On April 27, Laavanya Kathiravelu, assistant professor at Nanyang Technical University in Singapore, spoke at the University of Massachusetts Boston Sociology Colloquium Series on migrant workers in the United Arab Emirates, more specifically, Dubai.
Kathiravelu presented her research findings and discussed possible solutions to the problems facing the migrant labor workers.
Some of her research findings included high suicide rates among male labor workers and loans with high interest rates. She also studied the lives and ambitions of female migrant workers, understanding the need for regulations on the transnational level.
Most of her research focused on the lives of male Indian migrant workers. One of the main questions she was exploring was, “How do these forces that create a neoliberal worker, once internalized, reappropriated as narratives of empowerment?”
In her work, she noticed that most of the male workers referred to themselves as the sole provider for their family back home; also as empowered agents. These narratives of a masculine, honorable, hardworking, and disciplined man would be further supported by their employers, families, and friends. However, while the workers portrayed themselves as empowered men, if, say, their paycheck was late, they would take a role of the victim.
They would also present themselves as husbands or sons to avoid the perception of sexual predator, a general perception of the land due to a big group of bachelor men in a foreign country.
While there was a sense of friendship and compatriotism, Kathiravelu explained that co-ethnic exploitation was a big issue.
For instance, if one of the workers was helping to bring a cousin or a countryman to Dubai, they would charge them large interest rates for the loan, despite the fact that they went through the same experience of injustice and exploitation.
This was very puzzling to Kathiravelu, as explained in the talk. When she confronted the workers about putting a countryman or relative through such hardships, ones the workers themselves just went through, they answered, “If I don’t [exploit them], somebody else will.”
Considering the high number of cases of co-ethnic exploitation, she emphasized the problem of further promoting the notion of Dubai and Emirati companies, especially since they are perceived as cruel and rich exploitative forces.
Most of the companies involved in the exploitation of migrant workers are run by Indians.
“The large, state-owned Emirati companies treated their workers the best. In my research, that’s what I found.”
Kathiravelu explained that her next research project will focus on studying the networks that allow the co-ethnic exploitation to work.