Fight against exploitation - Berlin Mitte honours Saravanan Ganesan with Ehrenamtspreis

Working up to 288 hours a month for a net salary of around 1,000 euros in catering or delivery services. Saravanan Ganesan wants to take action against these working conditions for migrant workers in Germany, that ist why he founded the association AFRIW e.V. "Having witnessed the struggles many migrant workers face – often in silence and isolation – I feel a strong calling to create safe spaces where they can be heard, supported, and empowered," says Ganesan, describing his cause.

He gives workshops for Indian students and young professionals to inform them about their rights, documents their working hours and informs them where and how they can lodge complaints. He also helps individual victims of exploitation by accompanying them when they file a complaint, providing them with counselling and helping them to find jobs with fair working conditions. Together with a lawyer, he advises Indian students and skilled workers and is also involved in the Migration Council of Berlin Mitte.

Since workers who suffer from exploitation often do not even make a complaint, Ganesan conducted interviews to gain a better insight into the working situations of migrants. The results led to a case study entitled "Project MALABAR". "It highlights how a transnational network of perpetrators in Berlin exploits students, job seekers, and skilled workers. It examines their modus operandi and how they exploit the system to traffic skilled laborers from India under the migration and mobility agreement," says Ganesan about the study. He presented the results in workshops to employees from the Landeskriminalamt and Zoll (customs), among others.

The honourable mention award is also an expression of the "power of education and determination", says Ganesan, who came to Viadrina from India in 2005 for the Master of European Studies study course and completed his Master's in International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (IHL) in 2019/2020. "I was particularly inspired by the IHL Master's programme. It is more than just an academic pursuit; it shaped my desire to understand and advocate for the rights of vulnerable people," he says, looking back. The study course also gave him the tools to deal with complex legal and humanitarian issues. "My determination motivates me to use these tools to help victims and uphold human dignity." A commitment that the Berlin borough of Mitte has now honoured as one of three projects.

Frauke Adesiyan