Open AccessCOVID-19, Racial Capitalism, and Undocumented Bangladeshi Agricultural Workers in Manolada, Greece
Author(s) -
Reena Kukreja
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
dve domovini
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.255
H-Index - 9
eISSN - 1581-1212
pISSN - 0353-6777
DOI - 10.3986/dd.2021.2.07
Subject(s) - deportation , capitalism , migrant workers , covid-19 , race (biology) , agriculture , political science , immigration , demographic economics , criminology , sociology , gender studies , economic growth , geography , law , economics , politics , medicine , disease , archaeology , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
This article uses the example of undocumented Bangladeshi migrants in the strawberry sector of Greece to highlight how racial capitalism heightens the health vulnerabilities of racialized low-class migrant workers and exposes them to a greater risk of COVID-19 transmission. Race-based devaluation of workers intersects with migrant illegality and culturally-specific masculine norms to normalize a discourse of healthcare “undeservingness” for undocumented racialized migrants. Unfree labor is legislated through restrictive migrant labor laws and selective detention and deportation of “illegal” migrants. Structural and systemic discriminations increase health precarities for undocumented agricultural workers.