Syrian refugee labour and food insecurity in Middle Eastern agriculture during the early COVID‐19 pandemic

• DOI: 10.1111/ilr.12348
• Publication Date: 2021-12-22T11:28:27Z
• Authors: Ann‐Christin ZUNTZ; Mackenzie KLEMA; Shaher ABDULLATEEF; Stella MAZERI; Salim Faisal ALNA...; Abdulellah ALFADEL; Joy ABI‐HABIB; Maria AZAR; Clara CALIA; Joseph BURKE; Liz GRANT; Lisa BODEN
• Keywords: Pandemic

Abstract Drawing on ethnographic data from the 2019 SyrianFoodFutures and 2020 From FIELD projects, this article provides insights into early effects of COVID‐19 pandemic refugee labour in agriculture Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria Turkey. In spring 2020, movement restrictions supply chain disruptions caused displaced Syrian farmworkers to lose their jobs face increased food insecurity. The authors situate findings context host countries' use legal ambiguity governing refugees, Middle Eastern agriculture's reliance migrant labour, region's long‐standing They conclude that formalizing cannot alone address exploitation.