Following the publication of the Winter 2021 special issue, "Climate Change and Migration," Insight Turkey organized a panel attended by academics who are experts in the field and examined the issue in depth.
We hope that Insight Turkey panel on Climate change and Migration will bring a fresh and useful perspective in understanding one of the biggest environmental challenges facing the world and its effects on humans.
Kerala, the southernmost state in India, much researched for its high standard of living and a model of development, largely dependent on international remittances, experienced one of its worst floods in 2018. The state also experiences a peculiar type of labor crisis; where the local population migrates internationally, attracting interstate migrants to compensate for the labor deficit. However, in times of calamities like floods, these unorganized laborers are the worst hit and still the last priority. The media widely reported their mass exodus, unhygienic living conditions, and mistreatment in relief camps during the floods, though the policy responses have been unsatisfactory to date. The paper tries to evaluate the role of inter-state migrants in the socio-economic profile of Kerala and comments on the necessity to include them as a priority in the migration policy discussions, particularly in light of the state’s extreme proneness to natural disasters.