India

Stories of Origin: The Invisible Lives of Migrants in the Gulf is now available as a book. All proceeds will go to the MRRORS.org platform and its advocacy efforts.

You can’t walk a yard in migrant-sending communities without another fraud-agent story popping up. And not one person surveyed migrated legally, grassroots trainers say.

In the second series of reports from Uttar Pradesh, India, we look at the high dependence on unlicensed agents and the 'hundi' network, despite the rather obvious perils.

Abuse of migrant workers, especially female domestic workers, is rampant across the Gulf countries. Most of these cases are ‘resolved’ by paying a nominal settlement and repatriating the victim. In recent months, however, there seems to be more vigilance on trafficking cases by Kuwait’s General Attorney office. MRRORS.org speaks to two recent victims.

In early January, Saudi punished workers for "destroying public property and inciting unrest" while protesting unpaid wages. Meanwhile, the government has not meaningfully penalized the companies that failed to pay workers for months.