QATAR
Qatar borders the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia, ruled by an absolute hereditary monarchy. Primarily Qatar relies on oil and gas revenues, which has influenced the country's sustained growth. Its natural gas reserves represent at least 13% of global reserves, making Qatar the third country in terms of gas reserves. Pre-independence oil and gas exploitation imported labour from the Arab Middle East and the Indian sub-continent to work in the oil industry due to the low level of literacy and industrial skills among the Qataris. Modern hydrocarbon extraction, particularly during the oil price hike in the mid to late 2000s, meant Qatar continued to rely on foreign labour and immigrants to increase production. The oil rent guaranteed improved living standards for migrants, protection, and security such as housing grants and accessible health care. Also, the immigrant population increased in recent times due to events such as the massive rise in recruitment of workers by the construction industry to support the infrastructural envelopment of the country following the award of the 2022 world Cup to Qatar. However, migrants have also faced the issues of infringement on labour and human rights and problems of food insecurity.
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RESEARCH on Qatar
MiFOOD PAPERS
JOURNAL ARTICLES
Migrant Remittances, Food Security, and Translocal Households in the Ghana-Qatar Migration Corridor
This paper examines the impact of migrant remittances on household food security in the Ghana-Qatar migration corridor. Drawing on a 2023 survey of migrant-sending households in Ghana and in-depth qualitative interviews with migrants in Qatar, the study explores the characteristics, determinants, and patterns of remitting. The findings reveal that cash remittances play a crucial role in enhancing food security and the overall welfare of households in Ghana. However, the pressure to remit affects the food security of migrants in Qatar ...
The Last Straw? Experiences and Future Plans of Returned Migrants in the India-GCC Corridor
In this article, we explore how precise information about migrants' working conditions in their destination countries impacts their decision to migrate again upon returning home. Using household data from Kerala and Tamil Nadu from 2020–21, we study return emigrants (REM) who returned during the first COVID-19 lockdowns in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Through a binary choice model, we discover that negative experiences in the destination country significantly influence the decision to re-migrate. Specifically, issues with salary payment and ...
RESEARCH PROJECTS
Labour Migration, Remittances, and Food (In)Security in a South-South Context: The Case of Kenya and Qatar Corridor
This project aims to investigate the reciprocal relationship between labour migration and food security in the Kenya - Qatar migration corridor, with a strong emphasis on the gendered dynamics shaping experiences and outcomes in both origin and destination contexts. In alignment with the broader goals of the MiFOOD partnership, the research seeks to interrogate whether the “triple win” of South-South migration, benefiting migrants, sending households, and receiving countries, extends to the domain of food security. The study is particularly concerned ...
Of Dirhams and Dishes: Migrant Remittances, Return Migrants, Middle Eastern Foods, and Contemporary Foodscapes Across the Kerala-Gulf Corridor
This project examines how return migrants, as well as fiscal and social remittances, have contributed to the emergence and expansion of restaurants and eateries serving Middle Eastern food in Kerala. Through this assessment, it explores the connections between the key themes of foodways, food systems, and the productive use of migrant remittances. The project addresses the following broad set of questions: (1) How have return migrants facilitated the establishment and expansion of Middle Eastern restaurants and kitchens in Kerala, and ...
Food Security and Migrant Workers in Qatar
The project is part of the Migration and Food Insecurity in Cities of the Global South project (MiFood Project), which offers the opportunity to expand the network to additional countries including Qatar in the Hungry Cities Partnership that has currently partners in eight countries: Canada, China, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, Mozambique and South Africa. Learn more
South-South Migration: Examining the Links Between Food Security and Migration from Ghana to Qatar
This PhD research study aims to contribute to the emerging literature on labour migration from Ghana to the Gulf with a particular focus on Qatar. In particular, the project seeks to 1) understand the role of food insecurity as a driver of migration from Ghana to the Gulf; 2) examine the coping strategies and food security experience of Ghanaian labour migrants in Qatar; and 3) to assess whether and how migrant remittances from Qatar impact household food and nutritional security ...
BOOK CHAPTER
Impact of COVID-19 on Women Migrant Workers: Case of Domestic Workers in the South Asia-Gulf Corridor
S Irudaya Rajan & Rakkee Thimothy • The chapter examines the impact of COVID-19 on low skilled women migrant workers by taking up the case of domestic workers from South Asia to the Gulf. The chapter builds on the extensive literature on the vulnerabilities faced by women migrant domestic workers and presents evidence of their extreme vulnerability during COVID-19. Their situation is made worse by the paternalistic attitude of the sending countries to protect women migrant domestic workers. At the ...
THESES
South-South Migration: Examining the Links Between Food Security and Migration from Ghana to Qatar
— PhD Thesis — This dissertation contributes to the migration-development literature by integrating food security into the analysis of South-South migration. While migration and development have been extensively studied, the connection between migration and food security remains underexplored, particularly in South-South migration contexts. The dissertation highlights the role of migration as both a coping strategy for food insecurity and a source of vulnerability for migrants in the specific context of temporary labour migration between Ghana and Qatar. Addressing this gap, the research ...