The impacts of the Oct 7th Hammas attack on Israel and the Israeli subsequent response continue to have deep and ongoing impacts both near and far to the conflict. Our globalized world also means that those who experience those impacts are not even always people from that general region. Migrant workers from Asia were part of the casualties and African migrant workers are now filling the gap.
NPR reports that prior to the Oct 7th attack there were over 30,000 Thai's working in Israel, mostly in agriculture. There, they were able to make around $1,300 a month, which is much more and goes much further in supporting their family than any kind of job they could get back home. But these migrant workers who were in this part of the world in pursuit of a better life found themselves in the midst of the Hammas/Israel conflict. 34 Thai migrant workers were killed and 24 taken hostage. Some of the hostages have since been released, but the violence led the Thai government to encourage its citizens to return home and more than 10,000 Thai nationals have since done so.
The departure of these Asian migrant workers and the Israeli government's decision to bar Palestinians from working in Israel, who at one point made up 20% of Israel's agricultural workforce, has led to a major labor shortage in the Israeli agricultural industry. The military calling up 360,000 military reservists also impacts the available labor pool. Israel's agricultural ministry told CNN that they needed 30-40,000 farm workers in order to maintain agricultural production. In order to find these workers, Israel is now looking to East Africa.
Israel has stated that it is already working to recruit farm workers from Uganda and Tanzania. Some in Kenya expressed concern at this move as the conflict is not dying down; they wanted to know how the Israeli government could guarantee the safety of these migrant workers. Israel has said that additional protections have been put in place to both protect the lives of these workers as well as providing additional workplace protections in response to concerns about historical workplace abuses migrant workers have experienced in Israel.
The labor need Israel is facing is coming at the same time as an unemployment and economic crisis in East Africa. Kenya has an unemployment rate of 5.5% and other countries in the area see the economic benefit of their population going abroad to make higher salaries that they can send back home to support their families. The Malawian government is pledging to send 5,000 young people to meet the Israeli labor needs, and Kenya has similarly promised to send workers.
This situation highlights how migrant workers are often called upon in hard times to fulfill essential duties to support a nation's economic welfare. We can also see how desperate many people’s economic situations are would make an offer like this attractive. These migrant workers are braving an active war zone in pursuit of better incomes and the ability to better support their families. Andrew Chunga, 27, who was part of the first group of 221 Malawians who went to Israel last month said, “This is all about money. I am here for greener pastures…. When I go home, I will be a millionaire.”
Let us pray for these migrant workers. We pray for their safety and that the protections the Israeli government has promised will be realized for these foreign workers.
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