HYDERABAD: The livelihood activities undertaken by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), for the benefit of Rohingyas in Hyderabad and numerous other places in the country, have not been “effective or efficient to improve income or employment”, the UNHCR Evaluation Service laid down in a report.
The report titled ‘Evaluation of UNHCR’s Livelihoods Strategies and Approaches: India Case Study Final Report’ noted that it was the language barriers that primarily deemed these employment campaigns as ineffective.
The timing of these trainings was also blamed, which apparently conflicted with the daytime work hours for many refugees.
The report, through numerous interviews with project staff, employers and refugees, also found that the job placement programmes were unsuccessful as well. The condition is so bad that only 15 of the 540 refugees who were offered jobs maintained them for 6 months or more.
Livelihood partners, like ‘Save The Children’ from Hyderabad, struggled to find employers who were willing to employ refugees rather than Indians even if they had the same experience level.
“Though placements were organised, many refugees either failed to attend them or dropped out due to the lower-than-expected salaries (Rs 6,000 - Rs 10,000).
In some cases, the refugees earned less than the Indians, even when they were doing the same work.
The employers cited their lack of experience as the main reason for this trend,” the report added.
The livelihood programme by the UNHCR is further constrained by its own funding cycle.
The report noted that the funding available to UNHCR India to support refugees was declining, and that, in turn, was having a cascading effect on the efficacy of the said programme.
However, the UNHCR’s support for individual entrepreneurship activities of 230 individuals across Hyderabad, Delhi and Mewat has thrown up positive results. “A majority of these entrepreneurs were still in business at the time of the evaluation. The refugees expressed general satisfaction with the individual entrepreneurship activities,” the report said.