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By Kartik Bhardwaj| Express News Service |Published: 24th March 2023 08:51 PM'Bheed'.

You dont write about the horrors of war. No. You write about the kids burnt socks lying on the road. Richard Prices writing tip finally hits home for director Anubhav Sinha in his latestBheed. He seems to have taken some learnings fromAnek(2022) as well. Firstly,Bheeddeftly avoids crowding ideas. Secondly, he has toned down the preachiness. Most importantly, he lets the images do the talking. But then, he piles up another image conveying the same message. And another is addedbecause he probably thought the previous one didnt quite hit the spot. In a Sinha war feature, there would be socks, shoes, a red dress, and finally the blood-smeared toe of a kid.

Still, Bheed paints a poignant picture of a turbulent period. It starts off with a message appearing on the screen, conveying that the film is telling the story of a time when fake news on Covid-19 was spreading faster than the virus itself. This satisfied my burning query as to why characters were not wearing masks in the trailer. Bheed also comes to the point quickly. It doesnt resort to migrant workers plight-porn. There are no low-angle shots of labourers dizzying under the sun or singing songs of resilience in the back of a truck. Once the stage is set, the action jumps to a state border and is contained there. Director Anubhav Sinhas writing shines when events unfold in restricted environments, like the court in Mulk (2018) or the police station in Article 15 (2019).

Most of Bheed happens around a stretch of road, a vacant shopping mall, and a row of barricades. The plot concerns three types of characters: the affected, the authority and the witnesses. There is a divorced mother (Dia Mirza), who is determined to rescue her daughter from her college hostel before her ex-husband does; a self-serving watchman (Pankaj Kapur) who has taken it upon himself to provide for his family; a father (Omkar Das Manikpuri) who cant let go of the bottle, despite the incessant chagrins of his daughter; a senior cop (Ashutosh Rana), tasked with arranging a Quarantine centre for the incoming crowd, but he is unable to get a bed for his own ailing parents; an inspector (Aditya Shrivastav) who wont rest even during a calamity to make a quick buck, and a news reporter (Kritika Kamra) debating the makings of Incredible India. All of them are concentrated at the state border, waiting to pass through. Each tale, like a wrench, ably tightens the nuts of the narrative. One of them, though, threads through the entirety of the film, and surprisingly, its a love story.

Rajkummar Rao plays Surya Kumar Singh Tikus, a cop from a scheduled caste, in love with Bhumi Pednekars Renu Sharma, a medical practitioner. Sinha had already proved his grip on caste nuances in Article 15. With Bheed, he touches upon something unexplored in mainstream cinema: the psychological trauma of caste discrimination. In a telling scene, after being unable to perform in bed, Tikus confesses to Sharma that since childhood he has been told what to touch and what not to, so when he touches her, his hand trembles. It is a scene that stands on its ground but then Sinhas commercial director genes kick in and we get an unnecessary sequence of the couple making love. Except for cheap titillation, it adds nothing.

Rao plays Tikus with charming humility. His cop is torn between following orders and looking out for his people. Another star act is Pankaj Kapurs Trivedi. The veteran actor embodies the role of a mercurial watchman with humorous volatility. Trivedi is a character who can be parachuted inside a western and wont even feel the difference. Ashutosh Rana and Aditya Shrivastav bring necessary humour to a serious narrative. When Kapurs Trivedi picks up the gun, Ranas senior cop tells Shrivastav, I think we can shoot him now, since he has become a Naxalite. Its an absolute hoot.

Bheed touches upon a lot but leaves out even more. It sticks to being a social commentary and distances itself from political overtones. There is mention of Corona Jihad but no murmur of arrests of members of the Tablighi Jamaat. After the screen fades to black, white texts keep on appearing, in quick succession, informing us of the happenings that werent covered. Stories of migrants dying after a lorry toppled or them being run-over on the railway track. It misses out on a crucial one: No data available on migrants deaths during lockdown, says government in Parliament.

Bheed

Starring: Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar, Pankaj Kapur, Ashutosh Rana, Dia Mirza, Kritika Kamra, Aditya Shrivastav

Directed by: Anubhav Sinha

Written by: Sonali Jain, Saumya Tiwari and Anubhav Sinha

Rating: 3/5 stars

(This story originally appeared on cinemaexpress.com)

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'Bheed' film review: Compelling tale of the migrant crisis, sanitised of any political commentary - The New Indian Express

President Biden on Friday officially announced a new deal with Canada for both countries to be able to turn back illegal migrants at their shared border -- as well as a new global effort to combat fentanyl smuggling.

Fox News Digital previously reported that the agreement means that migrants who attempt to cross illegally between ports of entry into either country will be returned, which officials anticipate will deter irregular migration at the U.S.-Canada border. It updates a 2004 Safe Third County Agreement, which did not deal with illegal immigration.

Additionally, Canada is committing to accept an additional 15,000 migrants over the next year from the Western Hemisphere, as part of its commitments made under the Los Angeles Declaration last year -- which committed nations to a regional response to the migration crisis.

Such a move would be accepted to lessen the pressure facing the U.S. southern border, which has faced a historic migrant surge since 2021.

US SECURES DEAL WITH CANADA TO RETURN ILLEGAL MIGRANTS CROSSING NORTHERN BORDER

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden pose for photos with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau at Rideau Cottage, Thursday, March 23, 2023, in Ottawa, Canada. ((AP Photo/Andrew Harnik))

In a speech to the Canadian Parliament on Friday, Biden said he applauds Canadas commitment to take 15,000 migrants as part of the regional response to the crisis.

"At the same time, the United States and Canada will work together to discourage unlawful border crossings and fully implement the updated Safe Third Country agreement," he said. "Finally, as we advance our shared prosperity and security must never lose sight of our shared values, because our values are the linchpin holding everything else together. Welcoming refugees and seeking asylum seekers is a part of who Canadians and Americans are."

The agreement marks a diplomatic victory for President Biden, who had championed a regional approach to the crisis when he unveiled the Los Angeles Declaration at the Summit of the Americas last year along with other leaders.

"We know that safe, orderly and legal migration is good for all our economies," he said. "But we need to halt the dangerous and unlawful ways people are migrating and the dangerous ways. Unlawful migration is not acceptable, and we'll secure our borders, including through innovative, coordinated actions with our regional partners."

The move comes amid an increase in migrant encounters at the northern border which, while not as substantial as the historic surge being seen at the southern border, has left some authorities overwhelmed, with one sector reporting an 846% increase. Fox News recently reported that Border Patrol was appealing for volunteers to deal with the surge, which was attributed to "Mexican migrants with no legal documents."

There were over 109,000 migrant encounters at the northern border in FY 2022, up from 27,000 in FY 2021. The border, which is 5,525 miles, only has 115 ports of entry.

It comes after the administration announced a new rule last month that when implemented will bar illegal migrants at the southern border from claiming asylum if they have entered through another country without claiming asylum there first.

BORDER PATROL CALLS FOR AGENTS TO VOLUNTEER AT NORTHERN BORDER AMID 846% SURGE IN ONE SECTOR

Meanwhile, the U.S. and Canada renewed their commitments to thwarting the trafficking of deadly drugs like fentanyl -- which is primarily trafficked from Mexico into the U.S. and is responsible for over 70,000 U.S. deaths a year.

In his remarks, Biden called fentanyl, which is 50-100 times more potent than morphine and can be fatal in small doses, a "killer."

"And almost everyone knows someone who has been affected by this, lost a child or lost a friend. Canada and the United States are working closely with our partner Mexico to attack this problem at every stage and the precursor chemicals shipped from overseas to the powders to the pills to the traffickers moving into all of our countries."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Biden said that the U.S. and Canada are announcing "a commitment to build a new global coalition of like-minded countries led by Canada and the United States to tackle this crisis."

"This is about public health," he said.

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Biden announces new northern border deal, fentanyl coalition with Canada as immigration crisis rages - Fox News

RANCHI: The state migrant control room, which was initially conceptualised and set up during the nationwide migrant labourer crisis owing to Covid-19-induced lockdown, has so far managed to successfully rescue around 8 lakh workers from across the globe in the last three years as it turned three on Monday.Even though the Covid-related migrant crisis largely ended after the first two waves, the Jharkhand government's decision to keep the control room functional as part of its safe and responsible migration initiative taking into account the trafficking menace in Jharkhand, has now emerged as the one-stop centre for early bail out of migrant workers in distress irrespective of the geographical locations.The centre is located at Nepal House under the aegis of the state labour department. According to figures, since its inception, it has till date received over 10 lakh distress calls from over 15 lakh people of which more than eight lakh people were successfully reunited/brought back home. Of this, over 1,500 people were brought from offshore countries. The centre also played a crucial role in coordination and rescue of workers during Uttarakhand's Chamoli glacier disaster in 2021 and safe return of students of this state, who were stranded in Ukraine last year after the war broke with Russia.An official of the state migrant control room said, "Initially, we began this centre with 10 volunteers as Covid-response centre to identify and register stranded migrant workers. Today, about 16 people are manning it full time in Ranchi and nine are in three high priority districts."The entire operations and management of the control room is being managed by Partnering Hope Into Action (PHIA) Foundation, which had been working on migration and human trafficking issues in Jharkhand.Johnson Topno, regional head of this programme, said, "Considering the success during Covid-19, the government decided to extend it for its safe migration intervention. In last three years, we achieved some success, but lots need to be done in making safe migration through inter-state government collaborations and effective coordination."On the roles the control room played during the Covid-19, another official said, "Besides registering grievances, the control room played a key role in counselling, and grievance redressal mechanisms to address a plethora of problems. This apart, the control room also help the government in skill mapping of the returning migrants and created information on the sectors and experiences they possess. This helped the government for the first time to get a proper data on the nature and magnitude of the situation of migration in the state." In December 2021, the state government formally rolled out safe and Rresponsible migration Initiative (SRMI) to strengthen crisis management through this control room and build a systemic policy framework to ensure safety, dignity and social security benefits for workers migrating out of the state."Under SRMI, we have so far established safe and responsible migration Ccentres at source and destination states. At present, the SRMCs are set up in three high-out burden districts namely Gumla, West Singhbhum and Dumka in Jharkhand and two SRMCs in selected destination states namely Kerela and Leh are made operationalised. The role of SRMCs is to create awareness among migrant workers, and register them before migration to ensure that the government can keep tabs on their well-being and take corrective steps in need of distress," said Topno.Citing challenges, he said that there is still a long way to go to achieve safe migration. "Enabling systematic registration of migrant workers, monitoring and mapping of evidence on intra-state and inter-state migration through rigorous use of data is still a challenge. This apart, there is a need to create a robust data-driven decision-making policy framework to reduce vulnerabilities and exploitation of migrant workers from Jharkhand for which the state government is already working on plans," he added.

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8L migrant workers rescued in 3 years - Times of India

Position Title : Consultant to conduct qualitative research on the role and impact of Migrant health

Volunteers during health emergencies in Thailand

Duty Station: Home-based

Classification : Consultancy

Type of Appointment : Consultant Contract (3 months)

Desired Start Date : As soon as possible

Closing Date : April 7, 2023

Reference Code : CFA025/2023 (EXT)

Established in 1951, IOM is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants.

1. ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT AND SCOPE:

Migrants are a large and critical constituent of Thailands economy and society, to which their contributions are tremendous, various challenges render migrant populations in the country vulnerable, not least by the ongoing state of peril in their countries of originespecially the crisis in Myanmar that has been imbuing risks for Myanmar migrants to return toand difficulties in accessing essential services, including health care, which could hinder their right to health, the indispensable fundamental aspect of survival, and also forge the gaps in the countrys disease prevention capabilities.

The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated migrants pre-existing vulnerabilities and resulted in continued disparities in access to healthcare services for both documented and undocumented migrants due to language barriers, lack of access to information and health resources, health insurance that could accommodate the relevant costs, as well as security concerns. In addressing these challenges, stakeholders such as Migrant Health Volunteers (MHVs) became beneficial as intermediaries to access the migrant communities by overcoming language and cultural barriers and set in place a network of channels to communicate health information, relevant government health policies, as well as informing the migrants right to health and link them to access to health services.

Despite the MHVs essential role, there were merely 4,000 recognised by the Thai Health Foundation who were expected to cater to 3 million migrant workers, equating to one MHV per 750 migrant workers. During the pandemic, the MHV registration under the Department of Health Service Support increased from 4,000 to 7,000. The rise in number during the pandemic implies the increasing demand. However, the ratio of MHV against the number of migrants was still low. With IOMs continued effort to leave no one behind, we believe strengthening the sustainability of MHVs is essential to foster inclusive public health networks as well as serve as the bridge to connect migrant communities, local communities, and public health services, particularly in the context of post-COVID-19 recovery.

Impact of MHVs during and post-COVID-19 pandemic in workplace and migrant community context

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted Thailands socio-economic conditions. With multiple lock-downs and ad hoc policy implementation in workplaces, migrant workers access to health services and information stemmed from their community (non-direct/ public information pages, colleagues, friends and family) and/or their employers. During the outbreak, MHVs were also regarded as an important, effective actor to support migrant communities in overcoming barriers to accessing health services. However, the case studies and analysis of the impact of MHVs in the workplace as well as in rural areas during and post COVID-19 pandemic is not clearly demonstrated. With different context, advocacy actions shall be tailored to provide an evidence-based paper for both government and employers, specifically on the positive impact of MHV in supporting the dissemination of health information, knowledge on disease prevention, and better communication between government, public health personnel, employers, and the migrant populations.

With funding provided by the Embassy of Japan, IOM is seeking a consultant who possesses expertise and a strong connection with MHV network in active MHV provinces such as Tak and Bangkok, to conduct qualitative research on policy, challenges, and the impact MHVs have had during and post COVID-19. Based on the research and policy analysis report from this project, IOM will consider the possibility of designing advocacy actions focused on MHV sustainability that will lead to the better development in MHV structures and strengthen its network, seek improved engagement of relevant stakeholders, advocate pertinent policies, and, ultimately, to achieve the efficiency and effectiveness of an accessible, sustainable, migrant-friendly healthcare system.

2. RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

Under the direct supervision of the Project Coordinator and the overall supervision of the Migration Health Officer in Bangkok, the successful candidate will undertake a 3-month consultancy with no more than 35-working days to conduct research on impact of MHV during and post COVID-19 in workplace and migrant community in Tak, Bangkok and greater Bangkok areas. Through desk research, key informant interviews and focus group discussions to gather information from all stakeholders such as employers, government authorities, NGOs/CSOs, and MHVs, the responsibilities of the proposed consultancy are to:

The payment will be disbursed based on the submission of deliverables agreed by both parties as follows:

Note: Consultancy fees are inclusive of bank transfer fees for bank account outside of Thailand.

Deliverables in details:

The consultant will deliver key outputs as described above between April and June 2023 with more specific timeframes indicated below:

Time

Deliverable(s)

Day 1-7

Day 10

Day 11-24

30 April 2023

To be discussed and confirmed

30 June 2023

** Please note that the timeframes specified above are provisional.

3. REQUIRED QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE

Education:

Experience:

Languages:

4. DESIRABLE COMPENTENCIES

Values

Core Competencies behavioural indicators

Other

Any offer made to the candidate in relation to this vacancy notice is subject to funding confirmation.

Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment and verification of residency, visa and authorizations by the concerned Government, where applicable.

Only candidates residing in either the country of the duty station or from a location in a neighboring country that is within commuting distance of the duty station will be considered. In all cases, a prerequisite for taking up the position is legal residency in the country of the duty station, or in the neighboring country located within commuting distance, and work permit, as applicable.

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications to the IOM Bangkok Human Resources Unit at e-mail bkkrecruitment@iom.int with rchantarawar@iom.int and abureesirira@iom.int in cc by April 7, 2023 at the latest.

Kindly indicate the reference code CFA025/2023 followed by your full name in the subject line.

Applications should include:

a) Technical proposal (1-2 page)

b) Financial proposal (1-2 page)

c) A curriculum vitae

d) A duly completed IOM Personal History Form which can be downloaded from https://thailand.iom.int/sites/g/files/tmzbdl1371/files/documents/IOM%20Personal%20History%20Form%20with%20Declaration.xls

Posting period: From 27.03.2023 to 07.04.2023

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Consultant to conduct qualitative research on the role and impact of ... - ReliefWeb

Provided by News 360 Archive - Polish agents supervise the border with Belarus. - Europa Press/Contacto/Attila Husejnow

The Polish Border Guard on Tuesday denounced an attack allegedly perpetrated by migrants trying to cross the border from Belarus against a patrol that was working in the area.

''The Dubica Tserkevna checkpoint, where Polish officers are stationed, has been attacked by a group of men coming from the Belarusian side,'' the Border Guard said in a statement released via Twitter. ''These foreigners were not happy about the fact that the Polish border is protected,'' it has asserted.

In this regard, Polish authorities have warned that at least 89 people tried to illegally enter Poland from Belarus, of which twelve managed to turn back while the rest were detained.

On the other hand, the Border Guard has detained nine people from Syria who crossed the border by crossing a river and 22 others in the area of the Bialowieza forest.

Poland has been facing a serious migration crisis on its border with Belarus since autumn 2021, when thousands of migrants tried to enter the territory. In total there were about 40,000 attempts to illegally enter the country.

Source: (EUROPA PRESS)

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Poland denounces migrant attack on patrol on the Belarusian border - msnNOW