How is the Novel Covid-19 Outbreak Drawing Upon Societies Attitude Towards Refugees?

The novel coronavirus outbreak is a pertinent reminder of how globalisation has produced the interconnected world that is contemporary society. It is arguably one of the most salient public health crises for a generation, especially within the European epicentre where case numbers continue to rise, and countries are being placed under lockdown. However, Covid-19 is also highlighting important issues that society was facing prior to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Many people in Britain are panic buying essential items with the belief that they are protecting their families, yet it is ironic that many of these same people judge refugees and asylum seekers for doing whatever they can, even if that means crossing international borders, for the same reason of keeping their families safe and protected in times of crisis. Therefore, how are people’s reactions drawing upon societies attitude towards refugees? How can we learn important lessons from the world’s anxieties felt from such an unprecedented situation? And how is Covid-19 prompting us to come together as a single community?

According to the Overseas Development Institutes (ODI) 2019 country profile of the United Kingdom's public narratives and attitudes towards refugees and other migrants', Britons held the most negative attitudes towards refugee assistance in the European Union. Additionally, one fifth of Britons hold negative views towards refugees and migrants, where immigration is perceived to have undermined British culture and public services. One fifth of the UK's 66 million population translates to around 13 million of the population having a negative or hostile opinion of refugees. This is compared to the mere estimated number of 127,720 refugees that actually make up the population of the United Kingdom.

Refugees cross international borders to seek safety and often become victims of racial hate crime because of their ethnicity. The 2016 Brexit referendum is said to have heightened the rates of hate crime and negative attitudes towards refugees due to the political landmark being characterised primarily by immigration policy as a response to the growing international refugee crisis. Consequently, since the result, racial hate crime has risen, and many incidents reference the referendum based on the result supposedly affirming the perpetrators right to claim the UK as ‘theirs’ or to reclaim a supposed ‘national identity’.

So how does Covid-19 draw upon societies attitudes towards refugees?

The experience of refugees on a level of severity is most certainly incomparable with that of those experiencing the current COVID-19 outbreak but there are certainly points to be considered when looking at the current situation within the UK. A prevalent news story being circulated is that of supermarkets having empty shelves due to panic buying of essential items amidst the coronavirus outbreak, Corona-anxiety is leading young people to fear for their parent's and grandparent's lives and there is an advised restriction on our movement. These should be highlighting and only making us more aware of the everyday struggles that refugees continue to face throughout the world; which is including but not limited to, restricted access to essential supplies, loss of loved ones and restricted movement and the struggle for asylum.

As aforementioned, a large percentage of the population continues to hold negative attitudes towards those seeking refuge and asylum on the British Isles and tighter immigration is often regarded as one of the top 5 most important issues when influencing someone’s decisions within the political sphere. The Conservative majority government recently voted against restoring rights for children refugees to be reunited with their relatives as part of the Brexit withdrawal bill and interestingly Boris and the Conservative majority again voted against giving asylum seekers permission to work if a decision on their application takes over 6 months in 2016. This vote is only now proving to be both detrimental and significant for the NHS as hundreds of refugee doctors have asked for a fast-track of their accreditation in order to help with the saturated hospitals and desperate need for more NHS staff in tackling the coronavirus outbreak.

Additionally, the Norwegian Refugee Council identifies refugee and asylum seeker populations as being left out of disaster and epidemic ‘preparedness planning’ which means that reaching marginalised groups such as refugees and asylum seekers with information on how to control the spread of Covid-19 proves to be incredibly difficult. This is important as the collective health of a society is linked intrinsically to those who are marginalised, limiting the spread of a virus can only be successful if all members of a society are offered equal protections and advice. This is particularly important when considering refugee camps abroad where basic sanitation needs are not widely available, and virus’ can spread at alarming rates.

Covid-19 continues to test our ability to work together as a single community and now, more than ever, people are urged to hold a collective responsibility in controlling the virus from spreading to levels that are unmanageable by the NHS. This simply calls for equal protection for refugees and asylum seekers too. As immigration policy continues to dominate politics, it could be those whom are marginalised and not granted equal rights that are the ones whom are able to support the UK through the Coronavirus crisis.

There needs to be reconsideration of attitudes towards refugees on a human level within both society and politics in order to tackle coronavirus as a driven community against a common challenge and whom offer equality and protection for all.

Refugee Council UK have started an urgent refugee solidarity fund - Click here to read more.