The pandemic paradox: Covid-19 does not discriminate, but externalisation policies do

One of the humbling lessons that this pandemic has allegedly taught us has been one on discrimination and the need to care for the most fragile and vulnerable people. Along with this, Covid-19 has been defined by many as ‘the great equaliser’ because anyone can be infected. However, if we look more closely at the impact of the virus on people’s health and financial condition, we realise that ‘the great divider’ might be a more appropriate description. Pre-existing social and economic inequalities have in fact been exacerbated both within and between countries.

The last will be the last within countries

The measures adopted by most countries around the world have shown us precisely that if on one hand Covid-19 acted as a magnifier of existing social inequalities, on the other hand social inequalities themselves have made the spread of the virus quicker and easier. As a matter of fact, it is precisely the lowest-waged workers doing essential jobs that they cannot do remotely who are most exposed to the risk of getting as well as of transmitting the infection. These people, especially in large cities, are usually members of stigmatized racial and ethnic minorities (PDF 65KB) whose socioeconomic status  forces them to travel to work and maybe even live in crowded or unsafe conditions, thus making them those who take the brunt of exposure to the virus as well as of the measures (i.a. quarantines) that are supposed to be protecting everyone from it. The living conditions imposed by a lower socioeconomic status are in fact often associated to the impossibility of staying home from work, social distancing as well as having access to affordable medical care, which further highlights how social inequalities play a major role not only in the spread of the virus but also in the worsening of the already precarious living conditions of stigmatized minorities.

The last will be last between countries

Understanding this pattern of social inequality on a national scale may in fact shed light on how the same pattern is characterizing the relationships between richer and poorer countries on a global scale as well. Lacking the resources that advanced economies have in facing the health and economic crisis, low-developed countries have been suffering a further exacerbation of their precarious situation as Covid-19 acts as a magnifier of already existing inequalities and as a further threat to aspiring migrants.

It is not hard to imagine the catastrophic impact the pandemic can have on camps for refugees and displaced people, generally already suffering conditions of crowding, malnutrition, chronic stress, and chronic diseases. And along with the risk of contracting the virus, there is a growing the stigma towards these people. In addition to the suspension of asylum applications, those living in refugee camps have in fact been the target of discriminatory policies. In moments of pan(dem)ic – history has taught us – humanity tends to look for an external explanation, a scapegoat to blame for what can hardly be explained. As a matter of fact, since the lockdown began, many European countries have begun using the Covid-19 pandemic as a reason to further push migrants back into Libya and block the borders. Although the virus arrived in the West as a “regular migrant”, probably traveling from China to Europe in business class, this same virus has only exacerbated already hostile stances towards migrants, identifying them as the personification of the invisible enemy. All this has resulted in the externalization of migration policies as well as the exacerbation of racism.

The Indian government has targeted Muslim communities, Italy issued a Decree Law closing ports for the entire duration of the national health emergency, former President of the U.S. Donald Trump has carefully framed SARS-CoV2 as the ‘Chinese virus’, thus fuelling the rampant Anti-Asian racism which has been soaring ever since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Low-developed countries are unable to compete with high-developed countries not only in the run for personal protective equipment and vaccines but also for the financial help provided by international institutions. Facing a pandemic in an already vulnerable condition, these countries depend on support from elsewhere more than ever, but only 7 per cent of the $143 billion in financing from the international financial institutions has been committed to low income countries. Despite their pledges for debt relief and expanded programs, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have failed to translate their alleged commitment into meaningful support, thus leaving less-affluent countries struggling with limited resources and unreasonable debts.

On the other hand, in such a complex scenario, it is also true that throwing resources at the economy might not suffice, as it would only perpetuate, if not exacerbate, the pattern whereby less-affluent countries are struggling with untanable debts. The world is changing as it is facing the worst human crisis since WWII and so should our support to the world’s poorest countries.  In times of pan(dem)ic, what was supposed to teach us the humbling lesson of no-border solidarity has become – in what we may call a pandemic paradox – a chance for our primordial selves to come to light and show us that, after all, our own survival is our only imperative. And yet if this virus has taught us anything it is precisely the collective responsibility to keep each-other safe in order to be safe ourselves, whether it is a question of using a mask rather than reviewing international policies. In detail, we talk about immediate debt cancellation of poor countries, as well as getting a global agreement so that vaccines and cures could be quickly available to everyone – for free, thus preventing big pharma and other big companies from profiting from a crisis that is killing millions. Overall, the key objective should be designing policies that deal with the current compound crisis while looking at the world through an equity lens, ultimately understanding that we will not make it unless we do it together.

Short Biography

Anna Molon is a MA student in Language, Society and Communication at the University of Bologna. She holds a BA in Languages, Civilization and the Science of Language from the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (2019). Her studies on foreign languages and media combined with the interest for human rights, international relations as well as sustainable development and cooperation awarded her a grant for the participation to the RomeMUN 2019. Her academic research on Humanitarian and Mass Communication ranges from the role of social media in today’s misinformation and spread of fake news to the social and economic inequalities affecting stigmatized minorities.  She is a Red Cross volunteer, activist, and former vice-president of a local LGBTQ+ non-profit organization in her hometown Vicenza