Webinar: COVID-19: The Situation of Refugees and Migrants

After months of strict lockdown measures Europe is slowly opening up again. While in South America the coronavirus is spreading like wildfire. The pandemic has limited people’s movement within and across borders, with particular consequences for migrants and refugees. Venezuelans alone number more than three million migrants and refugees living in different South American countries.

How has the pandemic affected vulnerable migrant and refugee populations in both Europe and South America? Do their experiences differ across the continents? And what are the consequences of re-opening?

In this webinar Christine Jacobsen will present the situation of migrants and refugees in Europe, primarily in France. While Pierina Benavente will present how the strict measures taken by South American countries to control the pandemic are deeply affecting Venezuelan migrants and refugees.

Watch the webinar on YouTube.

About the panel:

Christine Jacobsen
is Professor of Social Anthropology and Director of the Centre for Women’s and Gender Research at the University of Bergen. She specializes in the areas of migration, religion and gender.

Pierina Benavente
is a Master student in Global Health, with focus on development of inclusive health policies for migrants and refugees. She is also an intern at LawTransform.

Maria Shishova
is a research assistant at the Sociological Institute at the University of Bergen and an intern at the LawTransform. She holds two master degrees in sociology and east Asian studies. She specialises in the topics of migration and integration, Chinese studies.

Photo credit: Prachatai, on flickr