SUVANNABHUMI (수완나부미)

Korea Institute for ASEAN Studies (부산외대 아세안연구원)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

The COVID-19 Pandemic and the 'stranded' Migrant Population: An Unequal pain

  • Received : 2021.09.19
  • Accepted : 2022.06.30
  • Published : 2022.07.31
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

This article aims to determine the vulnerability of migrant populations to COVID-19. Between March 2020 and November 2021, informal interviews with respondents who were stranded in various parts of the world were conducted through Skype and WhatsApp. COVID-19 endangers millions of individuals who were stranded between their homes and their destinations - and who were compelled to reside in overcrowded accommodation where the ideas of "stay home," "keep safe," and "social distancing" have little significance.

Keywords

References

  1. Ahmed, Zobaer. 2020. Coronavirus: Bangladesh's garment industry risks collapse. March 25. https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-bangladeshs-garment-industry-risks-collapse/a-52917410?bclid=IwAR2ufEcmDO2W9rldEanFaCZRs4asIaKfALCf_Vv4e24dHkBlegzXZh3GF1M (Accessed April 5, 2022).
  2. Al Jazeera. 2021. To counter China, India pursues vaccine diplomacy in South Asia. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/1/21/india-pursues-vaccine-diplomacy-in-south-asia-to-counter-china (Accessed April 5, 2022).
  3. Anzai, Asami, Tetsuro Kobayashi, Natalie M. Linton, Ryo Kinoshita, Katsuma Hayashi, Ayako Suzuki and Yichi Yang. 2020. Assessing the impact of reduced travel on exportation dynamics of novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(2): 601. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9020601
  4. Arkin, Daniel, Fichtel, Caitlin and Walters, Shamar. 2020. The lost year: How Covid-19 left many Americans 'stuck in time'. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/lost-year-how-covid-19-left-many-americans-stuck-time-n1252152 (Accessed April 5, 2022).
  5. Avato, Johanna, Johannes Koettl, and Rachel Sabates-Wheeler. 2010. Social security regimes, global estimates, and good practices: The status of social protection for international migrants. World Development, 38(4): 455-466. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2009.10.003
  6. BBC News. 2022. Wealth of world's 10 richest men doubled in pandemic, Oxfam says. January 17. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60015294 (Accessed March 1, 2022).
  7. Bhattacharya, Amit. 2021. Covid-19: Deaths in 2nd Wave Cross 2 Lakh at Daily Average of Over 2,000. The Times of India, 11 June. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/covid-19-deaths-in-2nd-wave-cross-2-lakh-at-daily-average-of-over-2000/articleshow/83414459.cms (Accessed March 29, 2022).
  8. Bedford, Juliet, Jeremy Farrar, Chikwe Ihekweazu, Kang Gagandeep, Marion Koopmans, and John Nkengasong 2019. A new twenty -first century science for effective epidemic response. Nature, 575(7781): 130-136. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1717-y
  9. Bizimungu, Julius. 2020. IMF officially declares global economic recession. March 28, 2020. https://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/imf-officially-declares-global-economic-recession (Accessed A pril 4, 2022).
  10. Bloomberg. 2020. The Money's Not Coming Home: $690 billion Remittance Risk. April 8. https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/the-moneys-not-coming-home-690-billion-remittance-risk-2134951?fbclid=IwAR3xW6ITsKWhA7UJ0LX6yL0l77Diky08 335NprLs95UzOTxtz97IQpQNGXg (Accessed April 4, 2022).
  11. Bloomberg. 2022. More Than 11.1 Billion Shots Given: Covid-19 Tracker. March 27. https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-vaccine-tracker-global-distribution/ (Accessed April 4, 2022).
  12. Center for Migration Studies of New York. 2020. April 4. Policy Developments. https://cmsny.org/cms-initiatives/migration-covid/ (Accessed April 4, 2022).
  13. Chattoraj, Diotima and Ullah AKM Ahsan. 2022. Labour Mobility and Foreign Direct Investment: India during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Unpublished and under Review.
  14. Chattoraj, Diotima, AKM Ahsan Ullah, and Mallik Akram Hossain 2021. "The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Travails of Rohingya Refugees in the Largest Bangladeshi Refugee Camp." In Brian Doucet, Rianne Van Melik and Pierre Filion (eds.) Community and Society, Bristol University Press. Volume 1: 165-174.
  15. Chan, Jasper Fuk-Woo, Shuofeng Yuan, Kin-Hang Kok, Kelvin Kai-Wang To, Hin Chu, Jin Yang, Fanfan Xing. 2020. A familial cluster of pneumonia associated with the 2019 novel coronavirus indicating person-to-person transmission: a study of a family cluster. The Lancet, 395(10223): 514-523. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30154-9
  16. Chen, Marty. 2020. To die from hunger or the virus. An all too real dilemma for the poor in India and (elsewhere). Retrieved from https://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/die-hunger-or-virus (Accessed April 4, 2022).
  17. Choolayil, Anoop. C., and Laxmi Putran. 2021. The COVID-19 Pandemic and Human Dignity: The Case of Migrant Labourers in India. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, 1-12. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-021-00185-x
  18. Condon, Jon. 2020. Coronavirus impact stalls imported beef supply chain in China. February 11. https://www.beefcentral.com/trade/coronavirus-impact-stalls-imported-beef-supply-chain-in-china/ (Accessed April 4, 2022).
  19. Dhillon, Amrit. 2020. Divided Delhi under lockdown: 'If coronavirus doesn't kill me, hunger will'. March 30. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/mar/30/divided-delhi-under-lo ckdown-if-coronavirus-doesnt-kill-me-hunger-will (Accessed March 28, 2022).
  20. Dhungana, Nimesh. 2020. Human dignity and cross-border migrants in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. World Development, 136(105174). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105174.
  21. Dong, Ensheng, Hongru Du, and Lauren Gardner. 2020. An Interactive Web-Based Dashboard to Track COVID-19 in Real-Time. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 20(5): 533-534. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30120-1
  22. Dustmann, Christian, Albrecht Glitz and Thorsten Vogel. 2010. Employment, wages, and the economic cycle: Differences between immigrants and natives. European Economic Review, 54(1): 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2009.04.004
  23. ESCWA, UNHCR and ILO. 2020. Impact of COVID-19 on migrants and refugees in the Arab Region. Beirut: ESCWA. (Accessed April 4, 2022).
  24. FAO. 2020. Migrant workers and the COVID-19 pandemic. http://www.fao.org/3/ca8559en/CA8559EN.pdf (Accessed April 4, 2022).
  25. Fasani, Francesco, and Jacopo Mazza. 2020. A Vulnerable Workforce: Migrant Workers in the COVID-19 Pandemic. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, EUR 30225 EN, ISBN 978-92-76-18958-9, doi:10.2760/316665, JRC120730. (Accessed April 4, 2022).
  26. Freier, Luisa Feline, Soledad Castillo Jara, and Marta Luzes. 2020. The Plight of Migrants and Refugees in the Pandemic. Current History, 119 (820): 297-302. https://doi.org/10.1525/curh.2020.119.820.297
  27. Gardini, Gian Luca. 2020. The World Before and After Covid-19-Intellectual Reflections on Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations. Stockholm: European Institute of International Studies.
  28. Gauttam, Priya, Bawa Singh, Bawa, and Jaspal Kaur. 2020. COVID-19 and Chinese Global Health Diplomacy: Geopolitical Opportunity for China's Hegemony? Millennial Asia, 11(3): 318-340. https://doi.org/10.1177/0976399620959771
  29. Gensini, Gian Franco, Magdi H. Yacoub, and Andrea A. Conti. 2004. The Concept of Quarantine in History: From Plague to SARS. Journal of Infection, 49(4): 257-261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2004.03.002
  30. IATA Pressroom. 2020. Updates COVID-19 Financial Impacts Relief Measures Needed. March 05, 2020. https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/pr/2020-03-05-01/ (Accessed April 4, 2022).
  31. ICAO. 2021. Effects of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Civil Aviation: Economic Impact Analysis. September 14. https://www.icao.int/sustainability/Documents/Covid-19/ICAO_coronavirus_Econ_Impact.pdf (Accessed March 18, 2022).
  32. ILO. 2020. COVID-19: Impact on migrant workers and country response in Thailand. Geneva: ILO.
  33. IOM. 2020. Covid - 19 Impact on Stranded Migrants. Geneva: IOM.
  34. IOM. 2021. COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Output - 22 February 2021. https://migration.iom.int/reports/covid-19-travel-restrictions-output---22-February (Accessed April 4, 2022).
  35. Johns Hopkins University, JHU. 2020. Coronavirus Resource Centre. https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html (Accessed March 28, 2022).
  36. Kampf, Gunter, Daniel Todt, Stephanie Pfaender, and Eike Steinmann. 2020. Persistence of coronaviruses on inanimate surfaces and their inactivation with biocidal agents [published online February 6, 2020]. Journal of Hospital Infection, 104. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2020.01.022.
  37. Koh, David. 2020. Migrant workers and Covid-19. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 77: 634-636. https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2020-106626
  38. Kottai, Sudarshan. R. 2020. Migrant workers and the politics of mental health. Economic & Political Weekly, 55(31):39-45.
  39. Kumar, Claire. 2021. A year on, migrants' vital contributions to the Covid-19 response must drive lasting reforms. March 5. https://odi.org/en/insights/a-year-on-migrants-vital-contributions-to-the-covid-19-response-must-drive-lasting-reforms/ (Accessed March 18, 2022).
  40. Legrain, Philippe. 2020. The Coronavirus Is Killing Globalization as We Know It. March 12, 2020. https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03 /12/coronavirus-killing-globalization-nationalism-protectionism-trump/ (Accessed April 4, 2022).
  41. Mashal, Mujib, Tomory Asadullah and Najim Rahim. 2020. In Afghanistan, Coronavirus Complicates War and Peace. March 16. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/world/asia/afghanistan-coronavirus.html (Accessed April 4, 2022).
  42. Mathieu, H. Ritchie, E Ortiz-Ospina. 2021. A Global Database of COVID-19 Vaccination. Nature Human Behaviour, 1-7.
  43. Misra, Pooja, and Jaya Gupta. 2021. Impact of COVID 19 on Indian Migrant Workers: Decoding Twitter Data by Text Mining. The Indian journal of Labour Economics: The Quarterly Journal of the Indian Society of Labour Economics, 64(3): 731-747. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41027-021-00324-y
  44. Neumayer Eric, Thomas Plumper and Matthew Shaikh. 2021. The logics of COVID-19 travel restrictions between European countries. Social Science Quarterly. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ssqu.13016
  45. Oneworldindata. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccinations. https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations (Accessed April 04, 2022).
  46. Pueyo, Tomas. 2020. Coronavirus. The Swiss Cheese Strategy, November 08. https://tomaspueyo.medium.com/coronavirus-the-swiss-cheese-strategy-d6332b5939de. (Accessed April 4, 2022).
  47. Pulla, Priyanka. 2020. Covid-19: India imposes lockdown for 21 days and cases rise. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m1251 (Accessed April 4, 2022).
  48. Richter, Felix. 2021. COVID-19 has caused a huge amount of lost working hours. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/02/covid-employment-global-job-loss/ (Accessed April 4, 2022).
  49. Roslan, Wani. 2020. Labour Department Counters Closed Until Further Notice. March 25, 2020. https://borneobulletin.com.bn/labour-department-counters-close-until-further-notice/ (Accessed April 4, 2022).
  50. Sainath, Parth. 2020. Urban India didn't care about migrant workers till 26 March, only cares now because it's lost their services. Firstpost, May 13. (Accessed March 28, 2022).
  51. Sanchez, Gabriella and Luigi Achilli. 2020. Stranded: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Irregular Migration and Migrant Smuggling. Issue 2020/20. European University Institute: Migration Policy Centre.
  52. Sen, Amartya, Rajan Raghuram, and Abhijit Banerjee. 2020. Huge numbers may be pushed into dire poverty or starvation...we need to secure them. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/coronavirus-india-lockdown-economy-amartya-sen-raghuram-rajan-abhijit-banerjee-6364521/ (Accessed March 28, 2022).
  53. Sensen, Oliver. 2016. Kant on Human Dignity. Berlin: De Gruyter.
  54. Singh, Sanjay. 2020. Migrant workers crowd Anand Vihar bus terminus to return to their villages. The Economic Times, March 28. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/migrant-workers-crowd-anand-vihar-bus-terminus-to-return-to-their-villages/articleshow/74863940.cms (Accessed March 28, 2022).
  55. Sirkeci, Ibrahim and Yucesahin, Mustafa Murat. 2020. Coronavirus and migration: Analysis of human mobility and the spread of COVID-19. Migration Letters, 17(2): 379-398. https://doi.org/10.33182/ml.v17i2.935
  56. Smolyak, Alex, Giovanni Bonaccorsi, Andrea Flori, Fabio Pammolli, and Shlomo Havlin. 2021. Effects of mobility restrictions during COVID19 in Italy. Scientific Reports, 11(21783). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-01076-x.
  57. Sohini Sengupta and Manish. K Jha. 2020. Social Policy, COVID-19 and Impoverished Migrants: Challenges and Prospects in Locked Down India. The International Journal of Community and Social Development, 2(2): 152-172. https://doi.org/10.1177/2516602620933715
  58. Sufian, A. J. M. 2020. Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) - The Lesson We Should Not Let Slip Through Egoistic Cracks. Dhaka: Unpublished.
  59. Suhardiman Diana, Jonathan Rigg, Marcel Bandur, Melissa Marschke, Michelle Ann Miller, Noudsavanh Pheuangsavanh, Mayvong Sayatham and David Taylor. 2021. On the Coattails of globalization: migration, migrants and COVID-19 in Asia. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 47(1): 88-109. DOI:10.1080/1369183X.2020.1844561.
  60. Taylor, Diane. 2020. Coronavirus Update: Rundown of Impacted Tours and Airlines. February 25. https://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/Coronavirus-Update-Rundown-of-Impacted-Tours-and-Airlines (Accessed April 4, 2022).
  61. Ullah, AKM. Ahsan. 2010. Rationalizing Migration Decisions: Labour Migrants in South and South-East Asia. Aldershot: Ashgate.
  62. Ullah, AKM. Ahsan. 2014. Refugee Politics in the Middle East and North Africa: Human Rights, Safety and Identity. London: Palgrave McMillan.
  63. Ullah, AKM. Ahsan. 2016a. Rohingya Crisis in Myanmar: Seeking Justice for the 'Stateless'. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 32(3): 285-301. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986216660811.
  64. Ullah, AKM. Ahsan. 2016b. Globalization and the health of Indigenous peoples: From colonization to self-rule. New York: Routledge.
  65. Ullah, AKM. Ahsan. 2018. Geopolitics of conflicts and refugees in the Middle East and North Africa. Contemporary Review of the Middle East, 5(3): 258-274. https://doi.org/10.1177/2347798918776751
  66. Ullah, AKM Ahsan and Diotima Chattoraj. 2022. Covid-19 pandemic and the migrant population in Southeast Asia: Vaccine, diplomacy and disparity. Singapore: World Scientific Society.
  67. Ullah, AKM Ahsan and Shahidul Haque, Md. 2020. The Migration Myth in Policy and Practice: Dreams, Development and Despair. Singapore: Springer Nature.
  68. Ullah, AKM Ahsan and Huque Ahmed Shafiqul. 2019. Migration led by Demoralization in Bangladesh: Sense of Insecurity-based Decision-making Model. Asian Journal of Comparative Politics, 5(4): 351-370. DOI: 10.1177/2057891119867140
  69. Ullah, AKM Ahsan and Jannatul Ferdous. 2022. The Post-Pandemic World and the Global Politics. Netherlands, Singapore: Springer.
  70. Ullah AKM Ahsan, A.A. Kumpoh and Haji-Othman Noor Azam. 2021a. COVID-19 vaccine and international relations: new frontiers of vaccine diplomacy. Southeast Asia: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 21(1): 1-14.
  71. Ullah, AKM Ahsan, Lee Shirley Chin Wei, Hassan Noor Hasharina, and Nawaz Faraha. 2020a. Xenophobia in the GCC countries: Migrants' desire, dream and despair. Global Affairs, 6(2): 203-223. https://doi.org/10.1080/23340460.2020.1738951
  72. Ullah, AKM Ahsan, Mallik Akram Hossain and Diotima Chattoraj. 2020b. Covid-19 and Rohingya Refugee camps in Bangladesh. Intellectual Discourse, 28(2): 791-804.
  73. Ullah, AKM Ahsan, Mallik Akram Hossain, and Kazi Maruful Islam. 2015. Migrants' Rights and Gaps in Protection. In Migration and Worker Fatalities Abroad (pp. 35-66). Palgrave Pivot: London.
  74. Ullah, AKM Ahsan, Faraha Nawaz and Chattoraj Diotima. 2021b. Locked up under Lockdown: The Covid-19 Pandemic and the Migrant Population. Social Sciences and Humanities Open, 3: 1-6.
  75. Ullah AKM Ahsan, Haji-Othman Noor Azam and Daud Mohd Kathrina. 2021c. COVID-19 and shifting border policies. Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 21(2): 1-14.
  76. UN DESA. 2020. International Migrant Stock. https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/content/international-migrant-stock (Accessed March 18, 2022).
  77. United Nations. 1948. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. December 10.https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/. (Accessed March 18, 2022).
  78. United Nations. 2020. COVID-19 and People on the Move. Policy Brief. New York: United Nations. (Accessed March 18, 2022).
  79. WHO. 2020. WHO Announces COVID-19 Outbreak a Pandemic? Geneva: WHO. March 12, 2020. http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-emergencies/coronavirus-covid-19/news/news/2020/3/who-announces-covid-19-outbreak-a-pandemic (Accessed April 4, 2022).
  80. Willsher, Kim. 2021. France grants citizenship to 12,000 Covid frontline workers. The Guardian, September 9. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/09/france-grants-citizenship-to-12000-covid-frontline-workers (Accessed March 28, 2022)
  81. Yan, Wudan. 2020. Early-career scientists at critical career junctures brace for impact of COVID-19. April 7. https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2020/04/early-career-scientists-critical-career-junctures-brace-impact-COVID-19# (Accessed April 4, 2022).
  82. Yang, Shiming. 2021. Rising-Power Competition: The Covid-19 Vaccine Diplomacy of China and India. National Bureau of Asian Research, March 19. Available at: https://www.nbr.org/publication/rising-power-competition-the-covid-19-vaccine-diplomacy-of-china-and-india/ (Accessed March 14, 2022).
  83. Yoyboke, Erol. 2020. Five Ways COVID-19 Is Changing Global Migration. March 25. https://www.csis.org/analysis/five-ways-COVID-19-changing-global-migration (Accessed April 4, 2022).