Surviving together: infrastructures of care in Palestine during the Covid-19 pandemic

This paper explores how everyday communal infrastructures of care and practices of coping in crisis unfolded in urban life in Palestine during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic (March–December 2020). It highlights day-to-day practices produced by social and informal initiatives in Palestine during Covid-19 in Ramallah. Situating care practices within urban space during Covid-19, we explore how the urban structure, residents’ social networks and past care infrastructures interact to produce care practices that sustain communities during times of crisis. Using interviews, mapping of care initiatives, and socioeconomic analysis of urban spaces – including markets and residential neighbourhoods – this report explores everyday practices during the pandemic and varied agents of care within urban space. Data analysis revealed different ways residents expressed their care for others, including wellness-checking, service and information provision, isolation, and consolation. Everyday care practices that are a result of a Palestinian legacy of care are performed through interpersonal relations and built on communal values, and remain valuable for the survival of communities in times of crisis.