Paper long abstract:

The importance of remittances from migrant laborers to the economies of the Central Asian Republics has received considerable attention over the last two decades (Marat, 2009; Reeves, 2012). In 2016, remittances from migrant workers to Kyrgyzstan accounted for USD 2 billion, or 30.4% of GDP, the second highest proportion for any nation after Nepal (World Bank, 2016). The earnings of migrant laborers contribute to stabilizing families and the overall economic situation in Kyrgyzstan. However, few studies have examined the relationship between the absence of migrant parents from the home and children's overall well-being: Might there be costs to children such as lower educational attainment due to the absence of parents in the home?

Research has demonstrated the importance of parental presence and involvement in schooling for achievement (Salzman, 1987; Kunz, 1995; Amato & Gilbreth, 1999; Rosenzweig, 2000; Pong, Dronkers, & Hampden-Thompson, 2003). Parents not only speak with their children, teach and guide them through their daily interactions, but also assist their children with "the language of schooling" (Clinton, Hattie, & Dixon, 2007). Considering the large proportion of children with migrant laborer parents (38% sampled from the Jalal-bad Oblast, the region with the highest percentage reporting) (NAEA, 2017), it is important to understand the impact of this aspect of migration on children's academic performance.

Using Grade 4 data from the 2017 National Assessment of Educational Achievement (NAEA) and student survey data, this study examines the relationships between parental migration and academic performance. The NAEA is nationally representative and assessments are conducted in the Kyrgyz, Russian, Uzbek languages. In addition to the tests, a 30-item questionnaire collects background information on home and family life, socio-economic status, including information about parental migrant status. To determine the relationship between parental migration and student outcomes, the effect of migration was isolated by employing an analytic approach that controlled for the impact of other key background variables. With the test scores from the three domains (math, reading, science) serving as the dependent variable, a series of independent variables were analyzed in multiple regression models. The results indicate that having migrant parents (mother, father, or both) was associated with poorer learning outcomes, after controlling for key variables as socio-economic status. This presentation will offer an overview of the methods employed and an interpretation of results. Discussion will pose important questions for policy makers in the republic as they grapple with parental migration issues and educational achievement.

Paper long abstract:

In this paper I will give an analysis of the legal and political system of Russia in relation to migrants from Central Asia. The analysis will include consideration not only of the laws and practices applied by state bodies and politicians, but also I will give some examples from my practice of law in deportation cases. The paper will be based on the deportation cases I have myself represented as a lawyer in Moscow where Tadjik migrants faced deportation in the timeframe 2015-2018. The empirical material is based on my own cases which I represent as a lawyer, activist and human rights defender as well as my own research on Islamic economies and migrants rights in Russia.I will apply De Genova`s theoretical framework to analyse my material and make use of his vocabulary of concepts. With the new changes in the deportation law, it became possible to deport every migrant who would have two administrative violations. The paper will present practical tools and interpretations used by legal beurocrats and judges who are part of the whole deportation system of Russia which is directly connected to political games played between Russia and Central Asia where migration policy serves as one of the main tools to have a strict control over Central Asian governments besides security issues.

Paper long abstract:

Migration processes are very relevant for Kazakhstan and Russia. The imbalance of development between the countries of the region; the transit component of the territory of Kazakhstan and Russia; the complex interethnic composition of countries contribute to the permanent control of the migration policy of the republics.

Most often, labor migrants are called "guest workers", the term has an ironic character. Migrants are people forced to come to work because of a difficult economic situation. In this connection, the public of the host country has a contemptuous attitude towards "guest-workers" as to the spreaders of the "contagion", instigators of the criminal situation and other stereotypes.

While integration and globalization suggest that society will accept this group of people as an equal to itself, and not as a potential threat.

The task of the media is to ensure proper public perception of migration issues: an understanding of the global nature of this topic, an objective assessment of migration processes, a "normal" image of a migrant, etc.

Studies of public opinion have shown that Kazakhstanis hold a neutral stance towards the problems of media coverage of issues on migrants. However, he believes that among migrants it is possible to identify more socially destructive people, for whom control is needed.

In modern Russian publications, the idea of "we" is rather emphasized. And in this case, journalists benefit from the idea of "their" and "others" to attract the audience. According to Russian researchers of this topic, the image of a migrant in the media is a multi-stage design, consisting of personal and editorial settings, stereotypes, oppositions, verbal aggression, etc.

The analysis of the publication in the mass media and social networks of Kazakhstan and Russia allows us to divide the problems of the migration process into themes: crime, international conflicts, interethnic / international marriages.

The role and responsibility of the media in regulating migration processes is to explain the laws and regulations of labor migration and emigration, to inform objectively about migration processes and events related to it, to create a "normal" image of the migrant.

This paper was accepted last year by the was accepted for CESS 2018. But I couldn't take part in the conference. The organization committee allowed me to send it thise time.