SAAD AAMIR (He/Him)
The myth of Atlas has fascinated people since antiquity— a man condemned to bear the crushing weight of the world for eternity. Much like Atlas, migrant workers from developing states carry a similar weight. They do so through remittances: sending money to their home countries. The culture of remittance is a lifeline for the world's poor, and an immense burden on the shoulders of migrants living overseas.
The sheer magnitude of remittances is extensive. In 2021 remittances were three times the amount of all global foreign aid, reaching a staggering $780 billion. Many economies in the developing world receive over 10% of their GDP through remittance alone. Entire economies, communities, and families depend heavily on the money migrants send home.
These funds create a ripple effect in the developing world. They benefit the people receiving the funds but also aid the wider community and economy by injecting cash in local markets. Remittance is a key driver of socioeconomic growth in the poorest regions of the world. A world without remittances is not inconceivable, but in such a case, already frail economies would deteriorate. There would be even less social mobility and hundreds of millions of people in poverty would suffer.
Even after migrants have established themselves in a new country, integrated into a different culture, and started families in their newfound home they continue to remit huge amounts. The reasons why so many migrants send large sums home are diverse. Most people remit funds to ensure the survival of their families. Many migrants leave their partners, children, and siblings behind who they continue to support financially. Older parents and partners often lack savings and the capacity to work to sustain themselves; in many cases, they are completely dependent on remittances.
Self-interest also plays a role with many people sending money to invest in land, livestock, and maintaining a good reputation. Migrants continue to have strong cultural, spiritual and familial ties to their native land. Many of them seek to return home to a more prosperous household, and to a family that still loves them.
There is a deeply ingrained culture of remittance that intersects categories such as religion and family structures. For example, many Muslims and Christians consider charity and family to be a pillar of their faith and view remittance as a moral obligation. This results in huge amounts being sent home to families and charitable institutions. My own family sends money to Pakistan every month to fund initiatives that educate children and aid the poor in our home city Nawabshah.
Families save up what they can to send their youngest and brightest overseas to give them a better chance in life, and tell them ‘do not forget us’. And they do not. Even during recessions, global shocks and pandemics, remittance continues to grow. A recent survey conducted by Octopus Research revealed that most South Asians living in New Zealand remit up to 10% of their income.
The strain on workers who are trying to survive in a country that is alien to them all the while supporting their families on the other side of the world is immense. Sending money to the people, and the country they love bears down on workers until they buckle against that weight. Such a burden is one of the reasons why many migrants work extra jobs like Uber to earn more cash. Such large sums being sent overseas means you never invest in yourself in meaningful ways. The time and energy required to earn that money isolates migrants in foreign countries. For some workers, reliance on remittances leads to a lingering dread about the ongoing need to send money home.
In Greek mythology, Atlas is the personification of the quality of endurance (atlaô). But that is all Atlas is: a myth. The perpetual endurance of migrant remittances is a stark reality. It is unjust to expect a small number of people to shoulder the weight of the third world. Remittances have never been, and will never be, a long-term solution to the plight of the developing world. Frankly, I do not know what the alternative is, or how we can achieve it, but we must envision a world beyond the status quo.
