Abstract
This article explores fathering practices among Syrian refugee families in Sweden. Syrian refugees provide an example of people who migrated because of a single major event: the war in Syria. The article examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on fathering practices. The Swedish COVID-19 strategy differed from those adopted in many other countries. Lockdowns were minimal and were not stringently enforced, based on the assumption that individuals would trust the authorities and would take personal responsibility for complying with their guidelines and recommendations. Previous research suggests that migrants and other vulnerable groups were not always well informed about the public policies introduced prior to and during the pandemic. The article draws on empirical data from a wider research project on the family lives of Syrian migrants in Sweden. The authors present their findings from an analysis of eleven ethnographically informed semi-structured interviews, carried out before and during the pandemic, with married fathers who had been living in Sweden for several years. In this article, they focus on three cases representing fathers with varied educational backgrounds and employment histories. These families had in common what are considered by Swedish standards to be overcrowded living conditions; they were forced to accept close family proximity, both physically and emotionally, as they no longer had the supportive networks they were used to in Syria. The three fathers were found to rely more heavily on information provided by the people with whom they were in contact in Sweden than on policies and recommendations from the authorities. These findings confirmed that the previous experiences among refugees of shifting policies regarding migration and integration had lowered their trust in government. They had learnt that they needed to rely on mutual dependency not only between spouses, but also between parents and children.
Highlights
In early January 2020, China discovered a new Corona virus among people who had visited a market in the city of Wuhan
This article contributes to the debate by exploring how refugee fathers living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Sweden experienced their fathering practices under COVID-19, and by asking whether these practices have changed their family lives and, if so, how
National statistics show an overrepresentation of foreign-born individuals among COVID-19 deaths and infections in Sweden, and it has been argued that immigrants in vulnerable and marginalised areas often did not understand the Swedish news and advice regarding COVID-19 guidelines (Lager et al, 2020; Public Health Agency, 2021; Rambaree and Nassén, 2020)
Summary
In March 2020, the Swedish Public Health Agency introduced recommendations and general guidelines to reduce the spread of COVID-19 based on the principles of individual responsibility, trust in the authorities and voluntary compliance with government rules. National statistics show an overrepresentation of foreign-born individuals among COVID-19 deaths and infections in Sweden, and it has been argued that immigrants in vulnerable and marginalised areas often did not understand the Swedish news and advice regarding COVID-19 guidelines (Lager et al, 2020; Public Health Agency, 2021; Rambaree and Nassén, 2020). Other scholars have stressed that it is necessary to adopt a povertyaware perspective on the effects of COVID 19 since poverty may increase vulnerability to the disease due to its associations with other health conditions, overcrowded housing and difficulties in adhering to social distancing advice (Chang et al, 2021; KrumerNevo and Rafaeli, 2021). Swedish data reveal that working class individuals were more exposed to the virus at work, compared to white collar employees (Swedish Trade Union Confederation, 2021)
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