Well-Being in the Post-COVID-19 Era: The Impact of COVID-19 on Palestinian Refugees and Bedouins in the West Bank

The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted greater pressure on vulnerable minorities who are on average in a more disadvantaged socio-economic situation. Therefore, this project had the main aim to capture the transition to a post-COVID era for three groups: Bedouins, internally displaced Palestinian refugees and majority-group members (non-Bedouin, non-refugee). How did COVID-19 affect individuals’ well-being? As the rates of COVID-19 were very high in Palestine, what kind of long-term effects of COVID do we see? To answer these questions, we collected novel data among Palestinian refugees, Bedouins and majority- group members. Overall, respondents trusted public institutions and science, and felt that they have done a good job during the pandemic. Yet, subgroups of the population have lost trust into public institutions. Major challenges arose with regard to the physical and mental health during the pandemic. Not all groups were equally affected by this. For mental well-being, we see that a substantial share of respondents reports feeling more sad. Bedouins reported a perceived worsening of their mental health, as well as greater concerns about their access to food, medication and health care. This situation has not entirely improved since the return to “normal”. Overall, we see that the pandemic has affected outcomes differently, and varied by group: they were not all in the same boat.