QCEA: Covid-19 and inequality _ beyond isolation

Quaker Council for European Affairs: 9 April 2020 Navigating uncertain waters: Covid-19 and inequality 

Isolation, disruption and confusion have interrupted many of our lives. Kékéli Kpognon and Andrew Lane chart a way through by focusing on those who have been surviving these conditions for years.

Policies that show generosity towards asylum seekers make some European politicians very nervous, which is why some of what we have seen in Europe in the last few days is so remarkable. The deportation of asylum seekers is being suspended (Germany), immigration detainees are being released (Italy), homeless people are being housed (France), and some are being given temporary asylum (Portugal).

But rather than protect people from Covid-19, some governments are using the crisis for other purposes. We are seeing the right to claim asylum under European and international law being suspended (Greece), and the granting of new powers for a prime minister to rule by decree indefinitely (Hungary).

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