Migrants continue to present different types of problems when managing entry and permanence in a nation. With the arrival of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, this situation has worsened with the temporary or intermittent closure of borders that has affected a countless number of migrants.

According to a report from the International Organization for Migration (2021), “[in] the first year of the pandemic there were more than 111,000 travel restrictions and border closures around the world that reached their peak in December.”

Entry restrictions are not the same for everyone, according to IOM reports, as long as the Covid-19 health crisis persists, the differences between people who can move and those who cannot will be highlighted even more, which is why it is important to start to focus on the help that can be provided to them, leaving aside stigmatization to begin to see the issue as a humanitarian process.

The arrival of migrants to a certain country not only generates challenges for the migrant at a work or social level due to the stigmatization that is generated on the migrant and it is therefore necessary to delve into the great magnitude that migration has for all countries and more. in these approaching post-pandemic times to prevent discriminatory measures from being installed in the territories.

Refugees and immigrants

To mitigate the problems that countries may be presenting in the face of the response and request of a large number of people to enter their territories as a result of the various conflicts that the world faces, it is important to focus on the health issue resulting from COVID so that This is not consolidated as a new instrument of human exclusion and classification. Aspects that end up affecting both applications for Refuge and immigration entry.

Social organizations in this process play a vital role in ensuring human rights and promoting that states provide humanitarian solutions that allow people, regardless of their condition, to be welcomed and integrated, providing access to health, easy housing, employment and education with the objective of contributing to their integration and contribution to the not only economic but comprehensive construction of the new place. In the case of Refugees “Enabling refugees to benefit from national services and be included in national development plans is essential for both refugees and host communities and is consistent with the promise of “not leaving “no one behind” of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” (UNHCR, 2022). And in the case of migrants, seek their documentation so that they can exercise their rights and be included in democratic processes that allow them to develop a dignified life.

Measures to help migrants and refugees

Several of the measures adopted to help these people trapped in the middle of these health crises are the following:

• Information for the migrant population: many of the IOM missions issue information that contributes to the prevention of COVID-19 among the migrant population, translating this information into their own languages.
• Direct help to migrants: This help has been provided by delivering personal and household hygiene items and even giving financial aid to compensate a little for their economic problems.
• Assisted Voluntary Return: the IOM has facilitated them from several countries where they have been trapped, making them return to their country of origin if they so wish.

IOM (2020) emphasizes the need for inclusive approaches for migrants in the response to COVID-19, as well as addressing the particular needs and vulnerabilities of migrants, regardless of their migration status and in the spirit which includes universal health coverage. “The fight against the pandemic cannot be won without including the migrant population.”

Sources

Chiriac, M. (08 de 04 de 2021). Naciones Unidas. Obtenido de Noticias ONU: https://news.un.org/es/story/2021/04/1490622

OIM. (02 de 07 de 2020). Obtenido de ¿Que se ha hecho para ayudar a las personas migrantes durante la COVID-19?: https://rosanjose.iom.int/es/blogs/que-se-ha-hecho-para-ayudar-las-personas-migrantes-durante-la-covid-19

OIM. (2021). Obtenido de Por una migración benéfica para todos: https://www.iom.int/es/migration/sobre-la-migracion

UNHCR ACNUR. (2022). Obtenido de Asilo y Migración: https://www.acnur.org/asilo-y-migracion.html

UNHCR ACNUR. (2022). Obtenido de Marco de respuesta integral para los refugiados: https://www.acnur.org/marco-de-respuesta-integral-para-los-refugiados.html