many poor communities are over-reliant on the money sent home for food, shelter and education.
Remittances to low and middle income countries will drop by a fifth this year to $445 billion, according to a recent World Bank report. That’s the worst slide in decades and a sharp turnaround from last year’s increase to a record $554 billion, which exceeded foreign direct investment in these destinations. The lender forecasts a slide of 22% in South Asia, where funds are largely bound for India and Pakistan. The Philippines, which gets 10% of its gross domestic product from such payments, could see a decline of 13%.
The situation for the migrant workers themselves is pretty awful:
The pandemic is producing a triple-whammy for migrants: They can’t work, they can’t go home (with airlines grounded) and they stand a greater risk of infection by staying put in their densely packed urban quarters. The bulk of Singapore’s recent surge in cases comes from dormitories built for 200,000-plus foreign laborers. In the Middle East, long a source of remittances for many parts of Asia, living conditions have been criticized as substandard.
A 10% decline in GDP YoY is serious and a 20% decline is desperate in countries where people struggle simply to survive.
The situation with migrant workers in the U. S. is complicated, like everything else here. Millions of legal agricultural workers, deemed “essential”, continue to work, generally without social distancing or any forms of protective gear, frequently living together in close quarters. When H-1B workers are laid off, if they are not hired by another eligible company within 60 days, they lose their legal status.
The millions of migrant workers here illegally are now largely without work or pay and ineligible for social services. I expect many of them to return to their countries of origin, in some cases taking SARS-CoV-2 with them.
Needs that must be addressed in the next round of stimulus. To do otherwise is just not who we are.
“just not who we are.”
Who we used to be. Our willingness to separate kids from families, especially in such a way that we cannot unite them, makes clear things have changed. When things got bad during the Great Depression we booted out US citizens who looked foreign. So I dont expect much other than private efforts.
Steve
The undocumented employees also send a large volume of remittances to their relatives in their country of origin. Their compensation needs to be sufficient to replace this income stream during the period of displacement to avoid neglecting our obligations to countries who supply us with guest workers. The remittances are critical to family reunification as border crossing costs have risen with closure due to corona virus.
The global problem is a serious one. I’m less sympathetic with the situation facing illegal migrant workers here in the US. The US shouldn’t be trying to compete internationally in high labor low margin industries or when we do it should be by automating. What we’ve been doing is an unworkable model and is impossible during crises like the present.
Heh. Just another aspect of this stupid policy. Steve, you advocate it, own it.
I advocated for separating kids ? No, that is your team who did that on purpose as a matter of policy.
Steve
“The global problem is a serious one”
True, but is it ours? Remember, this is the greatest country in the world, we can afford anything. Bring everyone here and wrap them in a blanket of social services. That would be more honest than caring only for those who managed to run the gauntlet and presented themselves to our cameras.
T.V. program last nite said Philly has an estimated 60,000 heroin addicts. Isn’t that proof enough we can’t care for our own, let alone everyone in the world?