Résumés
Abstract
Drawing on my experience as a general counsellor in the Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP), I explore the impact COVID-19 has had on the initial resettlement services provided for government-assisted refugees (GARs) and on frontline workers in the field. Balancing the requirement to enforce protection measures and the need to establish rapport was one of the major challenges the pandemic posed to GAR support practices. To unpack the particularities of this challenge, I give the example of two resettlement services GARs receive upon arrival: namely, resettlement orientations and children’s education. I argue that using an intersectional lens demonstrates the pandemic’s unequal effects and how they exacerbate the vulnerabilities of GARs embarking on their resettlement journey. I hold that developing COVID-19 responses informed by intersectionality opens a space for services and policies that mitigate these effects.
Keywords:
- Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP),
- resettlement,
- COVID-19,
- intersectionality,
- remote services,
- government-assisted refugees (GARS)
Résumé
Puisant dans mon expérience comme conseillère générale au sein du Programme d’aide à la réinstallation (PAR), j’explore l’impact qu’a eu la COVID-19 sur les services de réinstallation initiaux offerts aux réfugiés parrainés par le gouvernement (RPG) et sur les travailleurs de première ligne dans ce domaine. La recherche d’un équilibre entre l’exigence d’appliquer les mesures de protection et le besoin d’établir un rapport était l’un des défis importants posés par la pandémie aux pratiques de soutien du PAR. Afin d’éclaircir les particularités de ce défi, je donne l’exemple de deux services de réinstallation que les RPGs reçoivent à leur arrivée, soit les services d’orientation à la réinstallation et l’éducation des enfants. Je soutiens que l’emploi d’une approche intersectionnelle démontre les effets inégaux de la pandémie et la manière dont ils exacerbent les vulnérabilités des RPGs qui débutent leur parcours de réinstallation. Je considère que le développement de réponses à la COVID-19 fondées sur l’intersectionnalité ouvre la voie à des services et des politiques qui atténuent ces effets.
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