Migrant workers’ scare in Tamil Nadu; sifting truth from disinformation
“It was [some] North Indian media and a few irresponsible people who were sharing unrelated news to create panic. We had to call our families and tell them that all is well here,” a Bihari construction worker in Tamil Nadu told The Leaflet.
Rejimon Kuttapan is an independent journalist and migrants’ rights researcher. He previously worked in Oman and was deported for reporting the plight of migrant workers and exposing human trafficking of Asian domestic workers when he was the chief reporter of Times of Oman. He has done a fellowship with ILO on labour migration and a Reuters fellowship on human trafficking and forced labour. He has co-authored a book on migrants titled Uncertain Journeys (Speaking Tiger) and authored a book Rowing Between Rooftops on daredevilry of Keralite fishermen who saved thousands from the 2018 Kerala floods. Currently, he has just completed a book on undocumented migrants for Penguin, which will hit the stores soon.