The everyday impact of COVID-19 in Vietnam’s highlands

Auteur : Seb Rumsby. Postdoctoral Impact Fellow at University of Warwick; his areas of interest include everyday politics, ethnicity and religion, international development and sociolinguistics in South East Asia and especially Vietnam.

Production : 9dashline. The 9DASHLINE platform aims to help shape the future Indo-Pacific narrative through original comment and opinion features. It provides opportunities for new voices to sit alongside seasoned commentators keen to explore issues affecting the worlds most dynamic region. Its readership is made up of professionals from the world(s) of security, business and academia.

Diffusion : site de 9dachline.

Date : 6 avril 2020.

[extrait] One important economic pathway to be disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic is across the Chinese border. As well as longstanding trade networks, in recent years many highlanders have been seasonally migrating to China for manual labour, often returning only once a year. This year, the border gates closed after the Lunar New Year holiday period, prompting a labour shortage in China and the prospect of higher wages for the few who are able to cross the border illegally without getting caught.

Source : Seb Rumsby, “COVID-19 in South Asia’s power politics”, 9dashline, 13/04/2020. URL : https://www.9dashline.com/article/covid-19-in-south-asian-power-politics (consulté le 18/04/2020).

Photo “à la une” : A child carries a cage in a mountainous area of Sapa, Viet Nam. Photo ID 491881. 23/06/2011. Sapa, Viet Nam. © UN Photo/Kibae Park