Impact of the Corona virus on Migrants and Migration

In recent times, the movement of people from their place of origin is on the increase. As the days turn and events unfold, there arise more reasons why people should leave their present country for another.

Migration is the movement of people from one region (especially their region of residence or origin) to another for different reasons such as the search for greener pastures, unemployment, economic depression, terrorism, and war amongst others, and the people involved in this movement are known as Migrants.

However, it is imperative to note that the movement of migrants from one region to another suffered a huge setback in the year 2020, which is greatly attributed to the outbreak of Covid19 (Coronavirus).

What is Migration?

Migration is the permanent change of place of residence or environment of origin by a group or group, which excludes such movements as nomadism, commuting, and tourism, all of which are temporary changes in the environment people live and work. This movement often occurs over long distances and from one country to another or one continent to another.

Types of Migration

Migration is generally classified into two broad types: Internal migration and External migration. There are other types of Migration, which include: counter-urbanization, emigration, immigration, and rural-urban migration, but for the aim of this research work, we would be focusing on the main two – internal and external migration.

Internal Migration: This involves the movement of a migrant from one place to another within a state, country, or continent.

External Migration: This involves the movement of a migrant outside their state, country or continent, that is, moving to a new country or continent.

Who is a Migrant?

A person or group of people who relocates to a new country and lacks a common citizenship attachment to their host country. Migrants may leave their country of residence for certain reasons and these purposes may include the search for better job opportunities or healthcare needs. However, for the sake of clarity, it is worthy to note that there is no universally accepted or legal definition of who a migrant is.

Impact of Corona Virus on the Movement of Migrants

The Corona Virus came at a sensitive time for migrants, who happened to be the most affected out of any given population. The coronavirus outbreak impacted the migrants in many ways of which including the impact on their movement which is the key area of study of this research work.

The coronavirus (also known as Covid19) – and measures to contain it – have profoundly impacted mobility around the globe, which, without doubt, led to a near-end decline in the movement of migrants.
The virus which was announced at the end of the year 2019 and wake of 2020 placed the whole world in a series or chain of unprecedented crises and lingering uncertainty with innumerable deaths, general economic breakdown or depression, unemployment, quarantine, unavoidable lockdown, and travel-ban that was imposed globally as an imperative measure to tackle the pandemic.

Among the world populace, the migrants were found to be one of the most vulnerable groups during this period, especially as a result of the lockdown, as their very livelihood seemed to come to a complete standstill.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, there have been concerns as to whether migrants can adhere to recommended measures and safety procedures to help prevent the transmission of the virus, as many migrants along the various stages of their journey may find themselves residing in camps, shelters, or dormitory centers, and facing overcrowded and insanitary conditions.

Saudi Arabia has provided official data on the migration status of individuals who tested positive, showing the differential exposure to the virus of the migrant population. According to the Saudi Ministry of Health, 75 percent of all newly confirmed cases as of 7 May 2020 were among migrants.

Furthermore, one of the safety procedures, among others such as frequent watching of hand, wearing of a medicated face mask, and observation of social distance, put in place to prevent the spread and mortality rate which kept on rising as a result of the coronavirus was the declaration of a lockdown, both national and international. What this means is that no one, including migrants, could move out of their house, not to talk of moving outside their state or country.

Migration has become more of a very difficult journey during the coronavirus pandemic as migrants, who in one way or another came about moving around, were exposed to a lot of health and security risks.

On the other hand, many migrants who had left home already and wanted to return back to their countries of origin because of the coronavirus outbreak, found themselves stranded in a foreign land, for a variety of reasons, including border closures and loss of livelihoods. Continued and increased movements despite coronavirus safety procedures and restrictions and concerns over the virus contraction and transmission have been observed, for example, on the Mediterranean Sea and other traveling routes.

Statistics show that the initial response to the coronavirus outbreak in West Africa, which included the closure of borders amongst others, to a very large extent, impacted the movement of migrants within the region, with flows declining by 39% between January and May 2020, while again increasing between April and May 2021, by 65%.

Conclusion

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, especially when the mortality rate was on a rapid increase, most countries’ borders were partially or completely closed to foreigners because of the coronavirus outbreak. Most countries had placed restrictions on internal movement. Together, these measures significantly limited the movement of migrants around the world and their access to quality healthcare and vaccination against the virus.

The covid-19 virus has negatively impacted the health, livelihood, and security of millions of migrants and refugees worldwide; This post is but a wake-up call to push us to do more to help ease the pain of these individuals.