In nearly all of the 750 households of Manikapur village in Ganjam, a southern Odisha district, families have been turning to video calls whenever they feel the need to check on their loved ones since war broke out between Iran and the United States\u2013Israel alliance in the last week of February. Almost every family in Manikapur has at least one member working in the Gulf.<\/p>\n
Udayanath Barik, 35, the sarpanch of Manikapur panchayat and himself a veteran of overseas migration, says villagers prefer jobs in Gulf countries because wages are comparatively higher than in India. \u201cAs workers gain experience and learn new things, their salaries rise,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
There is no estimate of the number of people from India or Odisha who are stuck as migrants in the war zone.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/lfr8gt\/article70733824.ece\/alternates\/FREE_1200\/90092_11_3_2026_19_49_48_1_INTERNATIONAL_MIGRATION_18.JPG\" "\\"A")
<\/div>\n\n
A girl is seen at her panchayat office collecting ration for her family, as her parents are working in the Gulf region at Manikapur in Ganjam district, Odisha.
\n | Photo Credit:
\n Biswaranjan Rout\n <\/p>\n
<\/div>\n Manikapur, barely 5 kilometres off National Highway 16, looks almost like a small town set in a rural landscape. The village\u2019s main road, lined with flashy houses, gives the impression of a prosperous settlement. They are homes built by non-resident migrants chasing their dollar-dreams abroad.<\/p>\n Most of the village\u2019s international migrant workers have studied only up to Class 12. As boys step into their 20s, their aspirations stretch far beyond the village, beyond India itself.<\/p>\n Namita Singh, in her 50s, was never much of a news watcher. Whenever she found time, she flipped through entertainment channels. \u201cNow I cannot afford to miss the news,\u201d she says. \u201cThey show updates about the war [in West Asia], where my two sons are. They are both in their 20s. I am always anxious about them,\u201d says Singh.<\/p>\n A housewife all her life, Namita has now learnt to distinguish between bombs and missiles. \u201cMy sons work in Jordan. They send me video clips of their neighbourhood, sometimes showing missiles being intercepted in the sky or debris falling to the ground. Every conversation ends with the same assurance that they are safe,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Her neighbour, Rina Jena, 60, who lost her husband many years ago, no longer needs help from a tech-savvy youth to connect with her son over a smartphone call. Her son, Ramesh Jena, works as a helper and security guard in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n A few houses away, 70-year-old Abhi Nahak speaks loudly, masking his trepidation in front of his wife and the wives of his three sons. \u201cTwo of my sons work near Dubai and another is in Qatar,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen we see missiles flying across the skies on television and hear about attacks in Gulf countries, we always tell them to stay alert and remain indoors. Life is more important,\u201d says Nahak.<\/p>\n \n Old parents of a family are seen at their house as their two sons are stranded in Gulf region for work at Manikapur in Ganjam district of Odisha. <\/div>\n Ajay, 23, who works in Jordan, admits over a phone call that \u201cWorking hours often stretch beyond 12 or even 13 hours a day. As many as eight people squeeze into bunk beds in a 120 sq. ft. room, and the food does not always suit our taste buds. What matters most is the savings from the salary.\u201d What they send back home can range between \u20b920,000 and \u20b960,000 a month.\u00a0<\/p>\n The village sarpanch, who worked in the UAE, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia between 2008 and 2019, took up a range of odd jobs, such as stitching, welding and gas cutting. Over time, he picked up additional skills at the workplace, enabling him to move up to better-paid assignments.<\/p>\n What has changed, he and others say, is that villagers now navigate life abroad with ease. There are several reasons for this loss of fear: smartphones and internet access, past experiences of early migrants, and a greater investment in education and exposure for children whose parents worked abroad, offering them a better quality of life.<\/p>\n 140 Indians, including 60 Telugus, stuck in Bahrain airlifted to Kochi<\/a><\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s not just Manikapur village from where men migrate. Several nearby villages \u2014 Maheswapur, Kaneipur, Luchapada, Kairasi, Vikrampur, Khojapali, Bhikapada, and Chandipitha \u2014 have a large number of migrant workers employed abroad, particularly in Gulf countries. In fact, Khalikote block in Ganjam district is a hub for labour migration to foreign destinations.<\/p>\n Barik explains how the mechanism operates. Local agents and large consultancy firms have long been active in the area. They often place advertisements in local newspapers seeking workers, though in many cases, word of mouth plays a significant role in reaching potential candidates.<\/p>\n These networks do not function in isolation. Young men aspiring to work abroad begin preparing well in advance. Families arrange a consultancy fee between \u20b970,000 and \u20b91 lakh, which typically covers a one-way air ticket and documentation costs. Prospective migrants are usually expected to possess some form of skill certification, either acquired from formal institutions or informal training setups, making the migration process easier.<\/p>\n Most jobs are in the semi-skilled labour categories: stitching, construction assistance, security work, and industrial labour.<\/p>\n \n A grandmother is tense because her grandson has been working in Manikapur, a Gulf nation in the Ganjam district of Odisha. <\/div>\n In Odisha, the aspiration to earn a respectable income abroad is driven by two dominant social factors: building concrete houses in the village to impress and financing expensive marriages for daughters.<\/p>\n Single-storey, 2- to 3-room dwellings are common across rural Odisha. Manikapur, however, presents a contrast. Many houses have been converted into double-storey concrete structures. Steel doors and tiled fa\u00e7ades reflect the villagers\u2019 eagerness to invest heavily in homes that stand out from their neighbours.<\/p>\n While family members send remittances from Gulf countries, those left behind oversee the construction of houses. Once a concrete house is completed, other priorities gradually follow.<\/p>\n Marriages place an additional financial burden on families. In Manikapur, dowry (often referred to as cash gifts) typically ranges from \u20b91 lakh to \u20b95 lakh. Besides cash, gold ornaments, furniture, utensils, quintals of paddy and clothes for relatives are considered essential components of wedding arrangements. A large community feast is also an indispensable part of marriages in this region.<\/p>\n When a government team visited the village to inquire about migrant workers, 65-year-old Mukta Gouda rushed forward with a flurry of questions. She was anxious to know how the ongoing crisis abroad would affect her two sons (one working in Dubai and the other in Russia) and her grandson, who is also in Dubai.<\/p>\n \u201cHad there been robust employment opportunities here, we would not have sent our men abroad. Apart from meeting daily needs, social obligations demand huge expenses. Nearly two and a half decades ago, I had spent \u20b97 lakh and \u20b99 lakh on the marriages of my two daughters,\u201d Gouda recalls, adding that repaying the borrowed money had not been easy.<\/p>\n A survey which has been initiated by Aide-et-Action, an international non-profit organisation, to assess the extent of migration in Manikapur village, has found that 62 members from 61 families enumerated so far are working in other countries.<\/p>\nSons and husbands<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/6v8x90\/article70736497.ece\/alternates\/SQUARE_80\/2026-03-12T122314Z_1096951451_RC203KAV5E5X_RTRMADP_3_IRAN-CRISIS.JPG\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Old](\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/4d8xde\/article70733826.ece\/alternates\/FREE_1200\/90092_11_3_2026_19_40_8_1_INTERNATIONAL_MIGRATION_15.JPG\" "\\"Old")
<\/div>\n
\n | Photo Credit:
\n Biswaranjan Rout\n <\/p>\nExodus and life abroad<\/h4>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/fb3o8u\/article70733828.ece\/alternates\/FREE_1200\/90092_11_3_2026_19_34_47_1_INTERNATIONAL_MIGRATION_14.JPG\" "\\"A")
<\/div>\n
\n | Photo Credit:
\n Biswaranjan Rout\n <\/p>\nSocial mobility and marriage<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/3ulawz\/article70718223.ece\/alternates\/SQUARE_80\/DSC09892.JPG\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/8alw2r\/article70733830.ece\/alternates\/FREE_1200\/90092_11_3_2026_19_6_26_2_INTERNATIONAL_MIGRATION_08.JPG\" "\\"A")
<\/div>\n