VZCZCXRO4300
RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW
DE RUEHCG #0035/01 0471028
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161028Z FEB 10
FM AMCONSUL CHENNAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2644
INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 4011
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 000035 
 
G FOR LAURA PENA AND DAVID YOUNG 
 
G/TIP FOR MARK TAYLOR AND SHEELA AHLUWALIA 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP PHUM PGOV SOCI IN
SUBJECT:  KERALA AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT PARTNER TO PROTECT MIGRANTS 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Kerala, located on India's southwestern tip, has 
long been the source of massive overseas migration, with more than 
2.5 million of the state's 31 million people working overseas, 
mostly in the Gulf countries.  The migrant community's political 
clout led the government of Kerala to establish the Department of 
Non-Resident Keralites' Affairs (NORKA) in 1996, the first such 
state government agency charged with the express mandate of 
protecting overseas Indians. NORKA is a small, but effective agency 
that implements a wide range of migrant protection programs and 
interventions both at home and overseas.  For its overseas 
interventions, NORKA works collaboratively with the Government of 
India's Ministries of External Affairs and Overseas Indian Affairs 
to provide assistance to Keralite migrants.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Kerala, a state at the southwestern tip of India, has long 
been a source of substantial overseas migration.  The state's 
historically weak economy creates little in terms of job 
opportunities at home so an estimated 2.5 million of the state's 31 
million people work abroad, mostly in the Gulf countries.  Their 
annual remittances of $5 billion increase the state's economic 
output by over 25%, forming a major pillar of its economy.  About 
40% of the expatriate community is Muslim, hailing from a few 
districts in northern Kerala.  The size and economic clout of the 
migrant community makes them and their families in Kerala a 
substantial political force.  As a result, the government of Kerala 
has made the welfare of the Non-Resident Keralites (NRK) a major 
priority. 
 
First of its kind in India 
------------ 
 
¶3. (U) The Government of Kerala established the Department of 
Non-Resident Keralites' Affairs (NORKA) in December 1996, the first 
of its kind in an Indian state.  NORKA has a wide mandate.  It 
provides assistance to NRKs in distress abroad, in collaboration 
with Indian Embassies and Consulates, and protects NRKs from 
harassment by their employers/sponsors.  NORKA seeks to prevent 
recruiting agents from cheating job-seekers and resolves the 
grievances between agents and NRKs.  NORKA traces missing persons 
abroad, provides educational facilities for NRK children, lobbies 
Air India for the introduction of more flights, and assists with the 
rehabilitation of returnees.  MM Hassan, a senior Kerala Congress 
party leader and former Minister in the state government, told post 
that NORKA's success inspired the central government to create the 
Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs. 
 
¶4. (U) In 2002, NORKA formed a non-profit company, NORKA-Roots, to 
work as its field agency, interfacing with the community.  It has 
regional offices in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, and Kozhikode (all in 
Kerala) as well as Mumbai and Delhi.  The state's Chief Minister 
V.S. Achuthanandan serves as the Chairman of NORKA Roots and 
Manojkumar, Government Secretary for NORKA functions as the 
Company's Vice Chairman. 
 
NORKA-Roots: reaching out to the community 
----------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) With only a dozen employees, NORKA is a relatively small 
operation but NORKA-Roots substantially augments the pure 
governmental effort with another 70 employees located throughout the 
state.  NORKA Secretary Manojkumar is an officer of the Indian 
Administrative Service who also serves as the Principal Secretary to 
the Chief Minister.  Keeping the NORKA portfolio with the Chief 
Minister's personal staff demonstrates the political importance 
attached to defending the NRK community.  Manojkumar told post that 
NORKA-Roots is able to raise its own resources mostly through fees 
it charges for the authentication of documents required by overseas 
employers.  But the government of Kerala also provides direct grants 
to NORKA-Roots for conducting training projects. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Mohan Kumar, the recently departed CEO of NORKA-Roots told 
us that NORKA plays a big role in preventing trafficking of women 
and employee harassment.  According to the ex-CEO, "tens of 
thousands of petitions flow to our regional offices and most of them 
are about sponsors' harassment."  He expressed satisfaction with the 
Government of India's assistance:  "our Embassies and Consulates 
effectively intervene as soon as we pass the information we gather 
through petitions," he said.  He told us that NORKA-Roots arranges 
pre-departure briefings and training sessions for job seekers. 
NORKA also runs awareness campaigns on the perils of illegal 
migration. 
 
Stories of intervention and rescue 
--------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Mohan Kumar cited the story of a group of six youths who 
 
CHENNAI 00000035  002 OF 002 
 
 
were rescued from St. Petersburg, Russia in July 2009 suffering in 
terrible living conditions after having been cheated and stranded by 
a recruiter.  The students went to Russia on tourist visas, but were 
promised lucrative jobs.  NORKA, with the support of the Government 
of India's Ministry of Overseas Indians Affairs, rescued and 
repatriated them to Kerala.  Mohan Kumar also said that NORKA played 
a role in repatriating 34 Keralite construction workers from Libya 
where they were stuck after their contracts with an Indonesian firm 
expired. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment:  The fact that virtually every family in Kerala 
relies at least in part on migration for its livelihood has created 
an unusually strong political lobby that pressures the government to 
be proactive on migrants' behalf.  NORKA, however, does not do it 
alone.  The Ministries of External Affairs and Overseas Indian 
Affairs -- especially the staff of India's Embassies and Consulates 
-- are key partners that enable NORKA to execute its interventions 
abroad.  Both ministries also play critical roles in negotiating the 
GOI's labor agreements with Middle Eastern governments that help 
provide protections for Indian migrant workers.  NORKA's work on 
behalf of Keralite migrants, a substantial percentage of India's 
overall overseas population, is an example of successful 
intragovernmental cooperation for migrant protection and advocacy. 
End comment. 
 
SIMKIN