Discontinuities within continuities: Solidarity, (Im-)Mobility and Migration between Refugee Crisis and COVID-19 Crisis
Since the peak of the so-called refugee crisis in 2015, much has been written on the
topic of solidarity towards migrants. However, the perspective of migrants on the issue
of solidarity and their practices of solidarity has been addressed less. This article aims
to outline solidarity in the context of migration in more detail. Firstly, I will outline
how solidarity played out towards migrants during the refugee crisis, and I will sketch
how migrants engage in cross-border solidarity, having left their sending countries
and families behind. Secondly, I will illustrate continuities and discontinuities between
the refugee crisis and the COVID-19 crisis with regards to migration policies
implemented during these crises. Hereinafter, I will highlight the impacts of these migration
measures on the migrants’ capacity to manifest solidarity as well as on forms
of solidarity towards migrants. The main argument is that bridging these two crises -
the refugee crisis and the COVID-19 crisis - can deepen our understanding of the interplay
between migration policies put in place and forms of solidarity among migrants
or towards migrants. Hence, the article aims to contribute to the broader discussion
on the diverse ways of how crises and crises discourses affect migration policies
and consequently the migrants.
Keywords: solidarity, migration, transnational solidarity, refugee crisis, COVID-19 crisis
Vol: 1/2021 - Article 1.4
