"i remember trembling on my mattress during my first couple of nights here, crying myself to sleep."

According to the Economic Survey 2018, Indians are more mobile than they are believed to be. Out of the innumerable number of internal migrants in India, about 15 million documented migrants, more than half of the total number of documented migrants in India, are from Bangladesh. As a result of the scarcity of land and a lack of economic opportunities and social mobility, a number of Bangladeshis choose to move to India. Fortunately, I got the opportunity to interact with a Bangladeshi family living here in Bangalore, working as house help. It was truly intriguing to observe the way in which each family member supports the other and how each one of them cares for and look out for one another. Pinky, a student, shared her family’s story and allowed to me to get the piquing point of view from an adolescent as she catalogued to me how life for her family has changed in the last couple of years.

What made you start a new life in a new country?

My grandmother was diagnosed with a severe illness and there was no one to look after her back in Bangladesh when she was living with my uncle. Every single member of my family was working and my grandmother’s illness was getting worse and worse. We took her to the hospital and waited for hours for the doctor to see her, but we ended up going home. This happened every single day until the lady my mother was working for suggested that we should consider relocating to Bangalore. She said that the doctors in Bangladesh weren’t likely to cure my grandmother because as a result of the lack of educational facilities, they weren’t very educated and didn’t have the right qualifications. The next day, I went to my school’s computer lab and tried to gather research about this large city, almost like a little country, that I had absolutely no idea about. I found out as much as I could and went home to tell my parents. After considering this option, and also keeping in mind that our lives could take a turn for the better if we moved to India, we decided to pack our bags and take the next train to Bangalore.

How easy has it been to make a new life for yourself and your family here?

Definitely not easy. I fell homesick a week into our move here. I remember trembling on my mattress during my first couple of nights here, crying myself to sleep. I am finding it hard to adjust to my new school and often I cannot attend classes as I have to run chores or look after my grandmother as my parents work. But when I do go to school, I get bullied for not being from Bangalore and speaking the local language, Kannada. I dress differently too, and as a result, my peers giggle at me when I enter the classroom. I miss my best friend, Mira, and my old school, but I have to keep telling myself that I am here for my grandmother and the well-being of my family and not for me. What I want doesn’t matter, I just hope my grandmother gets better and my parents are happy. This is the only thing that keeps my going everyday.

What are the main obstacles that being an immigrant causes for you and your family?

For one, Bangalore is way too expensive for us. With the little that we earn, it is hard to buy clothes, food and daily necessities. The culture difference in Bangalore is very different and unique, however, my family had grown up in Bangladesh and this is the first time they have left their country since they were born. The behavior of people and their customs initially came as a shock to us, but we are slowly getting used to it. The food is something we find hard to eat too. We have grown up eating bland food and when we came to know that people add a lot of spices in dishes here, it was quite unsettling.

Have you got any plans to go back home, or do you think you'll stay in the Bangalore forever?

To be honest, things are not looking particularly great right now and I personally would love to go back home. However, I do hope things will get better and I have hope for our future in Bangalore. I always think about asking my parents if we could go home to visit, but I always hold myself back knowing that they would feel sad about not being able to visit as a result of the little money we have.

How did people treat you when you came here?

We were never respected, especially my mother and I. When we travel by bus, we get stared at and the local men sometimes make inappropriate comments toward us. When we took our grandmother to the hospital once, and it was taking too long, my father went up to the front desk to simply ask how long it would be. He was rudely yelled at and was even grabbed by the collar and was told to go back to his country. I wish people would see us for who we are and not by our appearance or where we are from. We are not stealing jobs, or doing anything wrong.

Thank you, Pinky.

In spite of the important role migrants play in a country’s economy, many face issues such as fraud, denial of salaries and abuse. My interaction with Pinky allowed me to understand migration from a whole new perspective, from one of a child and the struggles they face. We often disregard the fact that adults or majors go through challenges, but after this conversation, I realized that people take this fact for granted. Minors face many struggles too and most of the time, they do not voice their opinion. I hope that after today, Pinky feels relieved and maybe also a little hopeful after getting her opinions off her chest and sharing with me her story. I hope that around the world, or at least in India, people are becoming more and more aware that migration is in fact, the most essential tool an economy can use.