Covid-19 – How the stateless virus is affecting stateless people

I had every intention of posting new blogs at the usual twice-monthly rate as the Covid-19 outbreak started.  After all, now that I am in lockdown and not commuting to work, would I not have much more time for this and all manner of other (indoor) activities? I had not appreciated how much head space would be taken up with getting used to this new world, to being in lockdown, to not seeing family and friends.  It’s hard to concentrate on anything other than the virus taking hold around the world.  It’s hard to focus on everyday activities and maintain a semblance of ordinary life.

Writing this blog, I am still thinking about Covid-19, because it’s still impossible not to think about Covid-19.  I focus on how the virus is impacting stateless people and those without a legal identity.

 

Taking care of ourselves and stopping the spread

The precautions against becoming ill with coronavirus and stopping the spread of Covid-19, such as maintaining hygiene, washing hands regularly, social distancing and living under lockdown conditions are becoming commonplace.  Despite this, many are still becoming ill and many are dying.  As I write, the global death toll is over 100,000 and the number of confirmed cases is nearing 2 million ¹.

In many Western countries, although there is a shortage of personal protective equipment, ventilators and hospital beds, we have a robust enough healthcare system.  Healthcare provisions exist.  Our nurses, doctors and carers, as well as other key workers, are doing all they can to provide for those who become seriously ill.

Social distancing has been key.  Staying at home, staying away from people.  As schools close, online teaching is being used to make up the shortfall in children’s education.  The UK, for example, is organising food vouchers for those children that would otherwise be eligible for free school meals.

 

Same but not equal

It has been said that this is a virus that does not discriminate.  But it is becoming increasingly clear that although this may be the truth, it is not the whole truth.  From key workers treating ill patients, to those keeping shops and pharmacies open, to bus, taxi and train drivers getting those key workers to work: many people are risking their lives to help improve ours.

Since the pandemic started, many with precarious, low paid, or seasonal work have lost that work and the income that came with it.  That means no food for their family, the stress of not being able to make rent or mortgage payments, the threat of eviction and homelessness.  And then there are those for whom having a home does not mean having a safe haven, those who live in situations of domestic abuse or elderly people who live in benign, but multi-generational, homes where isolation for the most at risk is not an option ².

Conversely, just as it is true that anyone can get the virus, it is also true that some people are in a better position to protect themselves from it.  Those who can work from home, those that can get food delivered, or have easy access to shops that are away from crowds can protect themselves more easily.

 

The challenge for stateless people and those without a legal identity

As the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion rightly points out, there are many groups who cannot benefit from the protection some us may be taking for granted.  Some of the most vulnerable people include:

“refugees and other displaced populations, minorities and indigenous persons, persons who are homeless or without adequate housing, persons with disabilities, and (undocumented) migrants, including immigration detainees.” ³

Many stateless people and many people without a legal identity will struggle to comply with the hygiene and social distancing requirements.

“Nationality acts as an enabler right or a gateway”

explains the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion ⁴.  Stateless people often have limited or no access to healthcare provision and immunisation programmes ⁵.  Stateless and undocumented children are often already excluded from a state’s education system.  No distance learning provisions will be available for them.  I have written before about what it means to be stateless and the exclusion faced by stateless people here.

As Minority Rights Group International points out: ⁶

“If you are stateless, you are invisible to the state, but you are not invisible to the virus”

Vulnerable stateless populations include those in Myanmar, Ivory Coast, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Dominican Republic.  When it comes to those who are undocumented, as many as 1.1 billion people globally are without legal identity.  I have written more generally about the impact of this and the barriers undocumented people face here.  It is not surprising that the UN is calling for extra protection for vulnerable groups.  This includes providing migrants, refugees and stateless people with full access to health services and to be included in states’ responses to Covid-19, including through prevention, testing and treatment ⁷.

 

At heightened risk

Stateless people (along with migrants and refugees) living in refugee camps are at heightened risk of falling ill because of their living conditions.  Camps are overcrowded, sanitation is poor and the doctors are few ⁸.  In camps in Syria, there are approximately 1.4 doctors per 10,000 people.  In Greece, camps that should hold only 1000 people hold six times as many.  Even doing basic household chores, like cooking, are a hazard.  Cooking over an open fire in an enclosed space is a known cause of respiratory problems ⁹.

Equally, those in detention are already suffering from overcrowding, lack of space to socially distance or self-isolate and limited access to sanitation facilities.  No country is immune from these challenges, as can be seen from the call to release from detention immigration detainees recently made by the Australian Society for Infectious Diseases and the Australian College for Infection Prevention and Control.  In Australia there are some 45 stateless people in immigration detention, just over a hundred living in community detention and a further 1000 who are on short term visas pending their status being resolved ¹⁰.

The same barriers that manifest themselves when it comes to those without legal identity coming forward are present when it comes to Covid-19.  Those who have been marginalised are often afraid that they will not receive fair treatment from state authorities.  Many are at risk of being arrested if they make themselves known.  Coming forward for testing and medical assistance can be equally problematic ¹¹.

 

Practical solutions to ease the burden

Recognising the risks that irregular migrants, those without a legal identity and stateless people face when coming into contact with state authorities, Ireland has created a firewall between different functions of the state.  In practice this means that its health services can be accessed by those in need who have no lawful status in the country, without patient information reaching the immigration authorities ¹².

Similarly, Malaysia acknowledges the risks for its stateless population during the current crisis.  The state agreed not to arrest those who come forward to be tested but are without identity documents and cannot prove entitlement to healthcare.  Authorities have also waived fees for some treatments to offset the fact that healthcare treatments are often more costly for non-citizens ¹³.

 

More action is needed now

More needs to be done before the impact on stateless people and those without a legal identity becomes a crisis within a crisis.  There are practical solutions that can help, as evidenced by the approached taken by Ireland and Malaysia.  Other countries should follow suit, putting in place appropriate measures to alleviate the burden on marginalised and excluded peoples.

Access to healthcare without negative repercussions is key.  As is release from detention to accommodation that allows for proper hygiene and social distancing.  Ultimately, now is the time for states to become more inclusive and acknowledge that the health and wellbeing of the most marginalised and ignored is the true barometer of the treatment we can all expect in times of crisis.