Author

Martha Rubiano Skretteberg

Secretary General
Caritas Norway

On the occasion of World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2022, we reflect on this year’s theme: “Build the future with them”. Their communities have been hard hit by the pandemic all over Europe but now it’s time to support civil society inclusion.

As Europe was reopening and nearing an end to the Covid-19 pandemic, a new crisis hit. Ukraine was invaded causing the fastest-growing refugee crisis since the Second World War. Not only did European countries receive high numbers of refugees, the war in Ukraine also led to insecurity and increasing food prices globally. However as everyone’s attention was drawn to the war and its consequences, the needs of other migrant and refugee groups were not sufficiently met.

The long-term cost of Covid-19

Many refugee and migrant communities have suffered disproportionately from Covid-19. They have had higher infection and hospitalization rates, but also experienced considerable social and economic challenges such as unemployment, poverty and psychological distress following repeated lockdowns.

As an international humanitarian organization, our Caritas teams across Europe see many migrants and refugees still struggling following the pandemic. We meet those who have lost their jobs after years of trying to get into the labour market; those who cannot make ends meet, heightened now as a result of inflation and high food and energy prices. We meet those who have been exploited by employers who take advantage of their desperation; those whose language skills deteriorated because they did not have anyone to talk with; those who lost family or friends due to Covid-19; or who did not manage to recover from prolonged psychological distress.

A seasonal worker in Hørte Gård ⒸCaritasNorway

A new discourse on inclusion

The pandemic demonstrated the importance of refugee and migrant communities. It became clear how dependant our agricultural sector and industries are on migrant workers, and many refugees and migrants also served on the frontline: as healthcare personnel, cleaners, bus drivers and grocery store workers. They also took on a considerable social responsibility by mobilizing to support the most vulnerable in their communities or neighbourhoods. And have continued to do so, by welcoming and supporting newly arrived Ukrainian refugees.

Realizing the importance of migrants’ contributions during the pandemic seems to have helped change the public discourse. There is increasing understanding that labour migrants will continue to be important to our economies, but they should not only be integrated into the labour market, also in our communities.

The EU Action Plan and beyond

In November 2020, the EU launched the Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion for 2021-2027. The Plan defines four key areas for integration: education, employment, health, and housing. The pandemic has clearly illustrated how essential these areas are for successful integration, and the Action Plan therefore came in due time. The Plan is ambitious and concrete, and for the first time, it also includes the integration and inclusion of EU migrant workers, which is applaudable.

However, the Plan gives little mention to the importance of inclusion within the wider society. Yet this form of integration is essential to create bonds and trust between different groups in society, to support language learning exchanges, and to gain broader understanding of a new context and society.

Nevertheless, migrants and refugees are still underrepresented in civil society organisations, volunteer activities and in the political arena, among other areas. From Caritas, we see from close hand how important volunteering can be for migrants and refugees, especially when they are unable to access the labour market. It is an opportunity to use one’s resources to help others, while also networking, practicing a language and gaining relevant experience. For many, volunteering serves as an arena for integration and a steppingstone into ordinary work, or the first labour market.

A new vision of integration in our societies

We need effective initiatives to strengthen integration in terms of education, employment, health, and housing for all; for Ukrainian refugees, as well as for other migrant and refugee groups. While the high arrivals of Ukrainian refugees have put strain on the capacity in many European countries, this still needs to be given priority. And we need provisions facilitating social inclusion like the ones contained in the Temporary Protection Directive to support multiple groups and ensure civil society inclusion as well.

This time of crisis has made visible and reinforced certain integration challenges; however, it has also illustrated how important migrant and refugee communities are to our societies, and how we all have much to gain from fostering migrants’ participation and enabling better integration and inclusion.