We Are Not All in the Same Boat: Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the Context of COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the existential risks and uncertainties experienced by refugees and asylum seekers on a day-to-day basis. Although the pandemic presents some level of risk to everyone, the world’s refugees and asylum seekers bear a disproportionate burden of risk in the context of COVID-19. Overcrowding in camps, lack of access to medical services, changes to the asylum-seeking process, movement restrictions, and other factors converge to marginalize refugees and asylum seekers. This chapter presents a case study that looks at the experiences of asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border through the lens of a non-governmental organization (NGO) volunteer who has been working in the region throughout the pandemic. By using this case study and secondary level research, the authors seek to provide an understanding of the ways the pandemic has aggravated the challenges refugees and asylum seekers are facing globally, with an emphasis on the US-Mexico region.