For a person, food clothes and shelter are the least basic necessities of his life for the survival. What if even one of these is missing or the country is not able to provide its citizens with these basic things. But what if the government is pressurized due to terrorist explosion, civil war, various social, religious and political differences creating fear among its own citizen? Every country is bound to provide its citizens with its basic amenities but what if the country fails to do so? What if its people start to flee from here to there in search of these needs? This condition generally arises due to the result of war, persecution or social or political pressure. The mass displaced across international border are known as refugees. According to UNHCR, in every minute, 20 persons get displaced. Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar are among the leading countries in the list of displaced across borders. Those who are not able to cross the border due to various issues like physically disabled ones or the ones not wanting to leave the country and property and wait for the situation to get fine, are displaced within their own country but far from the reach of necessities are known as Internally Displaced People. Refugees who are not able to get the citizenship of any country are known as Stateless people. They have no access to any right of any country because for the government they are non-existing. Statelessness is passed on from generation to generation leaving a bad impact on the future of the upcoming generation.
After all this, what could be the worst case scenario? It is that the displaced are forced to leave their everyday normal life and they can’t even return to their country due to the fear, a process known as refoulement because returning might result in the end of their precious life.
From the last few months, the world is going through a war of its own kind. And that is an unknown unforeseen pandemic situation due to the outbreak of a COVID-19. The virus spared none either be it rich or poor, educated or uneducated, younger or older, pretty or ugly. Doctors, nurses and medical experts from all over the world are trying their level best in saving lives and preventing this catastrophic situation. Peoples are made awared of the importance of social distancing, use of masks and sanitizers, being hygienic and to adapt healthy practices to boost up the immunity system of our body.
Amidst the situation, the biggest contemporary challenge for the government of any country is to protect and safeguard their most vulnerable people i.e., refugees. Generally, outsiders that come to a country to seek safety are kept in asylum after the acceptance of their application by the government officials. They come in large number and accommodate in asylums with them. There is no proper facility of privacy and hygiene. Living in poor sanitization and drinking contaminated waters increases the risk of getting affected with variety of infections. Talking about health issues, depression and anxiety are commonly reported due to lengthy asylum-seeking process and poor socio-economic conditions, such as unemployment or isolation. Sometimes due to lack proper documents, they do not have access to the refugee policies of the government. Proper network facility is not something they are familiar with and this also rises the issue of spread of fake news and misinformation among them.
The traumatic pain of refugees during any health crisis is not new. During the outbreak of Ebola virus in Africa many countries restricted the people’s entry from the affected countries without any justification and ignoring the WHO’s which also prevented the arrival of medical facilities. Apart from this, it also increased discrimination against black people. During the 1980s when HIV/AIDS epidemic erupted, a myth emerged in the west about the Haitians accusing them for the origin of HIV/AIDS and spreading in U.S. In response to the 219 Haitian political refugees with HIV/AIDS who had been awaiting authorization to enter the U.S. for nearly a year in the Guantanamo Bay naval base (Cuba), the Senate in 1993 banned the immigration of people living with HIV/AIDS, with the support of 71% of the U.S. population.
The COVID-19 epidemic is just adding another chapter in the history of risks faced by outsiders during catastrophic situation. According to the report of The Conversation, at Columbia-Venezuela border, an array of rebels, criminals and corrupt officials control informal border crossing where they sneak Venezuelans into Colombia in exchange for “taxes” and “forced sex”. Human trafficking groups also prowl the region looking for potential victims, especially children and women, who are sold into prostitution. Another report states that in the deserts of La Guajira, hundreds of homeless Venezuelan migrants are sleeping on trees making themselves vulnerable not only to corona virus but also to violent assault and harassment by criminal groups and youth gangs. Consequently, by late May, over 68,000 Venezuelans had returned to their country.To avoid the spread of the contagious virus, mass evacuation is practiced by the refugees seeking better healthcare facilities. It creates a sense of terror and fear among them due to lack of information. In refugee camps, besides facing overpopulation, refugees possess lower immunity levels due to low quality of food, water and lack of medical provisions. In densely populated camps, it’s nearly impossible to maintain the most effective response of COVID-19 such as testing, social distancing, quarantine etc. Where people share sanitation and washing facilities, it’s nearly impossible to control the spread of disease.
Due to economic instability, refugees would have a major impact on their finances. According to a report in The Conversation the most recent labor market figure for April show that Canada lost nearly two million jobs in sectors like construction, manufacturing, retail trade, accommodation and food services. For refugees and asylum-seekers, a job loss increases their precarity, especially among refugees who have been undergoing a decrease in earnings over the past 15 years in Canada.[2] A vast difference in employment opportunities has been seen between Canadian-born individuals and marginalized groups in Canada.
Since the coronavirus outbreak in United States, immigration authorities deported dozens of infected migrants. In Gautemala, about 17% of the total confirmed cases of the country were the deportees from U.S after which the Guatemalan officials said they would suspend returns from the United States. Haiti, being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere has only 62 ventilator for 11 million people and it recently received three corona positive patients from U.S and the plan was to send another deportees.
“We proudly stand in solidarity with our Haitian brothers and sisters and urge the Trump administration to immediately coordinate with local groups to ensure housing and transportation upon release, and avoid holding asylum seekers in enclosed or densely populated spaces. Rather than be deported where they face serious harm if they fall ill and risk infecting thousands of others, they should be released from detention into the care of their friends and families so that they may safely quarantine” a coalition of 164 human rights and religious organizations said in an open letter demanding the suspension of deportations.
Governments of some countries are using pandemic as a pretext to discriminate refugees and denying them from their basic human rights. Expert says denial of asylum seekers and refugees in Canada from U.S. is illegal and inhumane. Lee Cohen, an immigration lawyer in Halifax, similarly denounced the Canadian government’s decision. He said refugees should be treated no differently at the border than others who are coming to Canada.
India, being a non-signatory country of 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol has its own policy in safeguarding the interest of refugees. It regulates its refugee policy through Foreigner’s Act, 1986. In India, majority of refugees that are registered with UNHCR are from Myanmar (especially Rohingyas) and Afghanistan, with smaller groups from Yemen, Syria, Somalia and other African Countries. According to KirI Atri, Assistant External Relations Officers for UNHCR in India “The needs of refugees are high, but we don’t have the funding to do more. To continue life-saving activities, urgent funding is required to support vulnerable refugees, asylum-seekers and host communities with food rations, cash- support and sanitary napkins for girls and women.” In India, another problem by them is that they are running out the savings and are left with no money to pay to their landlords. Some negotiations with landlords had worked but now landlords themselves are fighting for their own survival. Financial crisis is not the only problem for refugees but this pandemic has sickened them. While they have access to medical facilities, health centers have started requesting for proof of address for contact-tracing purpose and absence of which is abandoning them in taking advantage of such facilities . Language and cultural differences are also acting as barrier. While health advisories issued by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization have been translated in their languages but still due to lack of education and misinformation, it is difficult to aware them and if somehow it reached it is nearly impossible to maintain social distancing in the slums.
As the number of refugees increases, their protection against disease can only be safeguarded through resettlement into better living conditions and robust asylum procedures that protect human rights. Thousands of refugees will die if they remain in camps with no means of accessing vital health care.
On decision of Canadian government, migration researcher, Steven Vertovec says that migrants deserve empathy. Whether they are refugees, newcomers or migrants, they are front-line workers who not only sustain the Canadian economy but also allow others to remain safely isolated at home. Therefore, it’s imperative that federal and provincial governments consider the unique challenges faced by immigrants and refugees as they implement policies to help people in Canada recover from the impacts of the pandemic.
In force in 196 countries, the International Health Regulations stipulates that prevention and the response to the international spread of the disease is to be commensurate with risks and avoid unnecessary interface with international traffic and trade(Article 2) , and will guarantee “full respect for the dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons” (Article 3). According to Article 42 of the regulations, all measures must be adopted in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner. A panel of independent experts suggested that , based on the experience with the Ebola crisis, the WHO should be given the power to sanction states that do not comply with its rules and regulations, since undue restrictions cause serious social, economic and political damage to the countries most affected.
The Constitution of India guarantees certain Fundamental Rights to refugees i.e., right to equality (Article 14), right to life and personal liberty (Article 21), right to protection under arbitrary arrest (Article 22), right to protect in respect of conviction of offences (Article 20) , freedom of religion (Article 25) , right to approach Supreme Court for enforcement of Fundamental Rights (Article 32) . Refugees can also seek help through Article 51(c) of the Constitution of India (State shall endeavor to foster respect for international law and treaty obligations in the dealings of organized peoples with one another; and encourage settlements of international disputes by arbitration PART IV FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES).
Due to increasing rate of unemployment, there is a slight increase in the crime rates. Women and girls refugees are more vulnerable to human trafficking and sexual harassment. Strict actions must be taken towards the culprit. The effect of lockdown restrictions prevents UNHCR staffs from being physically available at every place, they are mostly dependent on local volunteers. Communities must show solidarity in this pandemic duration. Volunteers should be trained with some basic medical treatment so that they can help residents in their own community and work according to the plan of the Health Ministry.
Change of mindset is considered as a most important. This can be a turning point where there is an opportunity to engage with refugees in a new and innovative way. Private sector can collectively promote self -reliance and can promote durable solutions for safety of refugees in the pandemic. Private sectors can collaborate with the government which will help to provide new policies, financial tools for refugees.
"We have a legal and moral obligation to protect people fleeing bombs, bullets and tyrants and throughout history those people have enriched our society."- Juliet Stevenson