Diaspora members, in addition to assistance provided to migrants working abroad, made a significant financial support to hospitals and people in need back home.

It is reported that compatriots living in Philadelphia, USA, purchased twenty-four oxygen concentrators and necessary medicines for further transfer to medical institutions in Kyrgyzstan. Members of the Kyrgyz diaspora living in Pittsburgh also purchased eight oxygen concentrators for community hospitals. Compatriots living in Ohio followed suit and purchased twenty oxygen concentrators and medicines, which were transferred to appropriate medical institutions on the recommendation of the Kyrgyz Ministry of Health. The support did not stop there: compatriots in other parts of the US such as California, Ohio, Illinois and Texas and other parts of the world continued to send support for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Kyrgyzstan, meeting their different needs. Moreover, diaspora members in Russian Federation volunteered in running a toll-free hotline for migrants in the Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic in Moscow. With the help of diaspora in the Russian Federation, thousands of vulnerable were provided with safe places to live, consultations on employment and documentation, and food packages.

In addition, Kyrgyz compatriots who are medical professionals from all over the Russian Federation hurried to help Bishkek, where a concentrated outbreak of coronavirus and community-acquired pneumonia occurred. As a result, more than 35 doctors and nurses have arrived from the Russian Federation to volunteer in Bishkek hospitals.

Upon the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic and as per the agreement between IOM Kyrgyzstan and the State Migration Service (SMS) under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, labour migrants stranded in the Russian Federation were provided with assistance within the framework of IOM. These stranded migrants are citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic who found themselves in a difficult situation, with limited or lacking resources and with no place and money to live. Prior to applying for assistance to the SMS Office, each of them had a job and a housing. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak and quarantine announced in the Russian Federation, migrants lost their jobs, sometimes without payment, and were asked to vacate their housing; and eventually after having made decision to return home, have been stuck at the airports. Diaspora members again did not stand aside and volunteered in assistance provided by IOM Kyrgyzstan, IOM Moscow, the State Migration Service of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic in Moscow. Through their assistance, more than 280 Kyrgyz citizens were placed in hostels and rented apartments in Novosibirsk and Moscow. All those in need were provided with appropriate food, protective equipment, and instructions on the prevention of coronavirus infection.

© IOM 2020