Lack of significant welfare for migrants and stimulus for the failing economy has left the vulnerable helpless.
First, we saw the knee-jerk national lockdown trigger an exodus of a couple of million hungry poor unpaid migrants across the country from the cities they worked for but did not receive care from.
Some died on the way. Others were beaten, hosed down, and civil liberties have been trampled underfoot by hooligans and criminals. Lack of significant welfare for migrants or stimulus for the failing economy has left the vulnerable helpless.
Now as the National lockdown is partially lifted without adequate preparation, we are seeing desperate attempts by migrants to go home at all costs. Local governments and civil society are now desperate to manage the situation, but the lack of preparation is appalling and inexcusable.
So, we have migrants walking alongside the rail tracks desperate to get home. These are the people who built our Cities, and we are the Pharaohs and the Egyptians who have benefitted from their back-breaking labour. If the moral arc of the universe bends towards justice, all of us and our descendants are on moral notice.
Photo by Nikhil M Kumar on Unsplash
