1.5.20
STOP ENDANGERING MIGRANT WORKERS HEALTH
AND LIVES
By
now most of the world living with the pandemic is familiar with the concept of physical distancing as a key
intervention to prevent the spread of the highly infectious virus and deadlyCOVID-19
disease.
People
can catch COVID-19 if they breathe in droplets from a person with COVID-19 who
coughs out or exhales droplets. This is why it is important to stay more than 1
meter (3 feet) away from a person who is sick - World Health Organisation (WHO).
Despite
this there are numerous pictures of low-wage migrant workers being rounded up
in immigration raids or crammed into transport, queues, accommodation or
detention - at dangerous risk to their
health and others.
The
dangerous politics of immigration control and social exclusion are laid bare.
States have produced the context where migrant workers are rendered vulnerable.
There
appears to be little effort by some authorities to even attempt to safeguard
these workers by introducing physical distancing (including by reducing numbers
of people) to minimize the
person – person transmission of highly infectious COVID-19.This callous attitude and discriminatory action towards their health,
safety and lives is truly a low point for everyone in these societies.
Many
low-wage migrant workers are anxious about becoming unwell, especially because
they fear for their future economic security in the global recession.
All
tools to reduce disease transmission must be employed to keep migrant workers
safe including: urgent provision of quality accessible health information about
how to stay safe and protect others, a sanitary environment, provision of free
soap for frequent handwashing to prevent the spread of the disease; sufficient
healthy food to boost their immune system; access to free voluntary COVID-19
tests and treatment. (Healthcare should have a firewall from immigration
authorities).Physical distancing must not be neglected in the response.
During the global spread of a disease, a pandemic – governments are obligated
to ensure the protection of human health and the fundamental right to human
life.
Governments that are negligent in their duty to protect migrant workers
health and dignity must be condemned. Stop the xenophobic scapegoating of migrant
workers to deflect from government lapses in pandemic responses. Stop the technocratic
obsession over COVID-19 statistics when politically motivated by a nationalist competition
with other countries. Behind the numbers are the lives of people and their
families – concentrate on that during the public health crisis.
States
obligations under the fundamental right to health extend to all inhabitants and
are not limited to citizens and residents. Migrant workers deserve and have a
right to be fully included and protected in national pandemic preparation plans
and responses.
An effective and just public health crisis response should be
compassionate, guarantee health, safety and dignity for all and save lives.
