By Insha Hamid
In a long awaited development to the bitter 15-month genocide in Gaza, the Israeli cabinet has approved a six-week ceasefire and hostage deal to the brutal acts of death and destruction we have been haplessly watching through our screens. On the surface of it, it seems, finally, that an end is in sight. India’s Ministry of External Affairs welcomed this Israel-Hamas agreement claiming to support the cause of humanitarian assistance, but anyone who’s scratched the surface of Indian-Israeli politics understands this to be standing in stark contrast to the Indian cabinet’s actions and philosophies.
Economic desperation and the migrant workforce to Israel
India’s poor economic conditions and lack of career advancement opportunities have left little choice for economically weaker section breadwinners willing to uproot their lives to a conflict zone to be able to put food on the family table. Most of the labourers applying for the Industrial Training Institute programme are willing to hedge their bets in a war zone for the prospect of some upward mobility. Their livelihoods have been static too long, even with working overtime and keeping their noses to the grindstones, the financial rewards are marginal, and most are a single catastrophe away from poverty.
Most of the labourers applying for the Industrial Training Institute programme are willing to hedge their bets in a war zone for the prospect of some upward mobility.
‘I know there is an ongoing war, but there are no opportunities here. A job in Israel can change my family’s future,’ said Amit Singh Chauhan, a commerce postgraduate from Lucknow.
Unemployment is killing us here. I earn only Rs 500 a day, and with prices of essential commodities skyrocketing, it’s impossible to survive. Even with the risk, I’d rather go to Israel, where I can earn Rs 1.37 lakh a month, than stay here and face daily uncertainty,‘ Manoj Kumar Ram, a carpenter from Varanasi, explained.
This story was originally published in feminisminindia.com. Read the full story here.
