thiruvananthapuram kerala is leading the way in india in terms of demonstrating how governments should respond to various challenges of migration said elizabeth ferris an expert on international migration from washington dc ferris is in town now on a us state departmentsponsored tour to learn about issues of labour migrationi am impressed by what the state is doing with regard to documenting abuses intervening on behalf of migrant workers and considering how to facilitate reintegration of migrants who return it is a good example being set by state government which is taking a very proactive policy in favour of migrants she said after a meeting with officials from norka roots the planning board and academicians on thursdayferris a research professor with georgetown university who has also served as senior adviser to the un general assemblys summit for refugees and migrants in new york however lamented on the lack of a comprehensive migration policy in india where like in several other countries migration needs to be an integral part of development strategya comprehensive migration policy is vital for healthy bilateral relationships as well you can see that usindia relations are influenced by issues like h1b visa and indians migration to the us international organizations do appeal to india and other countries to have a migration policy to protect their people working overseas the countries need to put pressure on recruiting agencies to be more ethical and make sure that migrants understand the work contracts and their obligations she pointed outhaving worked with migration issues at the global level for a long time ferris holds kerala as a microcosm of the world in terms of migration the state is very dependent on a large population working overseas like philippines and indonesia which give good support to their people working abroad kerala too is very much concerned about their nonresident population abroad i heard from norka officials about issues being faced by migrants in gulf countries and abuse particularly faced by housemaidsthe countries she said should ensure that their people get better treatment in foreign lands the migrant workers could also get trapped in foreign countries during wars or natural disasters there should be better mechanisms to evacuate people during such emergencies she addedferris who has written extensively on refugee and migration issues is planning to write an article on her kerala experience i could include it in the book on global compact for migration i am working on currently and could also use these experiences during upcoming discussions at international forums she saidglobal interventions on migrants issues happen at different levels she elaborated there are human rights groups which stress the rights of migrants pointing out when these rights get abused and pressing the government to intervene there are also regionallevel organizations besides the un global compact for migrationbut the migrants and refugees are not that aware of their rights especially when they are living in a country with different language and culture you dont lose your rights when you cross the