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This module looks at how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted two of the most vulnerable populations on earth, namely refugees and asylum seekers.    

Lecture: Welcome Video

In this module we will look at how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted two of the most vulnerable populations on earth, namely refugees and asylum seekers. Refugees and asylum seekers are people who have been forced to flee their home countries and are searching for a country to call home. Even though we hear a lot about these two groups in the news, many people don’t fully understand who they are and what it’s like to navigate life as a refugee and what their options are even in pre-pandemic times. The first session of this module will give learners some background in who refugees are and some of the complexities involved in being a refugee in a camp in the Global South or seeking asylum in a Western country.

The second session of this module will look at what the pandemic has meant for them. The closing of borders by most states has made it more difficult for refugees and other forced migrants who are trying to seek safety. For those already in refugee camps, conditions have been made even more dire. Finally, I’ll raise some questions about how to think about our moral obligations to refugees and asylum seekers at a time when many of us are feeling vulnerable and in need of help ourselves.

By the end of this module, you should be able to answer the following questions:

  • Who is and is not a refugee? How does the legal definition differ from how you thought about refugees before completing this unit?
  • Who is an asylum seeker? Why do you think people take all the risks that they do in order to seek asylum?
  • What options do refugees and asylum seekers have in ordinary (non-pandemic) times?
  • Were you surprised at how governments around the world treat asylum seekers and refugees? Why do you think they would do this?
  • How has the closing of borders impacted refugees and asylum seekers?
  • What are the challenges to keeping refugees healthy in refugee camps?
  • What accommodations are being made to help refugees during the pandemic? What accommodations should be made?
  • What moral obligations do we have to refugees? What, in your view, should we be doing to help, given the focus on helping our own citizens through the pandemic and global financial crisis?
  • What is the difference between “cosmopolitanism” and “nationalism”? How do these two points of view impact one’s perception of our obligations to refugees and asylum seekers?

 

  1. Reading: Serena Parekh, Introduction from No Refuge: Ethics and the Global Refugee Crisis, Oxford University Press
  2.  Lecture: Who are refugees and asylum seekers?
  3. Video: “The 1%: UNHCR’s Global Trends Report in Forced Displacement for 2019”
  4. Lecture: What are the options for refugees
  5. Questions to consider for this session:
  • Who is and is not a refugee? How does the legal definition differ from how you thought about refugees before completing this unit?
  • Who is an asylum seeker? Why do you think people take all the risks that they do in order to seek asylum?
  • What options do refugees and asylum seekers have in ordinary (non-pandemic) times?
  • Were you surprised at how governments around the world treat asylum seekers and refugees? Why do you think they would do this

 

  1. Reading: Gillian Brock, “Cosmopolitanism, Nationalism and Closed Borders in the Covid-19 Era,” Cambridge University Press
  2. Reading: Phil Cole, “COVID-19 Threatens the World’s Refugee Camps,” Fair Observer
  3. Reading:  “Leaving no one behind in the Covid-19 Pandemic: a call for urgent global action to include migrants in the Covid-19 Response,” Lancet Migration 
  4. Lecture: How is Covid-19 affecting refugees and asylum seekers?
  5. Lecture: Challenges for Asylum Seekers?
  6. Lecture: What Should Be Done? Why? Some Moral Arguments
  7. Interview: Phil Cole, Author of “Covid-19 Threatens the World’s Refugee Camps”
  8. Questions to Consider:
  • How has the closing of borders impacted refugees and asylum seekers?
  • What are the challenges to keeping refugees healthy in refugee camps?
  • What accommodations are being made to help refugees during the pandemic? What accommodations should be made?
  • What moral obligations do we have to refugees? What, in your view, should we be doing to help, given the focus on helping our own citizens through the pandemic and global financial crisis?
  • What is the difference between “cosmopolitanism” and “nationalism”? How do these two points of view impact one’s perception of our obligations to refugees and asylum seekers?

Write a 600-900 op ed (a short, persuasive piece of writing) arguing for your view about how your government should respond to refugees and asylum seekers during the pandemic. Some questions you may want to respond to: Do you think we should open the boarders to asylum seekers? Should we donate more aid and support better policies for refugees in camps? Or are we justified in only considering the interests of fellow citizens during the pandemic? Make sure you explain why a government should adopt your view.

The goal of this assignment is to develop sound arguments for your view on this topic. As a result, it will be evaluated based on how persuasive it is, whether or not clear and effective arguments were provided and the strength of the writing.

Possible follow up: Read each other’s op-eds once they’re finished. Each student should pick out one argument that they think is strong (and explain why) and one argument or part of the paper they think needs more work (and explain why). Students should have the opportunity to revise the paper in light of his feedback.

Readings.

  • Carens, Joseph. The Ethics of Immigration. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
  • Fiske, Lucy. Human Rights, Refugee Protest and Immigration Detention. Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.
  • Freedman, Jane. “Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugee Women: A Hidden Aspect of the Refugee ‘Crisis.’” Reproductive Health Matters, vol. 24, no. 47, May 2016, pp. 18–26.
  • Gibney, Matthew J. The Ethics and Politics of Asylum: Liberal Democracy and the Response to Refugees. Cambridge UP, 2004.
  • Kingsley, Patrick. The New Odyssey: The Story of the Twenty-First Century Refugee Crisis. Liveright Publishing, 2017.
  • McAdam, Jane. Climate Change, Forced Migration, and International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
  • McDonald-Gibson, Charlotte. Cast Away: True Stories of Survival from Europe’s Refugee Crisis. New Press, 2016.
  • Miliband, David. Rescue: Refugees and the Political Crisis of Our Time. Simon and Schuster, 2017.
  • Miller, David. Strangers in Our Midst: The Political Philosophy of Immigration. Harvard UP, 2016.
  • Oliver, Kelly, Madura, Lisa M. and Ahmed, Sabeen eds. Refugees Now: Rethinking Borders, Hospitality, and Citizenship. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2019. 117-136.
  • Owen, David. What Do We Owe Refugees? Cambridge: Polity, 2020.
  • Parekh, Serena. Refugees and the Ethics of Forced Displacement. Routledge, 2017 (available to read and download for free via Open Access)
  • Parekh, Serena. No Refuge: Ethics and the Global Refugee Crisis. New York: Oxford University Press, 2020 (forthcoming October 2020).
  • Rawlence, Ben. City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World’s Largest Refugee Camp. Picador, 2016.

Documentaries:

  • After Spring, Directed by Ellen Martinez and Steph Ching (2016)
  • Born in Syria, Directed by Hernan Zin (2016)
  • Human Flow, Directed by Ai Weiwei (2018)
  • Fire at Sea, Directed by Gianfranco Rosi (2016)
  • For Sama, Directed by Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts (2019)
  • Refugee, Directed by Clementine Malpas (2016)
  • Additional Documentaries