Under a flyover near the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh (UP) border in Ghazipur, eight-year-old Guddi was trying to engage her three younger siblings in play on a hot Thursday afternoon. "Keep your hands on each other's shoulders and make a circle. Let's all laugh together now," she said. Her siblings, two sisters and a brother, obeyed.
Guddi's family was among hundreds of migrant workers gathered in Ghazipur with the hope of boarding a bus for their villages. Her family is from a village in UP's Hardoi district and had come to Delhi to work in a garment factory five years ago.
Around 2pm, as a food distribution van arrived, she and other children quickly queued up to collect their share. "My mother asked me to engage my siblings until the food van arrives. They were nagging her for food. I will make them eat now," she said.
Hundreds of children of migrant workers like Guddi are on the roads with their parents, struggling to return home after losing their work during the lockdown imposed on March 25 to curb the spread of Covid-19. Braving the scorching heat, without proper food and water, they walk to the city's borders or registration centres to enrol themselves to travel back to their villages.
While parents take care of their belongings, it's the responsibility of the children to collect food and water distributed by good samaritans and NGOs, and look after their younger siblings.
According to the Delhi government's data, as many as 410,000 migrant workers have registered to travel back to their homes. Of them, around 150,000 had already left as of Saturday. A majority of them have left aboard Shramik Special trains, with most of the trains heading to UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Jharkhand. Some have also left aboard buses arranged by the government.
Unaware of what's happening around them, some children think that they are going to their villages for a summer break. "We have walked from our room in Narela to here (Ghazipur). It's tiring. But Baba (father) said we will have to save money for our stay in the village during the summer break. He even massaged my legs when they started aching," said Rani, 9, a class 3 student at a municipal school in Narela. Her family was has been trying to get on a bus to Bhagalpur in Bihar.
Rani's father Deepak said he could not tell his daughter about the circumstances." How do I tell her that I do not have money to take an auto? We are left with only ₹2,000. My factory owner has not paid us for a month and now asked us to leave. I could not even tell her we are not going for a summer break but because of the circumstances," he said.
Some are aware of the financial hardships their families are facing. Roshan (11), a class 7 student in a government school in Bawana, is worried for his family.
"My father's employer had asked him not to come back to work. He was working in a factory there. Mother has also lost her work. We do not even have land in our village in Bhagalpur. I've heard my parents discussing that we will have to work on someone else's land in the village now," he said.
His family managed to cross the Delhi-UP border earlier this week and reached Ghaziabad. From there, they boarded a bus home. "My school friends must be busy with the activities and work they get on WhatsApp from school. I also receive a message of activities and practice work every day from school. But I can't use the phone much now to save the battery and internet for our journey. I hope we manage to collect enough money and return before school reopens," he said.
For many girls, going back to village life means "loss of freedom". Shabana ,14, had come to Delhi in February to get admission in a government school in class 7. "My cousin convinced my parents to send me with her to study in Delhi. She (cousin) and her husband were working in a bag printing unit in Sadar Bazar. I was so happy here. For the first time in my life, I wore a pair of jeans here. It's not allowed at home. But they have lost their jobs. I will have to go back to the village school now," she said. She and her cousin's family had reached Ghazipur on Thursday to board a bus for Badaun in UP.
Experts said it's worrisome that children are going through such difficulties. Nimesh Desai, director of the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences, said the institute's staff has been interacting with migrant families and their children in the backdrop of the pandemic.
"It's worrying to see children taking the role of adults. They are not only taking care of their siblings but also their parents. Many studies have shown children have more resilience than adults. If a natural setting is provided to them at the earliest, there is a possibility these hardships won't affect them psychologically. But if it lasts for a long time, there is reason to be worried," he said.
Authorities at government and municipality schools have flagged concerns about children dropping out . "It's very difficult to contact many of these kids who have left for their states. We tried to provide them academic help before the summer vacations were announced, but could not reach out to many. We don't know where they are and if they will come back," said Vibha Singh, principal of a municipal school in east Delhi.
Ranjana Prasad, a member of the Delhi Commission for Protection of Children Rights (DCPCR), said it's too early to predict if the reverse migration will lead to dropouts in schools.
"We still don't know when schools will reopen. It's possible most migrant families will return when things settle, since there are fewer work opportunities in the villages and a scarcity of schools," Prasad said.
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