Heroes or villains? Migrant essential workers and combined hostilities of Covid-19 and Brexit

Article

Gawlewicz, A., Narkowicz, K. and Wright, S. 2023. Heroes or villains? Migrant essential workers and combined hostilities of Covid-19 and Brexit. Discover Society: New Series. 3 (2).
TypeArticle
TitleHeroes or villains? Migrant essential workers and combined hostilities of Covid-19 and Brexit
AuthorsGawlewicz, A., Narkowicz, K. and Wright, S.
Abstract

Villainised in populist discourses, migrant workers - especially those doing essential work - gained some positive attention in the context of Covid-19. Considered to be heroes and being clapped for weekly has however been short-lived against the increasingly hostile immigration politics of the UK. How have the combined hostilities of Brexit and the pandemic affected migrant workers from Eastern Europe? Were they heroes just for one day? We look at the case of Poles who constitute one of the UK’s largest foreign-born populations.

Sustainable Development Goals3 Good health and well-being
Middlesex University ThemeHealth & Wellbeing
PublisherSocial Research Publications
JournalDiscover Society: New Series
Publication dates
Online30 Mar 2023
Print03 Apr 2023
Publication process dates
Deposited14 Apr 2023
Accepted23 Mar 2023
Output statusPublished
Publisher's version
License
Accepted author manuscript
File Access Level
Restricted
Copyright Statement

All articles published by Discover Society are available open access and incur no author payment charges. The articles are covered by a Creative Commons licence, allowing share alike for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to author and link to the Discover Society web-page for the article, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. The articles published express the opinions of the authors and not those of Discover Society.

Web address (URL)https://discoversociety.org/2023/03/30/heroes-or-villains-migrant-essential-workers-and-combined-hostilities-of-covid-19-and-brexit/
LanguageEnglish
Permalink -

https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/8q56y

Log in to edit

Download files

Publisher's version
Heroes or villains_Migrant essential workers and combined hostilities of Covid-19 and Brexit-Discover Society.pdf
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

  • 60
    total views
  • 9
    total downloads
  • 6
    views this month
  • 1
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

White enough, not white enough: racism and racialisation among Poles in the UK
Narkowicz, K. 2023. White enough, not white enough: racism and racialisation among Poles in the UK. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 46 (6), pp. 1534-1551. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2022.2154913
The un-human beings: the denial of Muslim migrants' bodies in India and Poland
Kumar, M. and Narkowicz, K. 2023. The un-human beings: the denial of Muslim migrants' bodies in India and Poland. Interventions. 25 (4), pp. 413-430. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369801X.2022.2099942
Introduction: conjunctural geographies of post-socialist and postcolonial conditions
Rekviashvili, L., Narkowicz, K., Karkov, N., Valiavicharska, Z. and Tichindeleanu, O. 2022. Introduction: conjunctural geographies of post-socialist and postcolonial conditions. Connections: A Journal for Historians and Area Specialists.
Black box east: what is the price for defending “Fortress Europe”? [Blog post]
Narkowicz, K. 2021. Black box east: what is the price for defending “Fortress Europe”? [Blog post]. Mediapart, France Berliner Gazette.
Maria Janion
Narkowicz, K. 2020. Maria Janion. Global Social Theory.
Gendered nationalism in India and Poland: postcolonial and postsocialist conditions in times of populism
Narkowicz, K. and Kumar, M. 2021. Gendered nationalism in India and Poland: postcolonial and postsocialist conditions in times of populism. in: Koobak, R., Tlostanova, M. and Thapar-Bjorkert, S. (ed.) Postcolonial and postsocialist dialogues. Intersections, opacities, challenges in feminist theorizing and practice Routledge. pp. 243-258
Editorial: Postcolonial-postsocialist decolonial investigations: a programmatic overture. Artha Journal of Social Sciences, 20 (2) . v-xii. ISSN 0975-329X
Kumar, M. and Narkowicz, K. 2021. Editorial: Postcolonial-postsocialist decolonial investigations: a programmatic overture. Artha Journal of Social Sciences, 20 (2) . v-xii. ISSN 0975-329X. Artha Journal of Social Sciences. 20 (2), pp. v-xii. https://doi.org/10.12724/ajss.57.0
Before the Czarny protest: feminist activism in Poland
Narkowicz, K. 2018. Before the Czarny protest: feminist activism in Poland. Cultivate: The Feminist Journal of the Centre for Women's Studies.
‘Refugees not welcome here’: state, church and civil society responses to the refugee crisis in Poland
Narkowicz, K. 2018. ‘Refugees not welcome here’: state, church and civil society responses to the refugee crisis in Poland. International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society. 31 (4), pp. 357-373. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10767-018-9287-9
After or against secularism: Muslims in Europe
Narkowicz, K. and Phillips, R. 2018. After or against secularism: Muslims in Europe. in: Beaumont, J. (ed.) The Routledge Handbook of Postsecularity London, UK Routledge. pp. 349-359
Globalisation and social policy
Cowen, H., Jones, D. and Narkowicz, K. 2020. Globalisation and social policy. in: Bochel, H. and Daly, G. (ed.) Social Policy London, UK Routledge. pp. 544-567
Brexit and the hierarchies of Europeanness
Narkowicz, K. 2020. Brexit and the hierarchies of Europeanness. The Long View. 2 (1), pp. 11-13.
Halal dating: changing relationship attitudes and experiences among young British Muslims
Ali, N., Phillips, R., Chambers, C., Narkowicz, K., Hopkins, P. and Pande, R. 2020. Halal dating: changing relationship attitudes and experiences among young British Muslims. Sexualities. 23 (5-6), pp. 775-792. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363460719850113
Unmaking citizens: passport removals, pre-emptive policing and the reimagining of colonial governmentalities
Kapoor, N. and Narkowicz, K. 2019. Unmaking citizens: passport removals, pre-emptive policing and the reimagining of colonial governmentalities. Ethnic and Racial Studies. 42 (16), pp. 45-62. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2017.1411965
Searching for feminist geographies: mappings outside the discipline in Poland
Narkowicz, K. and Korolczuk, E. 2019. Searching for feminist geographies: mappings outside the discipline in Poland. Gender, Place and Culture. 26 (7-9), pp. 1215-1222. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369x.2018.1554559
Characterising citizenship: race, criminalisation and the extension of internal borders
Kapoor, N. and Narkowicz, K. 2019. Characterising citizenship: race, criminalisation and the extension of internal borders. Sociology. 53 (4), pp. 652-670. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038518820250
From unproblematic to contentious: mosques in Poland
Narkowicz, K. and Pędziwiatr, K. 2017. From unproblematic to contentious: mosques in Poland. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 43 (3), pp. 441-457. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183x.2016.1194744
Saving and fearing Muslim women in ‘post-communist’ Poland: troubling Catholic and secular Islamophobia
Narkowicz, K. and Pędziwiatr, K. 2017. Saving and fearing Muslim women in ‘post-communist’ Poland: troubling Catholic and secular Islamophobia. Gender, Place and Culture. 24 (2), pp. 288-299. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369x.2017.1298574