Going back to my rural roots: Covid 19 and return migration in northern Peru
The research focuses on the migration of people who have moved from the urban centres to rural communities as a result of unemployment and physical, social and economic distress caused by the current pandemic. This project aims to explore and analyse the consequences that migration has had at the level of employment, livelihoods, access to healthcare (and other state resources), social support mechanisms, environment impact and household changes (including gender relations).
The lock down in Peru, one of the most severe in Latin America, imposed by the military with a nightly curfew is due to be lifted at the end of the month. There is a very brief window to capture the experiences of those who have migrated from various urban centres back to rural communities, including those who will choose to return soon after lockdown has ended. The urgency of this project rests in the temporality of this migration, especially with regard to the responses that the rural communities hosting returnees have developed. What are the expectations of returnees? What is the socioeconomic and gender profile of those returning to their communities? Is this migration temporary or permanent?