13/04/2021 How the pandemic has hit Australia’s fastest-growing migrant group – Monash Lens Research conducted last year with temporary visa holders found that 75% of Nepali nationals surveyed had lost their job or most of their hours after 1 March, 2020, by far the largest fall among all nationalities surveyed, and compared with an average of 33% for all nationalities combined. While these numbers are indicative only, they point to signi cant socio-economic hardship and intensifying mental health strain among Nepali temporary migrants. In order to dive into the stories behind the numbers, we’re planning a qualitative research project with Nepali temporary migrant women in particular, to understand how women are managing the ongoing impacts of the pandemic on their everyday lives. This will contribute to community and scholarly understandings of the gendered and racial impacts of the pandemic. Importantly, it will also strengthen our efforts to advocate for public health responses to pandemics that don’t rely on the exploited labour of temporary and undocumented migrants in precarious, risky and essential work to ensure the safety and security of the country’s permanent residents and citizens. NEPAL NEPALI TEMPORARY MIGRANTS TEMPORARY VISA HOLDERS COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS CASUAL WORK MIGRANT WORKERS FEATURING Rosi Aryal Lees PhD Candidate, Anthropology, School of Social Sciences Sara Niner Lecturer, Anthropology, School of Social Sciences REPUBLISH ARTICLE READ NEXT https://lens.monash.edu/@politics-society/2021/04/12/1383007/tracing-the-impacts-of-the-covid-pandemic-on-australias-fastest-growing-migrant-… 6/8