‘Their lives are even more on hold now’: migrants’ experiences of waiting and immobility during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

Several recent studies have examined experiences of waiting and spatial and temporal immobility among refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants. This paper investigates recent migrants’ experiences of waiting and (spatial and temporal) immobility in the context of COVID-19 lockdowns, and against the background of pandemic isolation and boredom. It asks how public health measures affected ‘recently’ arrived migrants’ and how these migrants experienced waiting and immobility differently before and during the pandemic. We argue that differences in recent migrants’ status and housing situations shape how they experience immobility during and beyond the pandemic. This paper contributes to research on immobility in migration by highlighting the importance of diverse emotional geographies of loneliness and frustration; it concludes that immobility is situated along an isolation-to-agitation continuum.

Résumé

Plusieurs études récentes se sont penchées sur les expériences d’attente et d’immobilités spatiales et temporelles parmi les réfugiés, les demandeurs d’asile et les migrants sans-papiers. Cet article se penche sur les récentes expériences d’attente et d’immobilité (spatiales et temporelles) des migrants dans le cadre des confinements dus à la pandémie de COVID-19, et avec le climat d’isolation et d’ennui que cette dernière a causé. Il questionne la façon dont les mesures de santé publique ont touché les migrants arrivés « depuis peu » et comment ceux-ci ont vécu l’attente et l’immobilité différemment avant et pendant la pandémie. Nous soutenons que les différences dans les statuts et les situations d’hébergement des migrants récents façonnent la manière dont ils vivent l’immobilité pendant la pandémie et au-delà de celle-ci. Cet article apporte sa contribution à la recherche sur l’immobilité dans la migration en soulignant l’importance de diverses géographies des émotions concernant la solitude et la déception ; il conclut que l’immobilité se situe au long d’un continuum isolation-à-agitation.

Resumen

Varios estudios recientes han examinado las experiencias de espera e inmovilidad espacial y temporal entre refugiados, solicitantes de asilo y migrantes indocumentados. Este artículo investiga las experiencias de espera e inmovilidad (espacial y temporal) de los migrantes recientes en el contexto de los confinamientos a casusa del COVID-19, y contra el trasfondo del aislamiento y el aburrimiento pandémicos. El artículo pregunta cómo las medidas de salud pública afectaron a los migrantes ‘recién llegados’ y cómo estos migrantes experimentaron la espera y la inmovilidad de manera diferente antes y durante la pandemia. Argumentamos que las diferencias en el estatus de los migrantes recientes y sus situaciones de vivienda dan forma a cómo experimentan la inmovilidad durante y después de la pandemia. Este artículo contribuye a la investigación sobre la inmovilidad en la migración al resaltar la importancia de las diversas geografías emocionales de la soledad y la frustración; concluye que la inmovilidad se sitúa a lo largo de un continuo de aislamiento a agitación.

KEYWORDS:

• Refugees
• asylum seekers
• undocumented migrants
• waiting
• immobility
• COVID-19 pandemic

MOTS CLEFS:

• Réfugiés
• demandeurs d’asile
• migrants sans-papiers
• attente
• immobilité
• pandémie de COVID-19

PALABRAS CLAVE:

• Refugiados
• solicitantes de asilo
• inmigrantes indocumentados
• espera
• inmovilidad
• pandemia de COVID-19

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The policy measures put in place to reduce the impact of the pandemic, of course, differed over time and across countries (e.g., major lockdowns versus more or less strict measures). In March 2020, the four countries involved in our study (UK, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany) declared a strict national lockdown, which was gradually lifted in May and June 2020. It involved the closure of schools and of all non-essential economic activity. After a decline in COVID-19 cases during the summer, infections increased again in all four countries in November 2020 (in Belgium the wave began in September). This led to a second round of national lockdowns, which varied in duration and severity, but were generally less strict (with schools and economic activities being kept open). From that point, new COVID-19 waves triggered new public health measures; however, these generally amounted to partial (termed ‘light’ or ‘clever’) lockdowns (with the exception of the Netherlands, which returned to a strict national lockdown in December 2021).

2. In the UK, asylum seekers are barred from working while their cases are being decided. Additionally, they can only access ‘official’ language classes after 6 months from claiming asylum – an example of enforced waiting. The same applied to the Netherlands (even before the pandemic). This policy has been repeatedly criticized as it wastes asylum seekers’ precious time. In Belgium, asylum seekers have access to the labour market after 4 months of waiting for the procedures. Access to certain vocational training programmes is linked to access to the labour market. While asylum seekers can no longer access the civic integration programme, access to education and other training is possible without a waiting period. In Germany, asylum seekers live in initial reception centres (first part of the procedure) and are not allowed to work (officially) or admitted to language classes. Only asylum seekers who are likely to be approved are allowed to take part in integration classes.