Locked Up Under Lockdown the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Migrant Population

Abstract

Almost all the countries in the world have now enforced coronavirus-related travel restrictions and border shutdowns. Migrant populations in the world are now considered the worst victims of Covid-19, and the spreaders, too. This paper aims to investigate the impacts that COVID-19 has on the population migration. Informal interviews have been conducted with respondents who are stranded in different parts of the world via skype and whatsapp between February and April 2020. COVID-19 poses a threat to the millions who were caught between home and their final destination – and are now living in overcrowded refugee camps where the terms ‘stay home’ ‘stay safe’ and social distancing carry very little meaning.

Keywords: COVID-19, migration, Pandemic, lockdown