«Panorama Shymkenta», № 23, August  12 , 2011

It is offensively for the country
In the framework of regional program on migration in Central Asia the representatives of International Organization on Migration in Republic of Kazakhstan and NGO “Sana Sezim” conducted two-day training for the staff of migration police on the theme “Managing migration and combating with human trafficking ".
Labor migration is social and economic phenomenon of XXI century.
…How strange, already at 6 am. in the yard broom yard cleaner, his unhurried conversation with milk seller is heard through the window – just like old times. With such feeling, I met the first Moscow morning during a recent vocation.
The yard cleaner, who turned a migrant from Uzbekistan, on the following days greeted warmly and welcomingly with them. So to say, like townsman. A Tajik woman among them, who is cleaning the dishes in one of the popular café “McDonald’s”, with related warm and responded quickly to our request to find a free table. A Tajik taxi driver, who agreed to take us in overtime in one of the residential areas of St. Petersburg, sisters severely scolded, saying that too much fare is requested. And then confessed she scolded warningly, and it appeared that local drivers did not agree to such a route at all, because at the returning they are waited by the traffic congestion.
Domestic qualified labor force, which is able to work on complex mechanism disappears, because of this, engineers and technical staff are drown from Russia, the West and China. (Analytical and Informational Bureau “ПИК”).
After what has been said I was more pitiful about poor, unemployed guy who drove us to the destination for the cheap cost. In a recent Moscow show “Понаехали тут” partly was talked about labor migrants who came to the capital, especially who are looking for the work in the service sector.
It is difficult to imagine, what would have become to the so well-liked Arbat and the neighborhood’s exists and entrance to the underground where a lot of homeless and drunks are, if migrant yard cleaners did not clean these areas. According to the indigenous people, our own unemployed people do not go to work in this area.  Knowingly in one of the capital newspaper were written that without importing labor force, national culture of laziness would take monstrous proportions. By the way, instead of our yard woman, known as aristocratic “Ballerina” I think, it would be much more profitable and useful in the sense of business to hire the labor migrants.
However, labor migrants in Kazakhstan - it has been long daily routine. The attitude to them is contradictory: the most often are the slackers; they say that the migrants are taking the bread from the local unemployed people. Clear-eyed people, rightfully the representatives of the oil and gas oligarchy of western Kazakhstan can be included, they say, the Uzbeks, Kalmyk, and internal migrants from the South Kazakhstan are cheap labor and above all, fair labor, which can be exploited mercilessly, despite the hit and cold.    
“Imagine, our local builders after the dinner lie belly up, justifying their laziness with the hot weather. And two young men-brothers from Tajikistan in the 50-degrees of heat are working without stop, wrapping their heads in wet shirts that block the sun. “We have a mother in Turkestan, the family; we need to earn money,”-they say. And local, more adult men they are hysterical, say that migrant workers are tricky, gain the points”- tells me in the hearts of familiar, managing one of the construction projects in the oil-reach region of Atyrau. Third and this is small parts of the population treats to the labor migration as an inevitable period of globalization and inequality in the level of development of countries-neighbors.
-According to unofficial reports, 300-400 thousand to 1 million people enter to Kazakhstan. The majority of foreigners work illegally in Kazakhstan. Our task is to help to the labor migrants in providing the legal framework of their presence in the territory of Republic, thus increasing the state budget, preventing the facts of illegal labor migration, the social contradictions in the society-says the National Coordinator of International Organization on Migration of Republic of Kazakhstan A. Alikova.   
What kind of guaranties are they
According to experts on labor migration, the main trouble for labor migrants is the lack of possibilities of working in Kazakhstan legally. This is connected with the bureaucratization of issues, related to their presence in the territory of the country.  The first – Kazakhstan has not ratified the UN Convention on the rights of labor migrants that basically deprives them from all kinds of social benefits. Another important point: according to the current system of quotas for the labor migrants, the permissions for the works are issued by the employers, not for the labor migrants, which make them more vulnerable. That is why they are involved in typical situations: the confiscation of passports, working until the night, no days off, the possibility to receive medical services and etc.
However, there is a consistent migration environment In Kazakhstan – labor migrants live in the country from one to five years. The concept of “modern slavery” touched also our reality. Many migrants are working under the force, against their will, employers resell them to other owners, and labor exploitation of migrants continues without regard to any rules and laws.
According to the experts of International organization on Migration who participated at the training, in Republic of Kazakhstan was identified more than 200 cases of human trafficking, related to the illegal labor migration: 185 cases of human trafficking in Republic of Kazakhstan from the neighbor countries; 72- inside of Kazakhstan; 14-from Kazakhstan to other countries.
Most often under the pretext of providing of work, women are trafficked to the Emirates, Turkey for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Every fifth fact is connected with the minors: engaging them in prostitution, forcing of children to work is often carried out with the agreement of guardians and parents. About 70 % of victims of labor exploitation are men and 30 % are women.  Most of the labor migrants are in the South of Kazakhstan.    According to experts, the risk of becoming victims of labor exploitation is till high.135.8 per 1000 families. According to this indicator the South Kazakhstan is at the first place in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Traditionally, labor migrants are engaged on constructions, cotton plantations, also many of them are the workers of sex commercial sex.
What to do
According to the President of Legal Center for Women’s Initiatives “Sana Sezim”, to prevent the conflicts between migrants and people of the region, tensions within the labor migrants, it is necessary to develop the local regional concept of migration policy. Legally equipped, tolerantly accepted by the members of society labor migrants, in her firm conviction, it realizes their personal potential and bring the county benefits.
According to her this will ensure the social unity, security in the society – the main components of economic success. By the way, their organization has repeatedly asked for the help the relatives, familiar friends of victims of illegal labor exploitation. Through the connection with Embassy, Department on Combatting with Organized Crime, Consulate staff “Sana Sezim” found lost women in Dubai,   and man in the South of Korea.
Psychologist of the center often rehabilitated victims of illegal labor exploitation and the staff rescued the victims of human trafficking and slavery. As a blatant case Khadicha Abysheva remembers the girl – orphan, who was taken illegally from Uzbekistan and was subjected to the forced labor and sexual exploitation, despite the fact that in her arms was 7-month-old baby.  Due to the neighbor the staff of NGO “Sana-Sezim” found the location of girl with the help of local law-enforcement authorities. The child rescued after the mother was placed in a rehabilitation center, and psychologist of the center helped to the victim girl. By the way the legal center in the framework of the program under the issues of labor migration initiated the organization of professional training of labor migrants, have organized them the trainings on professions which are needed in Society most of all: cooks, hairdressers, manicurists, seamstresses, the masters of computer. But the single measures in the framework of one project; of course all the problems of labor migrants cannot be immediately solved.
In the issues of labor migration is needed more order and supervision and at least for reasons of reducing flammable social materials. (Analytical and Information Bureau “ПИК”)
Police officers were involved in the training; they have deliberately focused on the need for more strict liability of legal and private persons for human trafficking. It appeared that in 2008 on the fact of human trafficking were prosecuted 15 criminal cases and in 2009 –already 20 cases.  Often the proceeding on the fact of illegal labor exploitation, human trafficking is not supported by the clear evidences because of the imperfection and vagueness of our laws. Therefore the participants made recommendations under the title “Risks of human trafficking as the consequence of irregular labor migration”, where were set out the need to take urgent measures to:
-bringing the legislation of Kazakhstan to full of compliance with international standards, in particular the fact of protection rights and safety of victims, witnesses, unconditional release of victims from liability.
-examine the results of investigative and judicial practice for the objective qualification of criminal liability for the specific types of crimes by providing new compositions, such as human trafficking, organizations and involving into the illegal labor, separately for the exploitation and forced labor, slavery and other forms of human exploitation.   
-strengthening of the liability for the maintenance of brothels and pimping and also legal persons who help for the trafficking of the illegal migration:
-development of mechanisms for access to justice and compulsory free legal help for the labor migrants, victims of human trafficking
-improvement of inter-regional cooperation in the field of migration, including the signing of the agreement on temporary labor migration from regions with excessive labor and etc.;
In addition to the illegal labor force from the neighboring countries, now Kazakhstan has to discourage the growth of labor force from China. And how analysts write, “Behind these people-cyborg, who able to do any work for any money, are the deferred system of their infiltration in non-Chinese territories, facilitate local endemic corruption”.
That is the last fact – not very pleasant in the whole situation of illegal labor migration. There is a house near our high rise building (according to the scales of constructions).  It took for its construction surrounded by concrete fence right on the edge of the irrigation ditch, moved the pillars from the old place. All this was done manually by builders-labor migrants, some of them embarrassed shrugged their shoulders on our questions about the legality of the construction, and they tell that they follow instructions of the owner. And they do not realize that with their actions, they are not only discredits the laws of their country they humiliates in the eyes of the labor migrants own compatriots, ignoring their rights and interests. At the same time, “cultivating” in migrants scornful attitude to the country, which gave them a chance to earn money.it is offensively for the country, my good sirs. For its future.

Elmira Berdigalieva