COVID-19 IMPACTS ON IMMIGRATION DETENTION: GLOBAL RESPONSES COVID-19 AND THE MULTI-ACTOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE IN TUNISIA: AN EFFECTIVE STEP FOR A MORE AWARE AND INCLUSIVE DEBATE ON MIGRATION? INTRODUCTION In mid-March 2020, despite very low numbers of people in the country being infected with COVID-19, a nationwide lockdown was imposed in Tunisia: all recreational venues, catering outlets and non-essential workplaces were closed, while non-essential journeys on foot and by car were banned. These measures, along with others, have had a particularly severe impact on migrants. Many work in precarious conditions in the informal sector and saw their incomes drop to zero for several consecutive months. This situation was compounded by the other problems faced by migrants, such as the language barrier, making it harder for them to access information about health and safety; difficulties obtaining health care due to their irregular status; living conditions which did not always allow them to take precautionary measures to protect their health; and having to contend with rising discrimination. During the COVID-19 crisis, the usual economic, legal and social difficulties experienced by migrants have become increasingly acute. IMPACT AND CONSEQUENCES OF THE COVID-19 CRISIS ON MIGRANTS IN TUNISIA The measures taken by the Tunisian government to address the pandemic have had a huge impact on many migrants’ lives. According to several civil society and international organisations, including Terre d’Asile Tunisia, the Association for Leadership and Development in Africa, the Tunisian Red Crescent, the International Organisation for Migration, Médecins du Monde and By Lhwem, despite very few migrants suffering from COVID-19 in spring 2020, the social crisis was already more than apparent by that time. Terre d’Asile Tunisia observed the following direct consequences of the crisis on migrants: loss of employment and income during and after the lockdown, exacerbating precarious living conditions and causing some migrants to lose their housing. Requests for voluntary return assistance rose as a result of these difficulties and have yet to return to normal levels due to ongoing restrictions and sporadic boat departures to Europe. Terre d’Asile Tunisia has also witnessed an increase in discrimination towards migrants, especially black migrants, both in their everyday lives and in their access to health care, as noted by the Mixed Migration Centre (MMC)1. Migrants have been automatically associated with COVID-19 and viewed as potentially contagious. Other consequences of the crisis include a rise in community violence and an increase in the number of pregnant single women. In legal terms, there have been problems registering births with the local authorities and following up on court cases, as the courts have been closed for several months. A RAPID, TAILORED RESPONSE FROM CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS ACROSS TUNISIA A range of initiatives were quickly launched to mitigate this situation: some were organised spontaneously by citizens, while others were put in place by established civil society organisations or local and national authorities. Despite being largely invisible in Tunisian society, migrants were the target of a wave of solidarity. They were therefore able to benefit from emergency aid overseen by national or community bodies. For example, in Grand Tunis, several community associations grouped together to create the COVID-19 African Solidarity Unit. The unit gathered requests from people in difficult circumstances, launched a fundraising appeal and managed the distribution of food to beneficiaries2. In Sfax, several associations (including Terre d’Asile Tunisia, Association Innocence, and Green Crescent) also identified the needs present among migrants and jointly organised distributions of provisions, with coordination and facilitation from the Sfax municipal council. However, levels of mobilisation varied between regions in Tunisia and the restrictions on mobility in place prevented people on the ground from reaching affected groups in some regions, especially those in rural areas and in the south of the country. Very little public material assistance was available to foreigners. This is why fundraising appeals were launched so quickly. Donations from individuals, embassies and consulates, associations, town councils, banks and companies provided funding for food and helped with healthcare costs. Assistance with rental payments also helped to protect people from eviction and potential detention, among other risks. Other services offered to migrants by civil society organisations included counselling and psychological support, mediation (in particular with landlords), awareness raising and mobilisation of community structures, information campaigns and translation of decisions made by the government (which were unavailable to those who did not speak Arabic). Coordination mechanisms were quickly put in place between different support structures to ensure equitable distribution of available resources. There were significant difficulties involved, especially when it came to sharing beneficiaries’ personal information: data protection became an obstacle to effective aid distribution. Nevertheless, this emergency aid made a major impact. Situations of extreme precarity were generally evaded. Evictions were rare. The public sector, national organisations and community associations quickly coordinated with one another and organised themselves as the weeks went on. Community actors were among the main providers of aid, despite being offered very limited inclusion in decision-making mechanisms prior to the crisis. COLLABORATION BETWEEN CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS AND GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES One of the most notable aspects of the emergency initiatives taken during the spring 2020 crisis was the unprecedented practice of collaboration between civil society organisations and government authorities. Spearheaded by several associations and local collectives, a ‘Committee to Monitor the Humanitarian Situation of Foreigners Living in Tunisia’ was quickly founded, led by the Minister of Human Rights. This initiative culminated in the creation of an online platform allowing migrants’ needs to be surveyed and aid received from private sector donors to be distributed to them. 1 http://www.mixedmigration.org/resource/4mi-snapshot-refugees-and-migrants-access-to-health-services-in-tunisia-a-focus-on-discrimination-and-covid-19/ 2 An overview of some local and national initiatives launched is available here: https://www.terre-asile-tunisie.org/index.php/38-actualites/actualites-mdm/588consequences-de-la-pandemie-pour-les-migrants-et-initiatives-solidaires 54 International Detention Coalition and Western Sydney University