Focus on labour migration

Kamiljan Khalmatov, 56, is standing in a long queue at the local branch of a commercial bank in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh. He is a well known customer there, calling in once every two to three months to collect money sent back by his sons, currently working in Russia. He told IRIN that approximately 10 percent of residents in his home village of Aravan, 25 km from Osh, were making a living abroad and supporting their families back home, who then become regular customers of local banks. "Here's US $300 I received from [my son] Akhrol," Kamiljan said with pride. "It is good that I had him learn the building trade, the demand for these skills in Russia is big now." Each of his two sons send him $100-150 on average every month - the only source of income for the extended family of nine. "From the last year's earnings of the boys, this winter we were able to celebrate our daughter Khalima's wedding. God grant her happiness, but it cost about $2,500," the unemployed mason said. “Last year our boys helped us buy a cow and a calf, so it has become easier for us to make ends meet. Recently we have had our house repaired as we are preparing for another wedding," he said. Kamiljan and his wife, a former nurse, have six sons and a daughter. It means they are going to have five more weddings because only the eldest son is married. Three of Kamiljan's sons are still at school. As soon as they finish their primary education, he wants to send them to join his oldest son in Russia. Meanwhile, he teaches them to drive and trains them as bricklayers. "Those who have trades are lucky people there," Kamiljan noted. LABOUR MIGRANTS: ESTIMATING NUMBERS According to the Kyrgyz embassy in Moscow, there are hundreds of thousands of Kyrgyz labour migrants in Russia. The Kyrgyz migration department estimates the number of those in Kazakhstan - the healthiest economy in Central Asia - to be near 100,000. "There are some 320,000 Kyrgyz migrant labourers in Russia alone, according to Russia's federal migration service," Kubanychbek Isabekov, head of the Kyrgyz parliament's commission on labour migration, told IRIN from the capital, Bishkek. But with so many working abroad illegally, some analysts believe the true number of Kyrgyz labourers in Russia is more than 500,000 - almost 10 percent of the country's total population. Officials at the Kyrgyz migration department say that many Kyrgyzstan citizens are working in Europe or Asian countries, including the UK, Germany, South Korea and Turkey, with the majority of them staying there illegally. They estimate that in the UK alone there are about 5,000 such Kyrgyz nationals. The Kyrgyz migration department describes the typical migrant labourer as male or female of working age, mainly from the south of the country. "Up to 90 percent of Kyrgyz labour migrants in Russia are from the three southern provinces of Osh, Jalal-Abad and Batken," Isabekov noted. In neighbouring Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz labour migrants are mainly involved in cotton farming and originally come from the south, Kaniza Iyazalieva, head of the external labour migration section at the Kyrgyz migration department, told IRIN from Bishkek. The migrant workers in Russia are mainly employed in the construction or trade sectors, while some in Moscow, work for the city authorities. Janybek, aged 32, came to Moscow to work in the construction industry together with two friends from the southern Kyrgyz province of Batken more than three years ago. Now he cleans the streets in one of Moscow's poorer districts. "I plan to bring my wife here," Janybek told IRIN. "I have this job and it pays $200 [a month], which is quite good. As long as we have such an opportunity we will keep working here". IMPORTANCE OF REMITTANCES TO THE KYRGYZ ECONOMY There are no accurate figures on the amount of money sent by Kyrgyz workers abroad to their families back home. Commercial banks do not report the amount of remittances to Kyrgyzstan from Russia and other destination countries, saying such matters are confidential, Iyazalieva of the migration department explained. Some analysts hold that a considerable proportion of labour migrants' money was finding its way home via unofficial channels. Zafar Khakimov, the director of the department, told IRIN that according to some estimates, labour migrants were annually sending home around $150 million from Russia alone, but considered this figure as rather 'modest'. Kyrgyz member of parliament Isabekov, who recently toured major Russian cities, where many Kyrgyz labourers work, said that on average a Kyrgyz worker sends about $100 a month to his or her family in Kyrgyzstan, while some send more. "If each of 320,000 labour migrants in Russia sends approximately $100 every month, it makes $384 million a year," Isabekov calculated. But the amount of remittances sent by all Kyrgyz labourers from abroad, including those in Kazakhstan and other countries, is likely to exceed the country's annual budget of around $420 million, the Kyrgyz member of parliament said. "The amount of money they send directly to their families is impressive. For example, $100 per month is good money for rural residents," he said. The average monthly salary in Kyrgyzstan is around $50, while in rural areas it is even less, according to the Kyrgyz statistics department. IMPACT OF REMITTANCES Many local observers consider external labour migration to be one of the key factors impacting on the poor socio-economic conditions in the country. Some reports suggest that the estimated half a million labour migrants are supporting more than one million of the country's five million inhabitants. "They support their family members and relatives and thus help combat poverty in the country," Iyazalieva said. The end of the Soviet Union left Kyrgyzstan desperately poor, although the poverty rate in the former Soviet republic has been decreasing over the past few years, with the proportion of people living below the national poverty line dropping from 52 percent in 2000 to 41 percent in 2004, according to a March report by the World Bank. The authorities in Kyrgyzstan believe money from abraod is partially responsible for this modest improvement in the country's economic fortunes, one of the poorest in the world with a GDP per capita of less than $400 per year. Many recipients invest their savings by purchasing property, services and commodities, and also by investing money in construction and other sectors, including agriculture, according to the government. In addition to this core investment, "our citizens acquire new skills, increase their professional levels and learn new technologies. This is an invaluable capital [investment]," said Khakimov. Meanwhile, a new season for labour migrants from southern Kyrgyzstan is in full swing and after having had a rest at home, many labourers are heading back to the Russian and Kazakh labour markets. The younger brothers of Kamiljan Khalmatov are preparing their sons for departure too. All winter long they worked to improve their building skills along with their knowledge of Russian - to improve their marketability north. For more IRIN articles on labour migration, go to our special report on the issue: Remittances - money makes the world go round