“We all know that while no one is immune from the Covid-19 virus—and people of all types have caught the virus and died from it—it is the world’s most vulnerable communities that have suffered disproportionately from the pandemic,” said Michael Kugelman, Deputy Director and Senior Associate for the Wilson Center’s Asia Program. He spoke at a recent Wilson Center event on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on refugee communities. As of 2019, 1 percent of humanity was displaced. That’s more than 79.5 million people. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the vulnerabilities of these people. “The health pandemic is fostering a new pandemic of poverty,” said Matthew Reynolds, Regional Representative for the U.S. and the Caribbean at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The current pandemic’s impact on the livelihoods of forcibly displaced persons has both spotlighted and widened existing inequality gaps, said Jennifer Poidatz, Vice President for Humanitarian Response at Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Most refugees will not have a job to return to and will soon lack access to “safe and dignified shelter,” said Poidatz. As Merissa Khurma, Program Manager for the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program, noted, with many host governments prioritizing the COVID-19 pandemic, the refugee issue is being put on the back burner. Border closures, along with the shutdown of the informal commerce economy has forced many refugees to return to situations of violence and instability.

There will be even greater reliance on assistance from governments and international NGOs, especially with inevitable disruptions in remittances, a major source of income for refugees, said Manzoor Hasan, Executive Director of the Center for Peace and Justice at BRAC University. On top of that, there is a dire need for better public healthcare and distribution of hygiene supplies. “The pandemic has really created an emergency within an emergency,” Poidatz said, “and actually, in some cases, when you look at a place like Bangladesh, a triple emergency because you have the natural disasters that occur, many of which are in a refugee context.”

Traditional Refugee Crisis: Rohingya in Bangladesh

According to a recent Amnesty International report, crowded refugee camps may become epicenters of the pandemic if immediate action is not taken. The Rohingya population in Bangladesh reside in the world’s largest refugee camp, said Reynolds. This more “traditional” refugee crisis, in which most live in an isolated camp apart from the general population, means they face increased risk of transmission due to cramped conditions and limited healthcare. Although the strict lockdown to prevent the virus from spreading through the relatively isolated camp has resulted in a successful 80 percent reduction in coming and going at the camp, the pandemic is only getting started.

Mistrust among the Rohingya poses a big challenge. “I think, from what we gather, the refugees are not being able to rely on the information that they are getting,” said Hasan. This lack of trust has fueled a widespread misperception of the pandemic and a fear of getting tested. However, increased communication and the Bangladeshi government’s restoration of internet services in the camp would improve the situation, he said, and allow for better health and sanitation services.

Modern Refugee Crisis: Syrians in Host Communities

The Syrians fall under the category of a “modern” refugee situation. The vast majority of Syrian refugees live in urban areas, intermixed with the host communities in Turkey (3.6 million), Lebanon (about 1 million), and Jordan (over 650,000). These refugees generally live in poverty on the margins of society and face loss of employment, livelihoods, shelter, and nutrition. COVID-19 has intensified abject poverty rates, gender-based violence, and xenophobia, said Reynolds.

The virus also shrank an already fragile source of refugee income, the informal labor market, said Omar Kadkoy, Policy Analyst at the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey. Informal employment was already associated with exploitation and inadequate wages. The economic downturn more negatively affected Syrians than native Turks. Kadkoy’s research revealed that the refugee population has experienced greater unpaid leave and unemployment rates. Because refugees are considered easily disposable, lack vocational training and/or educational qualifications, and don’t have work permits/labor rights, he said, they are more likely to be let go than native Turks.

The pandemic also makes it hard for refugees to access education. In Turkey, about 47 percent of the refugee population is 18 years old or younger. Research shows, however, that a large number of Syrians are not able to use the online curriculum that was launched in Turkey to compensate for missed schooling, according to Kadkoy. Many refugee students do not have access to the necessary technology and internet services to continue their education. This should be taken as a point of action for the international community, among other best practices, including social services and financial support for both the refugee and host communities, Kadkoy said.

Stay and Deliver

UNHCR has managed to maintain its continued commitment to “stay and deliver,” said Reynolds. UNHCR is currently providing emergency funds through the Global Compact on Refugees as well as emergency assistance including shelter, sanitary supplies, food, and financial aid. In the longer term, Reynolds said, solutions need to center around localized humanitarian assistance, increased access to services and education, legal livelihoods, and tackling the underlying political causes of forced displacement. Short term goals include the dissemination of accurate information, improved infection prevention, and establishing quarantine/public hygiene regimes. Assistance needs to be fully inclusive to help both refugees and the host communities that may have fragile or unstable health, welfare, and education systems, said Reynolds. “The disease doesn’t know boundaries and doesn’t know status, so to defeat it, we have to include everyone,” said Reynolds. “That’s where we start.”

Read more:

• Who should take responsibility for refugee and migrant hot spots during the pandemic is discussed in a Wilson Center NOW Interview with James Hollifield.
  
• The world’s women and girls, and populations impacted by racism and discrimination will will be hit hardest by the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Could providing water for the most vulnerable help stop the pandemic?