Learning from asylum seekers during the social deprivation context of the Covid-19 pandemic: A comparative study

This chapter looks at the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on asylum seekers living in North Greece and South Italy, based on 30 interviews conducted with them between December 200 to March 2021. It focuses on their perspective of the context they found themselves in, inclusive of views on the role of their social workers. The asylum seekers interviewed in this study were given the right for temporary stay in each country until the completion of their asylum approval process, while some were in the process of moving to the country of their choice. They lived either in reception centres (in Italy) or in flats owned by municipalities funded by UNCHR via the Ministry of Asylum and Migration (in Greece). During the pandemic lockdown periods entry to camps in Greece was forbidden to either social workers or researchers. Only those working in accommodation structures for minors or adults kept their contacts with the asylum seekers either digitally or face-to-face. The Italian reception centres were located in the countryside, away from populated areas. Social workers were allowed in, but had to manage their work alongside the need to protect themselves and their families from infection.