Seasonal work abroad or labour mobility has been a boon for most families in Samoa. People have bettered their lives and helped loved ones improve theirs.

A recent study by UNICEF shows that children are feeling the negative impacts of labour mobility including violence and neglect.

A study released by UNICEF looks at the impact of the Pacific labour mobility scheme on children left behind in Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The study warns that there is an urgent need to mitigate the risks of labour mobility to ensure that children left behind have access to the protection and services they need.

Sadly, despite the financial benefits of remittances from labour mobility schemes, improper management of these funds often leads to insufficient family support and tensions. This has been seen in Samoa.

Particularly concerning the social costs associated with labour mobility, including family breakdowns, exploitation, social isolation, and lack of care for families back home.

The nation is already witnessing increased rates of family violence, child abuse and neglect in labour migration families. There has been increased demand for services, including shelters, for women and children who have experienced domestic as well as family violence.

Social service and child health practitioners interviewed as part of the study commented on malnutrition and sexual violence for children left behind.

Children exhibit emotional distress when separated from their parents, especially when this occurs over the long term and without adequate communication. Emotional distress appears to be affecting behaviour and schooling. Children also need the ongoing support of their family and community to ensure a caring and protective environment.

No parent should depart without adequate care arrangements including financial support in place for their children, and child neglect must be a priority for government and service providers. Guardians must be competent adults rather than other children or elderly family members.

Parents need to be supported to develop communication plans to retain relationships with children. These obligations should be regulated by relevant stakeholders and be a feature of pre-departure training.

Solo caregivers are reporting that they are struggling with disciplining children. In some instances, violence is occurring. The prevalence of violence in migrant worker families needs to be better understood. A child protection response must focus on violence against children.

There are too many cases of neglect and child labour, and some caregivers are perpetrating violence. Children are at risk without adequate support services and structures. Child protection is the responsibility of everyone. The government plays a key role but needs support from service providers and communities.

The number of maintenance orders that are unmet across the Pacific has continued to increase, yet spouses take on work contracts and do not have legal obligations to support their families. There are no agreements between sending and receiving countries on the maintenance orders, leaving children vulnerable.

Samoa urgently needs social protection measures for spouses and families who are left behind. There is a need to consider how these social protection measures can be put in place with the support of church groups and community groups already working in communities.

Children are not attending school as they should. Schooling offers welfare, mobility and self-determination, and every child should have the right to an education.

School administration fees should not be compulsory. School attendance is declining, and school expenses are a challenge. One of the major expenses that labour mobility schemes contribute towards appears to be school fees. If school fees were waived for those who could not afford them, including uniform and lunch costs, this would reduce the burden on caregivers who experience remittance gaps and struggle with educational costs.

School fee waivers would also reduce the need to participate in the labour mobility schemes and allow those who no longer wish to participate to have greater freedom to make that choice. In addition, providing free lunches to poorer children might encourage school attendance and improve children’s quality of life, given that children and caregivers appear to be going hungry. Food insecurity is a major issue for the study participants.

Parenting skills, including discipline skills, need to be developed for young people and those who are not experienced caregivers but find themselves in caregiving roles. Educational programmes need to be developed and resourced.

There is a lot that needs to be done. All of these cannot be done all at once, therefore let’s do this one step at a time.

At the end of the day, children being left behind need to be better protected.