Labour

Macambira Association Fostering Social Cohesion and Promoting Peace

Labor migration out of Guatemala is deeply intertwined with the human struggle for dignity and survival. Many Guatemalans, facing extreme poverty, limited job opportunities, and food insecurity, are forced to leave their homes and loved ones in search of work abroad, often in the United States or Mexico. This migration is not just a quest for better wages but an attempt to provide basic necessities like food, shelter, and education for their families.

A compilation of visibility products for IOM's 70th Anniversary. For queries, contact avteam@iom.int

Documentation of IOM programmatic works in Nigeria in the time of COVID-19 pandemic. (Please find more information in the individual photos and videos)

"Millions of people from Central Asia migrate to Russia every year in search of work. The lives of millions of families depend on their remittance. Interdependence between Russia and Central Asia is increasing year by year. Personally, I don't know of any family who hasn't had someone go work in Russia... The inspiration for this ongoing project arose when my own father and brother were working abroad in Russia" Families left behind is a reality in Central Asia, a region that has more than 10 million migrants on the move looking for better employment and living opportunities beyond the borders of their countries. As migration of both men and women, from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, will continue to increase, the number of dependents left behind (children, wives, elderly parents etc.) will rise as well. Migrant workers’ families are waiting and barely surviving while their loved ones are trying to make ends meet in Russia and/or Kazakhstan. Many Central Asian children are growing up without seeing their fathers or mothers, or being left behind when both parents are taking the migration route. Currently more and more women are becoming breadwinners as well, changing the sociocultural norms in Central Asia where men were leading the migration numbers. There are also a lot of women, abandoned or divorced, with the task of raising the children on their own and assume the care of elderly parents. “Your father/mother comes tomorrow” is a common phrase that millions of ch

Construction of an arrival centre for Rohingya refugees in Balukhali settlement, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. An outbreak of violence on 25 August in Northern Rakhine State, Myanmar, forced over 600,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh.

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) in 2015 describes Bangladesh as one of the most-at-risk countries in South Asia and highlights the danger of future climate change impacts. Bangladesh was ranked 1st on the 2014 Climate Change Vulnerability Index and fifth on the 2015 Global Climate Risk Index. IOM’s research on “Assessing the evidence: environment, climate change and migration in Bangladesh” in 2010 concludes that sudden-onset (floods, cyclones and riverbank erosion) and slow-onset natural hazards (such as coastal erosion, sea-level rise, salinity intrusion, rising temperatures, changing rainfall and drought patterns) have an impact on migration in Bangladesh. Kniveton et al. (2013) estimate that around 9.6 million people, excluding temporary and seasonal migrants, will migrate due to climatic factors between 2011 to 2050 in the country. Though Bangladesh has made significant achievements in different sectors, like primary education, maternal health, child mortality and poverty reduction, climate change, disasters and environmental degradation still threaten development outcomes and investment.

Situated on the south-western part of the Indochina peninsula, Cambodia is very much a destination country for several foreigners. Each year, more than a million visitors from across the globe come to see its famous heritage sights including the Angkor Wat temple. Today, its tourism industry accommodating an influx of visitors has become one of Cambodia’s largest industries. With a plethora of national attractions, vibrant cities, beautiful landscapes, and a bustling tourism industry there are several reasons why many choose to come to Khmer nation. However, as the arrival of foreigners is on the rise there is another kind of fluctuation at work, human labour. Cross border migration in Cambodia specifically for work and employment purposes is a growing issue in the Asian nation as several Cambodians leave their homes for extended periods of time through largely illegal channels in hopes of finding work that can earn them higher wages than found back at home. With an estimate of more than a million Cambodians currently working in Thailand, this translates to nearly 12% of the Cambodian work force is employed in Thailand alone. There is a multitude of factors contributing behind this kind of migration ranging from a lack of employment in rural parts of the country, higher wages for comparable work in neighbouring countries, forced displacement due to ongoing environmental changes.

A collection of portraits of migrants from everywhere IOM works to help make migration humane.