The European nations have been hosting a huge number of migrants and asylum seekers over the past decades utilizing their skills, professions, capabilities and many other advantages to build up their economy with the lowest expense possible, but most of the mentioned nations are ignoring these vulnerable communities amid COVID-19 outbreak.
Ramzy Baroud, a senior journalist, author, and editor, criticized most of the European countries for their irresponsible approach towards asylum seekers and migrants amid the novel coronavirus outbreak in the continent.
He further drafted a detailed report published by the Middle East Monitor to clarify how some nations, including Portugal, have not ignored the vulnerable migrants in the current hard days and how some other European countries have not paid required attention to health of refugees and migrants.
"As soon as the COVID-19 pandemic began spreading its tentacles throughout China and eventually to the rest of the world, the World Health Organization (WHO), along with other international groups, sounded the alarm that refugees and migrants are particularly vulnerable to the deadly disease," he wrote in his report.
“We strongly emphasize the need for inclusive national public health measures to ensure migrants and refugees have the same access to services as the resident population, in a culturally sensitive way,” Dr. Santino Severoni, Special Adviser on Health and Migration at WHO/Europe implored governments throughout the continent.
More than 120,000 ‘irregular’ migrants and refugees have landed on European shores in 2019 alone, a large percentage from war-torn Syria.
Having hundreds of thousands of people navigate dangerous terrains or held under inhumane conditions in various camps and detention centers without proper medical care is already bad enough. It is far worse, however, that these vulnerable groups are now enduring the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic without much government attention, a centralized strategy, or even safe shelters.
Euronews reported last month on the story of 56 people arriving on the Greek island of Lesbos, coming mostly from Afghanistan and various African countries.
Just as the coronavirus was peaking in Europe, these unfortunate escapees of war and poverty arrived to find that they have no protection, no assistance, and no prospect of any help arriving any time soon.
One Afghan refugee said that the group was left fending for itself, for fourteen days without any support, not even gloves or masks.
But not all European countries neglected the refugees, partially or entirely. Although one of the poorest European countries, Portugal has decided to legalize all of its undocumented refugees and migrants, therefore, providing them with the same medical attention and support as its own citizens.
Below, is a quick look at how European countries treated refugees and migrants since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Spain
Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and other Council of Europe member states suspended deportation of refugees to their own countries.
For its part, Spain has finally emptied its Centros de Enternamiento de Extranjeros (CIE), the notorious detention and deportation centers that have been criticized by various human rights groups in the past.
59% of all refugees and migrants to Spain were reportedly held in the CIE. By early April, however, that percentage had gone down to zero, according to Italian newspaper, Corriere della Sera.
It remains unclear, however, if and when CIE will resume their activities or if Spain will review the status of refugees and migrants who have been slated for deportation prior to the outbreak of the virus.
Portugal
Spain’s precautionary measures are different from those of its neighbor, Portugal. The latter will treat all refugees and migrants, who have pending applications as permanent residents, starting July 1.
The government decision was meant to secure refugees’ and migrants’ access to public services during the coronavirus outbreak.
“Applicants including asylum seekers need only provide evidence of an ongoing request to qualify – granting them access to the national health service, welfare benefits, bank accounts, and work and rental contracts,” Reuters reported.
A spokesman for Portugal’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, Claudia Veloso, summed up the logic behind her government’s decision in a language that is, sadly, quite alien to the pervading European political discourse on refugees: “People should not be deprived of their rights to health and public service just because their application has not yet been processed. In these exceptional times, the rights of migrants must be guaranteed.”
Italy
One of the countries that has suffered most as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Italy has a significant population of refugees and asylum seekers, numbering 300,000 by the end of 2018.
On March 12, due to the closure of courts across the country, the Italian government suspended all hearings and appeals relevant to asylum seekers. It remains unclear when the pending status of refugees will be reviewed, considering the high death toll and the degree of economic devastation that have afflicted Italy in recent months.
Although, by law, all foreigners in Italy have access to the country’s healthcare system, “many asylum seekers fear to go to hospitals if undocumented, or face discrimination or language barriers,” Refugees International said last March.
“All this will make it harder to detect the virus in a highly vulnerable population,” the refugee advocacy organization added.
France
The fate of France’s refugees and undocumented migrants has worsened, not only because of the spread of the coronavirus but also because of the government’s haphazard and uncaring response.
A sizable number of France’s refugee and migrant communities are minors who arrived to the country without being accompanied by adults. The French government has been criticized repeatedly in the past for failing to address the issue of child refugees and migrants. Shockingly, the government’s behavior was hardly altered by the spread of the coronavirus, leaving children in a legal limbo during the world’s worst healthcare crisis since the Spanish flu in 1918.
“The treatment of these children by the authorities was already unacceptable before the epidemic, and today it is not only intolerable but also dangerous,” Benedicte Jeannerod, France director at Human Rights Watch warned in March.
“The authorities should urgently address this and provide these children with shelter and access to essential services to stop the spread of coronavirus in this already vulnerable group,” he added.
Germany
In the Ellwangen camp in Southwest Germany, the EU Observer reported that “nearly half of the roughly 600 people at (the) refugee camp … have tested positive for Covid-19, but are being forced to share facilities with everyone else.”
“We stayed in the same building and flat as people who had been tested positive for two days. We used the same kitchens and had meals with them. Because of this neglect, we will also get corona,” a refugee at the camp told The Guardian.
The refugees’ biggest concern in Germany is not pertaining to their legal status and potential deportation, but to medical neglect as well, as detention camps are overcrowded and refugees are getting infected with the virus in droves.
While some European governments speak of human solidarity, and, as in the case of Portugal, back their words with actions, others remain as unbenevolent and as unkind as ever.
Neglecting the refugees while fighting to halt the spread of the coronavirus is as foolish as it is inhumane. The last few months have taught us that provisional and self-centered strategies do not apply in the cases of global healthcare crises.
The mistreatment of refugees by some European countries, however, should not come as a complete surprise, for vulnerable refugees have suffered immense hardship while seeking a safe haven on the continent for many years.
In fact, Europe seems to have run out of solidarity for its own so-called ‘European community’, leaving poor EU members, such as Italy and Spain battling the deadly virus alone, without extending a helping hand or, at times, even mere words of sympathy.
As of April 29, the total number of people infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) around the world surpassed 3 million 138 thousand 919, according to the data released by coronavirus research centers.
The death toll is over 218,000.
956,064 patients have recovered.
US is leading in the world in terms of the largest number of infected people (over 1 million confirmed cases). 59,266 deaths were reported.
Then comes Spain which confirmed 232,128 cases so far. The total number of deaths in Spain is 23,822.
Spain is followed by Italy which reported a total of 201,505 cases. 27,359 patients have died.
The next is France, overtaking Germany, with a total of 165,911 cases and 23,660 deaths.
UK overtook Germany with most confirmed cases (161,145). 21,678 patients have died in the UK.
Germany has confirmed 159,912 cases and 6,314 deaths.
Turkey confirmed 114,653 cases. The deaths comprise 2,992.
In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, central China. WHO declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus a global pandemic and named the virus COVID-19.
According to the data of the World Health Organization, coronavirus cases have been confirmed in more than 210 countries and territories.
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