The Pandemic in the Trentino Asylum Reception System: Subjectivities Lost Within the “Health of the Facility”

Abstract

This contribution results from research conducted during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores how the restrictions imposed for safety reasons impacted the everyday routines of a group of asylum seekers and beneficiaries of protection hosted in the asylum reception system in the city of Trento, Italy. Drawing on the interviews, the authors enlighten how the “health of the facility” sometimes came at the expense of the health of the individual, reducing their sociability outside the reception facilities and, therefore, their opportunities to develop their paths toward independence.

Keywords

• asylum seekers and beneficiaries of protection
• covid-19 pandemic
• reception system
• independence
• “health of the facility”