Gajimet Safaraliyev: “If migration policy isn’t organized, we’ll have to find and bring people by ourselves”

Interview by Vestnik Kavkaza

The October developments in Biryulyovo and subsequent numerous special operations by the FMS and the Interior Ministry which uncovered thousands of violations of migration laws continue to feed social interest in the topic of possible restriction of a migrant inflow to Russia. The head of the State Duma Committee on Ethnic Affairs, Gajimet Safaraliyev, commented on the situation for Vestnik Kavkaza.

-          Legal migration actually sets no problem; the trouble is illegal migration, when employers attract a cheap labour force. Diasporas in Russia do not deal with these people, while they live in inhuman living conditions and work for cents. It turns into a criminal environment. Last year the State Duma adopted laws on obligatory studying of the language, the history of the country and so on. We adopted the law on responsibility of heads of municipal entities, regional officials for prevention of inter-ethnic, inter-confessional conflicts.

Migration issues seriously depend on inter-ethnic relations, so a civilized approach is needed. We need intergovernmental treaties, centers where migrants will be taught the language and history to facilitate integration.

Migrants are different – seasonal, short-term, or those who want to move to Russia forever. So, the approaches should be different in each case. We need to know what professions we need. We have to consider internal migration, when our own citizens move to other regions of the country, if they cannot find jobs in their own region.

-          Does Russia need migrants?

-          It needs migrants because our own labour force is not sufficient. I stand for labour migrants, but I am for a civilized approach to the problem. The migration program should be implemented, relying on the concept of migration policy and the strategy of inter-ethnic relations.

Of course, first of all our own citizens should get an opportunity to live and find a job. We have already seen an outflow of those who used to come from Ukraine and Moldova, now they work in Western Europe. German centers work in Tajikistan, where people are taught the German language to facilitate integration into their society. The Americans provide an active policy.

We have to fight against illegal migrants and build relations with the state, citizens of the states, build civilized relations within the law.

-          Are there any significant shifts in migration processes related to the work within the Customs Union?

-          I cannot say that the Customs Union improved the situation. It depends on the potential of the country from which people come to us. I cannot speak about Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan, but in Kazakhstan and Belarus the economy is developing. If economies become similar, the migration flows will probably reduce. But as differences in the development of economies is present, there will be migrations. If we don’t organize migration policy properly we will have to search for people in the future. We will have to go to Indonesia and other countries to attract a labour force. The ethnic composition of the country will change for sure, but the processes should be controlled. In ye Emirates 80% of the population are migrants, but they manage to control the processes.

-          Can the Russian labour market be overwhelmed if the inflow of unskilled migrants continues to grow?

-          The Russian market doesn’t need unskilled migrants; it needs people with a technical education, who are able to work in the industrial and construction spheres. We should choose specialists and optimize work.

Rossotrudnichestvo should actively work in this direction, as we need our own ideology, we need propaganda of our language abroad so that people experience only positive emotions when they come to Russia. We should make our country attractive. Let them come, we will choose whom we need. If some threats to our country occur, we can restrict the inflow.

But the most important thing is that we should fight the corruption which leads to the growth of illegal migrants’ numbers. Among 15 million migrants in Russia, 11 million are illegal. Is this normal?!

That’s why they cause the indignation which is stirred up by the mass media. People think that migrants come to take something away from them. People don’t like the way they look, while they have no choice because they work and live in inhuman conditions. We must change the situation.

-          Is migration from Central Asia connected with world politics?

-          Do you think somebody is trying to change the balance of ethnic groups in Russia through migration from Asian countries and change its vector of development? I don’t think that there are global minds in the world that control whole countries and regions.

I think the problem is chronic. Migration has existed for centuries – people leave places where life is bad and go to places where it is good. The Soviet Union didn’t face migration, as we had internal migration from the Soviet republics. Today Russia yields only to the US in numbers of migrants. The problems are similar in all countries, but they are settled in different ways. Different countries, different volumes, different mentality, different religions – there are a lot of factors. The problem should be solved through international experience.