A migrant woman and her daughter lost their lives in a road accident while heading home under the lockdown.
Migrant woman gives birth on roadside
A 12-year-old child died after walking over 100 kilometers from her workplace in Bhupalpally district of Telangana to her native village in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district.
These are the recent headlines in the newspapers. The mass migration of laborers after the nationwide lockdown, due to the pandemic, has raised a huge social issue in our society which questions the basic human nature of us.
The pandemic of COVID 19 has affected various aspects of Indian sectors but the most affected are the migrant laborers and their jobs. We have seen various disturbing images and videos that reflect the plight of the migrant laborers. Though they may be directly affected by the crisis, the children of these laborers are the center of the indirectly affected. There are families especially the children of these laborers who are economically dependent on their parents for daily sustenance. Whether they are traveling with the migrants or whether they are situated in the villages, they sustain on the wages of their migrant parent/s.
The children, who are traveling with their parents, are the center of a physically as well mentally unhealthy atmosphere. Right from the unavailability of food to covering miles and miles of distance with bare feet, the children are facing painful circumstances that even the adults will not be able to bear. Not eating for days, eating whatever is available, being physically on move for the day through the unbearable heat is severely affecting the physical health and growth of these children.
Also, there arises the question of the children who are situated n the villages, depending entirely upon the income of their parents. How are they sustaining? Are their basic needs being fulfilled? This will have a direct effect on the health and nutrition of the children. If they are alone, it can lead to an increase in the exploitation risk.
At the age, when they should be in a happy, healthy, and mentally safe environment, these children are in a phase of life where they have to struggle to survive, sustain. This physically harms them and, in the long run, it harms their mental and emotional development.
Even though our government has announced various financial reliefs for migrants and laborers, it takes time to reach the deeper and rural India. Till then, the fate of these children lies in the hand of the privileged who can and have the resources to help them. It is upon the state, the privileged, and us to make sure these children have a future and they lead a healthy life.
0 Comments