“Our greatest enemy right now is not the virus itself. It’s fear, rumours and stigma. Our greatest assets are facts, reason and solidarity.”
—WHO Director General, Opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19, 28 February 2020
“Solidarity is not in quarantine” – with these words, the Jesuit Migrant Service launched its campaign for COVID-19 emergency relief, distributing boxes of essential supplies and food to migrants and refugees living in Chile. Other advocacy groups have translated public health announcements into Haitian Creole, ensuring that this information is accessible for migrants in the country for whom Spanish is not their first language, and are demanding guaranteed access to healthcare and preventative programs for all, regardless of one’s legal status.
Such acts of solidarity are trying to prevent migrants – especially those without or with only precarious legal status – from falling through the cracks of government responses to the COVID-19 crisis. These acts are necessary because national governments throughout Latin America have turned a blind eye on the need of the most vulnerable migrants and refugees.
The first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the region were reported in Brazil in late February. By mid-April, in less than two months, the virus had taken its toll and infected more than 80,000 in Latin America and the Caribbean. Governments responded by closing international borders and implementing strict quarantining and physical distancing measures.
