Labor Migration Center Opens Doors for Kyrgyz Workers
Mayor of Kyzyl-Kiya, Abdimalik Anarbaev, and Director of EFCA, Osh, Akjol Berdiev, cut the ribbon at the migration center’s opening ceremony.
The rural regions of Kyrgyzstan face acute unemployment. Finding a decent job to support one’s family often means leaving them behind to look for work elsewhere. Many migrant workers remain in Kyrgyzstan, but thousands will travel long distances, often forced into hazardous work conditions or involvement in human trafficking rings.
To assist these expatriated workers, Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia (EFCA), together with the British Embassy in Kazakhstan, created a regional network of labor migration centers, the newest recently launched in Kyzyl-Kiya, Kyrgyzstan. The network serves as a resource for legal consultations, technical assistance and information about job opportunities. Since October, 2006, over 1,600 workers have been added to a database that enables center staff to track workers outside of Kyrgyzstan and ensure their safe return and fair treatment. Almost 2,000 labor migrants have been seen in legal consultations and more than 300 have found employment through the center.
At the center’s opening ceremony, the mayor of Kyzyl-Kiya, Abdimalik Anarbaev, said that he “believe[s] that the center’s activities here will benefit the city as well as those in neighboring regions who are seeking employment.”
Rather than encouraging migration to Russia, the Kyzyl-Kiya center will focus on finding opportunities for workers within the Kyrgyz Republic. The center will also collaborate with three local professional schools to hold short-term courses for migrants.
