Civil society organisations are often confronted with the difficulty of 'changing the story' on migration, as the dominant narratives produced and maintained by politics as well as the media are pervaded by stereotypes and fail to give a voice to migrants themselves. Such stories about migrants are told from the position of the host country, thus reproducing established power relationships between the respective national 'us' and a migrant 'them'/'other'. This article provides empirical insights into how civil society organisations in three EU countries (Germany, Italy and Spain) have recently succeeded in producing alternative narratives that achieved a discernible impact. We discuss how such narrative success can be achieved by negotiating country-specific contexts, seising windows of opportunity, and adopting specific discursive and organisational strategies and tools from a comparative perspective.

Several papers in this Series on "Addressing migration and health inequity in Europe" reflect discrepancies between Universal Health Coverage (UHC) ambitions and the actual exclusion of many migrants from national health systems. Amidst increasingly hostile discourses towards migrants, we argue that endeavours for UHC should not only address "implementation gaps", but challenge the narratives fuelling these discourses. Evidence shows that the costs of restricting migrants' access to healthcare outweigh the benefits. In Germany, restrictions on asylum-seekers' healthcare were shown to compromise health equity, efficiency, and other health system outcomes, including up to 40% higher expenditures.1Bozorgmehr K. Razum O. Effect of restricting access to health care on health expenditures among asylum-seekers and refugees: a quasi-experimental study in Germany, 1994–2013.PLoS One. 2015; 10e0131483https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0131483Crossref PubMed Scopus (198) Google Scholar,2Gottlieb N. Ohm V. Knörnschild M. The electronic health insurance card for asylum-seekers in Berlin: effects on the local health system.Int J Health Policy Manag. 2022; 11: 1325-1333https://doi.org/10.34172/ijhpm.2021.34Crossref PubMed Scopus (4) Google Scholar The 2015 NHS charging regulations in the UK have aggravated health inequities and adverse public health outcomes, thus potentially increasing costs.3Rassa N. McCarthy M. Casalotti S. et al.The impact of NHS charging regulations on healthcare access and utilisation among migrants in England: a systematic review.BMC Public Health. 2023; 23: 1-12https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15230-9Crossref PubMed Scopus (3) Google Scholar In Spain, the 2012 Royal Decree-Law restricted undocumented migrants' access to healthcare, with adverse public health and economic effects.4Peralta-Gallego L. Gené-Badia J. Gallo P. Effects of undocumented immigrants exclusion from health care coverage in Spain.Health Policy. 2018; 122: 1155-1160https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2018.08.011Crossref PubMed Scopus (18) Google Scholar Still, exclusionary narratives advocate for restricting migrants' health entitlements as a means to safeguard resources, invoking welfare nationalism and portraying migrants as 'free-riders' and presumed burdens on health systems. Given the existing evidence to the contrary, one may wonder why exclusionary narratives persist and thrive in health policy-debates. What makes them so compelling? And what lessons can we draw? The success of exclusionary narratives has been explained with Othering as a simple, powerful, and emotional narrative that demarcates and depreciates out-groups, thereby enhancing the perceived value of the in-group. In migration contexts, Othering sums up to "they come to get what is ours".5Namer Y. Coskan C. Razum O. Discrimination as a health systems response to forced migration.in: Bozorgmehr K. Roberts B. Razum O. Health policy and systems responses to forced migration. Springer International Publishing, Heidelberg/Berlin2020: 195-211Crossref Scopus (2) Google Scholar This narrative resonates with fears of competition for housing, labour and welfare resources, and with a neoliberal performance ideology devaluing those (genuinely or supposedly) reliant on the welfare state.6Küpper B. Wolf C. Zick A. Social status and anti-immigrant attitudes in Europe: an examination from the perspective of Social Dominance Theory.Int J Conf Violence. 2010; 4: 205-219https://doi.org/10.4119/ijcv-2826Crossref Google Scholar Essentially, exclusionary narratives provide simple, albeit delusional answers to complex questions—such as healthcare inequalities—while leveraging negative emotions like uncertainty and resentment and engrained beliefs about identity, belonging, and deservingness. Against this backdrop, they help mobilise support for broader authoritarian agendas, including policies "that worsen the conditions for those who support them, yet manage to retain their support by blaming others".7Falkenbach M. Greer S.L. The populist radical right and health: national policies and global trends. Springer Nature, Cham2021Crossref Scopus (11) Google Scholar In obscuring the real causes of social inequities and those who benefit from them, exclusionary narratives legitimise political and economic elites in times of crises and deflect their responsibilities.8Sayad A. La double absence. Des illusions de l'émigré aux souffrances de l'immigré. Seuil, Paris1999Google Scholar Indeed, governments were shown to decouple evidence-based practice from rhetorical commitment to illiberal, radical-nationalist narratives when they are under pressure to deliver outcomes; while they tend toward technocratic narratives when under less pressure.9Boswell C. Smellie S. Migration narratives in political debate and policy-making. Conceptualising and operationalising work packages 7 and 8. BRIDGES Working Papers No.: 19. 2023.https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10066255Google Scholar What if we used these insights to promote healthy societies and inclusive health policies? This would mean acknowledging the role of narratives in policymaking and, consequently, that mitigating the gap between the status quo and UHC will require more than technical solutions alone. It would mean developing a better understanding of when, how, and why decision-makers embrace, reject, or ignore narratives. Primarily, it would require the health community to develop narratives that are captivating and powerful enough to garner broad public support for equity, diversity, and inclusion, and thus side-line exclusionary frames. What would such narratives look like? Narrative change comprises a more comprehensive and complex approach than trying to counter exclusionary frames (which may achieve the opposite10Lakoff G. Don't think of an elephant!: Know your values and frame the debate: the essential guide for progressives. Chelsea Green Publishing Company, Chelsea2004: 124Google Scholar). It advises prioritising shared values over problems; creating solutions rather than reducing something bad; and bringing real people, their decisions and actions, into the frame rather than vague concepts like "widening gaps".11Shenker-Osorio A. Messaging this moment: a handbook for progressive communicators.https://communitychange.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/C3-Messaging-This-Moment-Handbook.pdfGoogle Scholar Narratives should anchor in people's lived experiences to engage them in jointly realising a positive vision. Too often, public health addresses migrant health by talking about problems and needs, invoking subordinating metaphors of vulnerability and charity, and unwittingly singling migrants out from "the general public". Instead, we need narratives that unite and empower us, whether settled or on the move, to jointly build a desirable future for ourselves, our families, and societies. Finally, good narratives are an asset, but not enough for change. Credible politics, institutions, and leaders are essential, not only in rhetoric but in action. Public health and medicine should lead such narratives to maintain the moral groundwork and public credibility, but they often lack the tools. Communication science has the tools but is poorly represented in the migrant health community. Civil society and migrant organizations are ahead of academia in understanding and leveraging narrative change; however, the academic community often operates separately, foregoing their expertise. Building alliances between migrant health and communication science, as well as between academia and civil society and migrant organizations, will be instrumental in jointly changing narratives and policies toward greater inclusion, equity, and social justice. NG conceptualised and wrote this Commentary, with substantial input from KB. AG, IP, ICD, BG, ILDA, and KB each contributed as co-authors by providing input to several iterations of the manuscript. All authors have reviewed and confirmed its final version. We declare no competing interests that are relevant to the content of this Commentary. Some of the ideas presented here were developed as part of the joint work of NG, IP, BG, ILDA and further partners within the framework of the EU funded project DignityFIRM (HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01, project no. 101094652). How to address migrant health inequity in EuropeIn one of the world's wealthiest and most progressive regions, migrant health remains desperately neglected. Despite 36% of all global migrant populations residing in Europe, less than half of the member states of the WHO European Region report health data for migrants, exposing a systemic failure to prioritise their wellbeing. Migrant populations face legal, structural, linguistic, and cultural barriers that systematically exclude the majority of individuals from national health-care systems with undocumented migrants bearing the brunt of discrimination. Full-Text PDF Open AccessUniversal health coverage for undocumented migrants in the WHO European region: a long way to goThe number of people on the move internationally is increasing, and a sizable number of these individuals are migrating through and to the WHO European Region. The UN Sustainable Development Goals demand that we leave no one behind and ensure equitable implementation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), regardless of immigration status. In the WHO European region, some of the migrants in the most precarious situations are undocumented; defined as those who may have been unsuccessful in asylum applications, born to undocumented parents, continued their residence in a country after their permit or other means of stay expired, as well as those who have entered the country irregularly. Full-Text PDF Open AccessPriority setting and migration health policies for European countriesThe 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda has committed to 'ensuring that no one is left behind'. Applying the right to health of non-citizens and international migrants is challenging in today's highly polarized political discourse on migration governance and integration. We explore the role of a priority setting approach to help support better, fairer and more transparent policy making in migration health. A priority setting approach must also incorporate migration health for more efficient and fair allocation of scarce resources. Full-Text PDF Open AccessCapacity building in migration and health in higher education: lessons from five European countriesCapacity building in migration and health in higher education is key to better, sustainable, and equitable health care provision. However, developments so far have been patchy, non-structural, and often unsustainable. While training programs have been evaluated and competency standards developed, perspectives from individual teachers are hardly accessible. We present expert perspectives from five European countries to illustrate good examples in higher education and identify gaps to further the advancement of capacity building in migration and health. Full-Text PDF Open AccessMigrant-sensitive healthcare in Europe: advancing health equity through accessibility, acceptability, quality, and trustThe advancement of migrant-sensitive health care in Europe has been a topic of many initiatives and academics debates for over 20 years in Europe, yet with rather limited progress in terms of comprehensive and sustainable implementation. We argue that a human rights-based approach with clearly defined duties and responsibilities of governments, relevant public and private institutions as well as professionals is needed, in line with a sound understanding and thoughtful implementation and further development of concepts and standards for providing migrant sensitive care as an essential component of Universal Health Coverage. Full-Text PDF Open AccessDiscriminatory, racist and xenophobic policies and practice against child refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants in European health systemsChild refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants who have been forcibly displaced from their countries of origin have heightened health needs as a consequence of their migration experiences. Host countries have a duty to respond to these needs, yet across Europe we are seeing a rise in potentially harmful discriminative, hostile and restrictive migration policies and practices. Research exploring the role racism, xenophobia and discrimination in European health systems may play in child migrant health inequities is lacking. Full-Text PDF Open AccessStrengthening life-course immunisation in migrant populations: access, equity, and inclusionAdult and adolescent migrants worldwide, and those arriving in Europe, are an under-immunised group for routine vaccinations due to missed childhood vaccines and doses in their countries of origin, and their subsequent marginalisation from health and vaccination systems. Declining population-level coverage for routine vaccines across Europe, which has accelerated post-pandemic, places these and other under-immunised populations at even greater risk of vaccine-preventable diseases. However, despite clear guidelines around the importance of delivering 'catch-up' vaccination throughout the life-course, migrants are rarely effectively incorporated into routine vaccination programmes on arrival to Europe. Full-Text PDF Open AccessNormalising participatory health research approaches in the WHO European region for refugee and migrant health: a paradigm shiftWhile people's involvement in health research is increasingly the encouraged norm in many countries, the involvement of refugees and migrants in research about their health is rare. Here, we call for a paradigm shift in the field of refugee and migrant health to make participatory health research routine, i.e. normalised. To disrupt 'business as usual', we synthesise evidence about meaningful research partnerships and features of inclusive participatory spaces. We present examples of decolonial, culturally attuned methods that can be used to reimagine and reinvigorate research practice because they encourage critical reflexivity and power-sharing: arts-based research using music and singing, participatory learning and action research, Photovoice and co-design (ideas generation) workshops. Full-Text PDF Open Access

The city of Barcelona has become a nodal point of the transnational social space of the Pakistani diaspora. Despite being quite invisible, Pakistanis stand out for their entrepreneurial activities, especially in the food and telecommunication sectors. This paper aims to shed light on the transnational dimension of Pakistani ethnic businesses of Barcelona through the lens of 'transnational mixed embeddedness' (Bagwell [2015]. Transnational entrepreneurship amongst Vietnamese businesses in London. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 41(2), 329-349. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2014.907739) and a multi-level approach that combines analytical levels (macro, meso and micro) and territorial levels (local/national and transnational). This is within the theoretical debate around globalization from below, immigrant entrepreneurship and transnational entrepreneurship, and by using a mixed-methods design. The results show how migrant entrepreneurs can be placed in a 'continuum of transnational embeddedness', depending on the interrelation of agency and micro-sociological processes entailing in-group differences with meso-market and macro-structural factors from a dynamic point of view.

Review of the book: Jane Freedman, Nona Sahraoui y Evangelia Tastsoglou. Gender-Based Violence in Migration: Interdisciplinary, Feminist and Intersectional Approaches. Palgrave Macmillan, 2022, 251 págs.

In a context of rising global inequality, migrants are often subjected to violence, whether physical, symbolic, institutional or structural. It may take place at any point of the migration cycle – origin, transit or destination. Practices like female genital mutilation, forced marriage, honour killings, rape, coercive prostitution, domestic violence and femicide are specific forms of gender violence that disproportionately affect women and the LGTBI+ community. Given this reality, issue 133 of Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals applies a gender and intersectional perspective to analyse these forms of violence in a range of countries and territories, with the triple aim of contributing to the production of scientific knowledge, stimulating the creation of informed public policies and encouraging critical thinking in order to work towards a society that is free from violence.

AbstractThis chapter revisits the debate on the South-North divide on migration regimes by comparing the cases of Spain and the Netherlands with regard to migrant seasonal workers in agriculture, with a particular attention to their situation before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. Starting from Pastore’s (Comp Migr Stud 2(4):385–415, 2014) concept of the governance of Migrant Labour Supply (MLS), we consider to what extent Spain and the Netherlands are as different as expected. Based on the research conducted for the EC funded H2020 project ADMIGOV, we conclude that differences are not as relevant. Indeed, in both cases seasonal labour demands were covered initially by recently arrived immigrants, in a later stage by immigrants already in the country and in the last years also by Eastern European workers that can go back and forth without the constraints imposed by international borders. In both cases, we see convergence towards a major de-regulation of the sector, particularly due to the increasing use of temp agencies. The conclusions address the role of the state (and the different actors involved) in the governance of MLS in agriculture and whether the Covid-19 pandemic has brought significant structural changes in this field.

En un contexto de crecientes desigualdades, vulnerabilidades y precariedad a nivel global, los flujos migratorios han aumentado de modo considerable, especialmente aquellos que se producen de manera forzosa. Ya sea por motivos económicos, políticos, climáticos o sociales, cada vez más se asiste a una serie de movilidades involuntarias protagonizadas por personas que emigran en búsqueda de un territorio más seguro. Saskia Sassen (2016) denomina este tipo de movilidades como «migraciones de supervivencia», aludiendo a la pérdida masiva de hábitat que se da en los lugares de origen y que conduce a cada vez más personas a arriesgar sus vidas en peligrosos viajes hacia una vida mejor. Factores desencadenantes como una guerra, la falta de seguridad, la pérdida de recursos naturales, la escasez de agua o la pobreza, así como la falta de expectativas de futuro, conforman un escenario que diluye la frontera entre el prototipo de migrante económico y el solicitante de asilo, tal y como viene definido en los tratados y acuerdos internacionales (como la Convención de Ginebra de 1951 sobre el Estatuto de los Refugiados o el Global Compact for Migration de 2018). Bajo este paraguas, se produce una movilidad que es motivada por una expulsión económica, social y biosférica, en la que las personas simplemente anhelan ya no solo mejorar su vida, sino lograr sobrevivir.

In recent years, forced marriage as a manifestation of violence against women has entered the public agenda in European Union countries. This is partly due to higher numbers of migrants from regions where it is a regular practice. This paper aims to show the different ways violence manifests itself in forced marriage, both symbolically and practically - in terms of experiences - based on a qualitative sample of women with a range of migration backgrounds residing in Catalonia. The intersectional gender approach of the analysis enables the interaction to be considered of various factors when it comes to understanding contexts of risk and violence, as well as exit strategies from forced marriage.

En los países de la Unión Europea el fenómeno de los matrimonios forzados se ha instalado en los últimos años en la agenda pública como una de las manifestaciones de la violencia contra las mujeres. Ello es debido, en parte, al aumento de población migrante procedente de regiones donde este fenómeno constituye una práctica recurrente. Este artículo pretende mostrar las distintas formas en que la violencia se manifiesta en un matrimonio forzado, tanto a nivel simbólico como en el plano práctico de las experiencias, a partir de una muestra cualitativa de mujeres con diversas trayectorias migratorias residentes en Cataluña. El análisis se lleva a cabo desde un enfoque de género interseccional, que permite considerar la interacción entre diversos factores que se interrelacionan a la hora de entender los contextos de riesgo y violencia, así como las estrategias de salida de un matrimonio forzado.

El COVID-19 ha visibilizado más que nunca las deficiencias estructurales del sistema agroalimentario mundial. El enclave agrícola de Huelva no es ninguna excepción. Partiendo del escenario pre-COVID y añadiendo los efectos de la pandemia, este artículo analiza los procesos de discriminación y abuso enraizados en la naturaleza y el modus operandi del programa español de trabajadores temporales (GECCO). En particular, examina cómo estos procesos de discriminación se reflejan en tres aspectos clave del programa: contratación, condiciones de trabajo y condiciones de vida. Gracias a la perspectiva interseccional y a las aportaciones feministas al capitalismo ecología-mundo, el análisis arroja luz sobre la mutua constitución de diferentes ejes de desigualdad (p.e. maternidad, etnicidad, origen rural) en las prácticas de discriminación y explotación que sufren las mujeres marroquíes. A su vez, examina cómo estas desigualdades entrecruzadas se ubican geográficamente en un contexto temporal y espacial específico que juega un papel en la construcción de relaciones de poder a nivel estructural. El artículo se nutre de un reciente trabajo de campo basado en entrevistas en profundidad con distintos actores clave como parte de un proyecto de investigación europeo sobre esquemas de gobernanza y migración circular (ADMIGOV).

The COVID-19 has made the structural deficiencies of the global agri-food system more visible than ever. The agricultural enclave of Huelva is no exception. Departing from the pre-COVID scenario and adding the effects of the pandemic, this paper analyses the processes of discrimination and abuse embedded in the rationale and modus operandi of the Spanish temporary workers’ programme (GECCO). In particular, it examines how such processes of discrimination are reflected in three key aspects of the programme: recruitment, working conditions and living conditions. Thanks to the intersectional perspective and the feminist contributions to the world-ecology capitalism, the analysis sheds light on the mutual constitution of different axes of inequality (e.g. motherhood, ethnicity, rural origin) in the practices of discrimination and exploitation suffered by Moroccan women. In turn, it examines how such intersecting inequalities are geographically located in a specific temporal and spatial context that plays a role in the construction of power relationships at a structural level. The paper is fed by recent fieldwork based on in-depth interviews with stakeholders as part of a European research project on schemes of governance and circular migration (ADMIGOV).

Los temporeros agrícolas en España son noticia año tras año. En 2020, los mismos problemas se repitieron una y otra vez, agravados por el contexto de la pandemia del COVID-19. Este artículo analiza cuatro casos que fueron noticia: las condiciones de los asentamientos irregulares en Andalucía; la situación de las temporeras marroquíes contratadas en origen que quedaron atrapadas en Huelva; las duras condiciones laborales del campo a la luz de la muerte de un solicitante de asilo en Lorca; y la presencia de temporeros en las calles de Lleida, que generó nuevamente un debate sobre sus condiciones de alojamiento en medio de los primeros brotes de COVID-19 del verano. El objetivo final del artículo es ilustrar con casos concretos problemas estructurales que vienen de lejos y, con ello, apuntar posibles soluciones a corto, medio y largo plazo.

This document is aimed at providing theoretical and methodological guidelines on how to include the gender perspective in the analysis of migration narratives in the BRIDGES project. The theoretical part is inspired by some key questions related to the effects of migration on gender relations, the impact of gender on the representation of migration and to how the media and political spheres shape migration narratives from a gender perspective. This section entails both conceptual reflections and empirical studies undertaken in different parts of Europe. The methodological part is based on indications of how to include the gender perspective throughout the project, from data-gathering and analysis to co-production and dissemination activities. This includes sampling criteria and sources of data on the one hand, and a series of dimensions, indicators, and key questions linked to the different Work Packages, on the other. In sum, these guidelines are to make sure that the project remains gender-sensitive throughout its life-course and they may also inspire other projects dealing with narratives or migration issues with a gender and intersectional perspective. Berta Güell is a Researcher in the area of Migrations at CIDOB and Assistant Coordinator within the BRIDGES project. Doctor in Sociology with an extraordinary award from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and specialised in ethnic entrepreneurship and the Pakistani community in Spain. She has researched the situation of temporary agricultural workers and LGTBI refugees through her contributions to several projects (i.e. ADMIGOV, NIEM) at CIDOB. She has also undertaken investigations on forced and arranged marriages (Recercaixa), and on descendants of Asian background (Josep Irla Postdoctoral Fellowship) at CER-Migracions (UAB). Berta Güell has previously worked on several European projects related to the phenomenon of migration and social exclusion at the European Social Research Unit of the University of Barcelona (UB). She is coordinator of the Labour Market and Immigration Module of the Interuniversity Master in Contemporary Migration of CER-Migracions and has previously been an associate lecturer at the Faculty of Education of the UB. Sònia Parella is Director of CER-Migracions, the interuniversity and interdisciplinary research institute on international migrations affiliated to the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), where she obtained her PhD cum laude in Sociology in 2002. Her main research interests include the processes of labour market integration of international migrants, the analysis of discrimination against migrant women from an intersectional perspective, and the study of transnational practices in migration contexts. She has published on gender perspective in migration studies, feminist theory of intersectionality, translational families, and the relationship between migrations and the labour market. She has participated in more than 30 competitive projects. At BRIDGES, apart from member of the Scientific Advisory Board, she is part of the Gender Observatory, contributing to the inclusion of the gender perspective all along the project, as an expert in gender and migrations. GUIDELINES ON HOW TO INCLUDE THE GENDER PERSPECTIVE IN THE ANALYSIS OF MIGRATION NARRATIVES

Over the last 25 years, Spain has experienced a significant increase of Latin American immigrants, which has raised questions about their children’s adaptation process. Yet, there is little evidence on the factors that explain school success or failure among this group. This paper aims to fill this gap by using data from the Longitudinal Study of the Second Generation in Spain (ILSEG is its Spanish acronym). The findings show that the children of Latin American immigrants are more likely to attain lower educational levels than the children of Spanish natives. However, concentrating on the national origin variable risks obscuring some underlying adaptive processes—associated with generational age cohorts—involved in differential educational outcomes among immigrant children. The data analyzed show that Latin American immigrant children born in Spain are likely to attain the same educational levels as their native Spanish peers. This finding highlights the importance of being raised in the host country in easing adaptation to the new society and the school system. The paper concludes with some policy suggestions in the field of education. Instead of treating all child migrants uniformly, public policies should address the specific needs of the target groups, emphasizing later arrivals.

Migrant Muslim women are confronted with a stereotyped image of housewives and passive subjects in their processes of incorporation into the host society, that assumes their invisibility in the labour market as intrinsic and "natural". This article pretends to question this image and shed light on the agency processes of Pakistani women in Barcelona in the field of productive and reproductive economy. In particular, it seeks to examine the structural and cultural obstacles that these women face when accessing the labour market, as well as the agency and empowerment strategies they deploy to overcome them. Based on two recent studies focused on this group, the results show that agency is embedded (Khurshid, 2015) in the structural constraints of the host society, as well as in the system of values and patriarchal gender ideologies of the Pakistani community.

Las mujeres migrantes y musulmanas se enfrentan a una imagen estereotipada de amas de casa y sujetas pasivas en sus procesos de incorporación a la sociedad receptora, que asume su invisibilidad en el mercado laboral como un atributo intrínseco y “natural”. El presente artículo pretende cuestionar esta imagen y arrojar luz sobre los procesos de agencia en el ámbito de la economía productiva y reproductiva del colectivo de mujeres de origen pakistaní en Barcelona. En particular, se examinan los obstáculos de carácter estructural y cultural que las mujeres experimentan para acceder al mercado laboral, así como las estrategias de agencia y empoderamiento que despliegan para sortearlos. A partir de dos investigaciones recientes centradas en este colectivo, los resultados muestran cómo la agencia se encuentra imbricada (“embedded”) (Khurshid, 2015) en los constreñimientos estructurales de la sociedad receptora, así como en el sistema de valores e ideologías de género patriarcales de la comunidad pakistaní.

Year after year Spain's seasonal agricultural workers are in the news. In 2020, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the same problems were repeated over and over again. This paper analyses four cases that made the news: the conditions of the informal settlements in Andalusia; the Moroccan temporary workers hired in their country of origin who ended up trapped in Huelva; the death of an asylum seeker in Lorca and what it reveals about harsh rural working conditions; and seasonal workers living on the street in Lleida, which once again prompted debate over their housing conditions in the midst of the first COVID-19 outbreaks of the summer. The final objective of the paper is to use specific cases to illustrate longstanding structural problems and suggest possible solutions in the short, medium and long term.