Even before the war, few households had access to running water.
George, Moradeke, Luciana… Like them, they are a legion of unknown heroes who face the reality of migration every day.
We never think of them, but public service workers are at the frontlines providing basic services to migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees.
They are the ones who deal, not only with water, sanitation, healthcare, housing, education, and administrative support, but also provide services that are critical in emergency response, disasters, displacement, and reconstruction.
About 258 million people – one in every 30 – were living outside their countries of birth in 2017.
Because of them, the level of public schooling will drop.
Moreover, some private companies are now exploiting what is presented as a migrants’ crisis for profit.
Needs that should be met by public services are delegated to private companies.
As George, Moradeke, Luciana and many others show every day, public service workers and their unions are uniquely placed to facilitate the addressing of global forced displacements happening in our century.
Geneviève Gencianos is the migration programme coordinator at Public Services International.

Because the economy will suffer, we run the risk of a downgrade from the ratings agencies. With #DayZero fast approaching in the Western Cape and the possibility of taps running completely dry, South Africa’s economy could be severely affected if water refugees embark on a mass exodus to other provinces. Added to this, experts say the Western Cape drought also has the potential to widely affect a number of sectors, resulting in South Africa experiencing a downgrade. “When acute water scarcity hits, people have a choice. They either have to live with it or they can migrate,” said University of Free State Centre for Environmental Management Professor Anthony Turton. Turton, a trained scientist specialising in water resource management, pointed to global studies of water scarcity, ultimately resulting in “a study of migration”. “It becomes a push factor in human migration. Environmental scarcity ultimately results in resource capture. “I am speaking to people who own residential complexes in Cape Town. And I am speaking to one person that owns 10 such complexes. One has 300 units. And they are already talking about people breaking their leases and leaving. They are saying they are not willing to go through it. It’s not a far-fetched concept.” Economist Mike Schussler said there is also the potential for big firms moving from Cape Town to other parts in South Africa, including the economic hub of Johannesburg. “We saw with the electricity crisis that South Africa missed out on a lot of growth. A water crisis to me is a few times worse. There’s no rolling blackouts with water. It’s permanent,” Schussler said. “If the crisis is over relatively quickly, I don’t think it would be a…