Ukrainian Caregivers in Italy in Times of Polycrisis. Between Precarization and Resilience

Abstract

Based on 20 semi-structured interviews collected in Italy between May and October 2022, the present article examines the lived experience of precarity of Ukrainian caregivers in times of polycrisis—namely, the COVID pandemic and the war which affects their country of origin, Ukraine. The interviewees’ self-narratives show an acute awareness of the suffering that a pervasive precarity has caused them all along their trajectories and during such crises, as they endured legal precarity, economic precarity, housing precarity, and affective precarity. In describing the hardship endured, interviewees adopt a language of resilience, depicting themselves as strong(er) and bold women, used to difficulties. A closer look allows to appreciate the nuances of such claimed resilience: in line with studies focusing on dynamics of precarization (Armano et al., 2022; Lorey 2015), we distinguish between “forced resilience,” on one hand, corresponding to narratives that convey the internalization of an imperative of adaptability, performance, and self-discipline, entailing the acceptance of adverse situations, and, on the other hand, “self-aware resilience,” corresponding to narratives that express the desire to be identified with the strength shown in overcoming obstacles, rather than with the sufferance caused by these obstacles. Lastly, we highlight the gendered and geopolitical dimensions of these forms of resilience, as our participants emphasized that belonging to the community of fellow Ukrainian female caregivers has been a crucial resource for coping with difficulties throughout their trajectories—particularly since the onset of the Russian invasion—ultimately contributing to the forging of a shared “culture of resilience.”