4 major challenges refugees are facing due to the covid-19 pandemic and what you can do to help them

Picture this, you have struggled day in and day out to make sure you and your family migrate to a more developed country, or rather a more economically advanced country in the hope for better quality of life. You are working in the informal sector like most of the other asylum seekers who migrated with you and then suddenly everything starts to fall apart when the pandemic strikes. Your job is now at stake, your safety is at stake as you are now in a foreign country with no proper status and hence cannot turn to the government, your children’s education is at stake as your are now wondering whether you can continue to pay for it, let alone bare the cost of buying new electronic gadgets as the world adapts to an online median of education and most importantly you are counting days hoping that you are not sent back to your country or that you don't end up on the streets, your life and your future is now a big question mark. This was exactly the thoughts going on in the heads of millions of refugees and asylum seekers when the pandemic struck and these thoughts continue to linger in their heads even today. Due to a wide range of vulnerabilities like poverty, overcrowded facilities, poor hygiene and sanitation conditions and jobs in which physical distancing are a near impossible task, refugees and immigrants have a higher risk of contracting the deadly COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has spread quickly and widely; the number of cases worldwide has increased rapidly. Many governments responded with an escalating range of policies including widespread business and border closures. These impacts are strongly felt by millions of refugees worldwide. Even before this noxious COVID-19 entered this world and brought along with it this era of misery, this susceptible population was facing a wide range of de facto and de jure restrictions to social and economic inclusion, with challenges ranging from host populations preventing them from being able to obtain decent work to living fragile petrified lives.In addition, refugees’ invisibility to social safety nets, along with rising xenophobia, will only serve to increase their economic precarity in the face of COVID-19.

1) Financial damage 

The financial damage caused by the covid-19 pandemic is something refugees around the world simply can't put into words. Migrants face two major challenges, wherein due to the global economic slowdown the job market is extremely grim and especially the informal sector where countless were instantly fired, studies show that in Kerala, which is a state in India, half a million migrants lost their jobs and had to return back home. Those who managed to keep their jobs are faced with a bigger problem, as most of the refugees work in the informal sectors they are often mercilessly exploited, and they have no option as the refugees are vulnerable. In order to make ends meet, refugees are sometimes forced to resort to negative coping mechanisms like living in overcrowded places, selling of assets, and less food consumption to name a few. The lives of refugees are forever changed and survival has become a challenge for them. Some ways we can make a change to improve their lives are to employ refugees, offer them volunteering opportunities, and donate to the IRC( international rescue committee) to name a few. 

2) Social problems

Now that was just the financial aspect of it but that is just the tip of the iceberg. The pandemic gave rise to numerous social problems for refugees and migrants such as a rapid increase in human trafficking of migrants and refugees, huge psycological impact on displaced children and these migrants and refugees find it next to impossible to access civil societies or organistations that are built to protect refugees, admist lockdowns worldwide. Human trafficking, of especially the children of migrants has seen a steep increase due to the covid-19 pandemic. Most children of refugees and migrants are either left behind at home or are displaced along the journey and due to the pandemic they find it extremely hard to reunite with their parents or access basic necessities such as food, shelter and education back home, this makes them susceptible and vulnerable to human trafficking. A recent study done in the MENA  region, shows that 88 percent of all displaced children are in psychological distress. 

 

3) Healthcare

Many urban refugees are forced to choose between health and livelihoods. A decision that no one should have to make in life. If  they prioritize livelihoods, they risk getting sick and not being able to afford appropriate care, which in turn would also lead to losing their livelihood and even spreading the virus to their family or friends and falling into a deeper pit of financial crisis. But if they prioritize their health, they risk falling deeper into economic precarity and will ultimately lose their livelihood. Usually refugees in camp are provided with medical treatment but due to the deadly COVID-19 these services have been disrupted. Take Greece for example—a country where refugees are denied medical treatment by the government—aid groups have been restricted from entering camps and providing assistance, which has led to many refugees contracting the virus and other diseases.Without strict COVID preventative measures the virus can easily spread. This kind of outbreak can be catastrophic and calamitous because many refugees face a lot of chronic, respiratory and heart diseases and they also have low levels of sanitation.

4) Xenophobia and discrimination

Picture this, you are a refugee who has travelled far to escape the bloody detrimental war and works day and night to provide for your family only to be trapped in a whirlwind of bigotry and discrimination.

COVID-19 has brought along with it a huge economic and health crisis, which has resulted in an increase of xenophobia and discrimination. Due to previous experiences we can safely say that pandemics and xenophobia work together, people blame foreigners for disease spread and spread hateful thoughts. Pandemics cause economic recessions which in turn lead to less development for refugees because in times of economic slowdown host countries tend to focus more on the national population and their needs. As COVID-19 raises xenophobia and discrimination, the possibilities for refugees to find decent jobs decrease, thus further pushing them into a pit of financial hardship.