The impact of pandemic Covid-19 on migrants’ integration path in Italy

Abstract

The pernicious impact of the pandemic on disadvantaged and underserved populations in society has brought various additional problems for migrant populations, aggravating the already difficult living conditions (OECD, 2020; Guadagno, 2020): the uncertainty of the migratory experience has been compounded by the insecurity caused by the health situation; moreover, the forced confinement and the consequent paralysis of economic activities have exacerbated the vulnerability of various sectors of the population (Sanfelici et al, 2020). The crisis generated by the pandemic thus had the effect of “reinforcing the vulnerability of migrants, but also revealing their close links with patterns of migration and integration that tended to engender poor and structurally disadvantaged immigration” (Zanfrini 2021, 10). The efforts required of practitioners did not only concern organisational aspects of daily practice, but also the ethical sphere (Banks et al, 2020) and the personal dimension (Cabiati, 2021).