30 Apr Information as Protection of Migrants in Times of COVID-19 in Spain
In these complicated moments that we are facing as a society, one of the main ways to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic is to make sure that all members of our society are informed and know the guidelines to follow during this period of isolation. To ensure that migrants, one of the most vulnerable groups, are not overlooked, numerous entities and civil society organizations in Spain are working hard to provide them with all kinds of useful information through different resources and media in different languages.
With this purpose, from our MIICT project (ICT Enabled Public Services for Migration) funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme, we are working to create and implement a platform with specific resources and information services in different languages for the assistance and protection of migrants. This App that began to be designed at the beginning of 2019 takes on special importance today in this time of health emergency caused by the COVID 19. https://www.miict.eu/
In addition to this one, we present other resources of interest about COVID-19 for migrants, refugees, stateless people and asylum seekers in different languages*:
- Health information: the virus, prevention and recommendations
- Information from the Ministry of Health of the Government of Spain in Spanish and other
- Information on the coronavirus collected in the special portal of the World Health Organization (WHO). Online courses on coronavirus.
- Audiovisual material on COVID-19 aimed at the migrant population, from the NGO Salud entre Culturas.
- Materials produced by the Spanish Red Cross “30 resources with everything you need to know about the COVID-19 and how to make quarantine more pleasant”.
- Basic information about COVID-19 in different languages provided by Granada Acoge. http://www.granadaacoge.org
- Asylum and international protection
- Information published by the Asylum and Refuge Office, which is part of the Ministry of the Interior of Spain.
- Instructions from the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration for the management of the international protection reception system during COVID-19.
- Psychosocial support and welfare:
- Useful tools to mitigate the psychological effects of the coronavirus, guides compiled and translated into several languages by the ACCEM organization.
- Labour rights, housing and rent
- Frequently asked questions about the measures taken by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda in the field of housing.
- Frequently asked questions to extend the social protection cover. It includes information, for example, on measures and subsidies for domestic workers.
- COVID-19: Labour and social security measures, prepared by the Madrid Law Association.
- The coronavirus and children
- Unicef has produced this COVID-19 Guide for parents, and also provides information on how to talk to children about the situation.
- Save the Children also provides information for parents on how to get through confinement and on the impact of COVID-19 on children.
- From UNESCO they also report on COVID-19 and education.
- The Ministry of Education, together with RTVE, has launched the Aprendo en casa initiative with educational content for different ages.
*Information obtained from the Office in Spain of the UNHCR, the UN Agency for Refugees.