Migrant workers stranded in Russia flocking to border, 21 September 2020

...People started flocking to the [temporary migrant camp on Russia’s border with Kazakhstan], near the Kinel train station in Russia’s Samara region, in late August from around Russia. The camp is designed for 900, but officials say over 4,000 people are there, including at least 43 children. They all want to get on a train bound for Uzbekistan, but trains run only weekly and can hold around 950 people. Repatriating the camp’s current inhabitants could take over a month, not to mention those who continue to arrive daily.

Migrant workers in Russia were hard hit by the financial consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, and with effectively no social support from the Russian government or their own embassies, many have long wanted to return home. In response to Covid-19, Russia and Uzbekistan, like many countries, closed their borders. Migrants faced erratic and ad hoc repatriation measures. Lacking information and fearing the reintroduction of more stringent travel restrictions later in the year, many have latched on to rumors that they can catch a train home...

Russia and Uzbekistan need to work together to facilitate safe repatriation for those migrants who, feeling abandoned, took it into their own hands to make it as far as the border. And keep them safe while they wait.