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Susan Thieme, University of Zurich, Switzerland Where to Return to? Rural-urban Interlinkages in Times of Internal and International Labour Migration Summary Economic and social activities of migrants transcend internal and international as well as rural and urban divides. Migration circuits are not bipolar but rather develop towards a multi-local network of family members putting into question “return” as an often assumed conclusion to a successful migration. This briefing explores the multi-local migration patterns of Kyrgyzstan’s mobile population placing return in a wider context and providing recommendations how to facilitate circular migration and ties to places of origin and new places of work and living. The problem In Kyrgyzstan, labour migration of the young (rural) population is mainly perceived as temporary and return is often seen as the successful conclusion to a migration. Migrants, however, return only under certain circumstances and not necessarily to the rural areas where they originally come from. This calls for policies acknowledging increasing complex multi-local settings of households transcending the rural-urban and national and international divide. Background Defining return and the migration development nexus Despite the impact of remittances on consumption and investment, return migration is supposed to hold huge potential for human development and positive social change. “Return” often implies that the cycle of migration will be ended and people will be economically and socially better off. But in many cases the “return” is the beginning of a new or an extension of the existing cycle as migration patterns in Kyrgyzstan show. Up to 20 percent of Kyrgyzstan’s population seeks better economic opportunities in Russia and Kazakhstan, sending remittances worth 30 percent of the GDP especially into rural areas (Zentralasienanalysen 2008). What is often overlooked in this international migration discourse, is that international movement is strongly linked to internal rural to urban migration mainly from the South to the North, the capital Bishkek and its surroundings. In addition people of different age groups or generation reveal different ideas and plans about where to exactly return to in Kyrgyzstan. While the elderly often 108
naturally expect to return to their home villages, younger people increasingly place their identities and perspectives for future at urban places rather than the village where they were born. Only at the age of retirement they could imagine a return to their rural place of birth. People with enough income send remittances to their family members. Remittances are invested in daily survival, life-cycle events, cars, housing, cattle and land. Although investment in cattle and land in rural areas is also a fallback strategy for migrants themselves they also invest in city centres or in areas with more fertile land within Kyrgyzstan. Often they do it stepwise, leading to an even more diverse pattern of internal and international migration. Thus multi-locality becomes part of peoples’ life. Even if migrants have no finances for investments but decide to return, Bishkek would be the first choice. Having relatives in urban Bishkek also provides networks for accessing medical care and social services. Problems of return While it is generally acknowledged that the return of migrants can be beneficial for the development of countries of origin, it is likely to be so only under specific circumstances. Most migrants wish to return to Kyrgyzstan, but reasons not to return to rural areas include: lower salaries and poorer economic opportunities, frustration with the business climate, concern about corruption or different ways of doing things in rural setting, lack of social, medical and training services, shopping facilities and technical infrastructure, traditional settings and rules but also inadequate savings to be able to return and to be able to invest in consumption and production. Among the small number of migrants who permanently return to rural areas are successful ones who mainly managed to invest in livestock and a future living on it. The other segment of returnees – those less likely to contribute to development - has also been described in many other studies. They return home disappointed, ill, and often unexpectedly because of deportation, problems with family members or sudden need for work force at home. Nevertheless, the majority of migrants do not plan a definitive return, but keep on working in Russia and Kazakhstan and in many cases try to establish a mid- and long-term place to live and work in Bishkek. Under these conditions a number of socioeconomic and politically induced factors become problematic, with segmented migrants and nonmigrants, national and international and rural and urban areas alike. Brain gain and/or brain drain Despite remittances, the international “brain drain” is seen as a significant obstacle to achieving national Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and equitable poverty reduction in Kyrgyzstan (UNDP & CIS 2005). Post-socialist countries such as Kyrgyzstan share a characteristic different from the usual “low-skilled” migration discourse. Educated and skilled people from the rural South of Kyrgyzstan now work undocumented in cities of Russia and Kazakhstan and are not able to practise their skills. Many younger people interrupted their educational career for the sole need to earn money for survival. Therefore migration caused a lack of labour force in all ranges of jobs in the source region. Although often argued that migrants will return with new ideas and skills (“brain gain and circulation”), the decision to work abroad is overwhelmingly economic, with little intention to learn new skills or acquire new profession. Remittances, however, are partly spent on children’s education, and especially young internal migrants try 109
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Social Research Center American Uni
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The Social Research Center (SRC) at
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What needs to be studied is whether
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policy, but on the politics of loya
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them set up with the sole aim of ac
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has been made. As democratization i
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For a country where the main active
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seemingly happen to form regionally
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• Support the development of self
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synonymous with civil society. Thes
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and to the fact that it is popularl
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in a politically-advanced society w
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Galina Plakhotnikova, Aida Kurbanov
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For such individuals, personal sati
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to focus on donors’ priorities, w
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Sheradil Baktygulov, Independent Ex
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By having good knowledge and unders
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In this context, the Kyrgyz state v
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6. Produce a training program for g
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among decision-makers and in genera
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200. This means that about USD 20 m
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New Middle Classes Classes are anta
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References and Sources 1. Bates R.
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There were attempts to build the pa
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Kyrgyzstan, they did not have a cle
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impossible. Even though the Moldova
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Summing up, it should be emphasized
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24. Romedi Arkvint’s Speech//Kiev
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protectionism, unfair competition,
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authority to levy tax backlogs with
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Kubanychbek Omuraliev, Independent
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On the subject of barriers, it is a
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and other similar is ten times grea
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participation in economic activitie
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• adopt laws that recognize and p
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Emil Nasritdinov. Discrimination of
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