Kerala's gulf connection, (1988-2011) : economic and social impact of migration / by K. C. Zachariah

The Gulf or the Middle East has been the proverbial land of milk and honey for the average Malayalee. Generations have grown up hearing fabulous tales of the 'Gulf Malayalee', a creature who is now firmly ensconced in popular consciousness through movies and works of fiction. While popular imagination has endowed an almost mythical quality to the land, the truth behind the hardships that every migrant undergoes has been rarely documented.

Kerala's Gulf Connection, 1998-2011, situates the phenomenon of migration from Kerala to the Gulf in its economic and social contexts. Based on migration surveys carried out by the authors, the volume is a comparative study of the surveys carried out in 1998, 2003 and 2008. It looks at the changes migration has brought about in the lives of the families left behind by the migrant. It shows how the changes affect all aspects of life from the types of houses they live in, to ownership of household gadgets and vehicles, and fuel used for cooking. The book also draws attention to the social implications of migration in the chapter on Gulf wives and its impact on them as they remain in Kerala, managing home and hearth while the husbands live and work in the Gulf.

This book also carries a two-part epilogue. The first analyses the panel data from the 1998 and 2008 surveys. The second evaluates the results from the most recent survey conducted in 2011 that throws light on migration during the global financial crises of 2008 and its aftermath on employment in the Middle East. The volume will be useful to students and scholars of migration studies, economics, and development studies. It will also be of interest to policymakers and bureaucrats.