Ignorance and discrimination amid coronavirus outbreak

Walter misao
With the uncertainty surrounding the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) some stories based on fiction are doing the rounds on social media. The coronavirus outbreak is thought to have started in a food market in Wuhan, China. There is no proof that eating meat could cause disease, as most viruses die out during the process of cooking the meat. The evolution of the virus must be fully studied, and researchers are working on it. The rumor is that the virus was engineered in the lab by human as a bioweapon, but this lab theory was debunked by experts who study coronaviruses, and says they have enough evidence that the virus is brand new and came from nature. Coronavirus is now known as SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 is a pandemic disease after the World Health Organization (WHO) officially changed their classification of the situation from a public health emergency of international concern to a pandemic. This means anyone can get infected with coronavirus irrespective of caste, creed, color, gender, religion or geographical boundaries.
Health experts and government authorities across the globe have been working and monitoring the situation closely in order to resolve and remain resilient until the fight against coronavirus is over. Many of the myths and conspiracies that have sprung up around the novel coronavirus on social media and beyond have been addressed by health experts. But large sections of the society in India are ignorant to COVID-19 pandemic. They are living in the world of illusion that drinking cow urine can get rid of coronavirus. There are some incidents that have been reported on mainstream media, and many other posts and videos on social media WhatsApp and Facebook, people are drinking cow urine (gomutra) to prevent themselves from coronavirus, and a man was arrested by the police after a volunteer fell ill from drinking cow urine. Even a legislator made a claim of such an outrageously absurd idea of curing coronavirus from cow dung and urine.
During the 14-hour-long ‘Janta Curfew’ on Sunday March 22, which the PM Modi had announced social distancing is of crucial importance in these trying time to combat coronavirus spread however, the message has not gone down well where we could see large gathering of people on the streets in festive mode. People are dying, stay home if not for you but for others. We express our gratitude to medical professionals, sanitation staff, home delivery persons, airline crew, police and media personnel among others but we should not put their lives and professions in danger.
Xenophobia or anti-Asian-looking sparks a rising tide worldwide as a result of coronavirus outbreak. In India, the people from the Northeastern states are increasingly facing racism and discrimination in the rest of the country. As per reports by Rights and Risk Analysis Group (RRAG) a New Delhi-based rights group cited at least 22 cases of racial discrimination or hate crimes between February 7 and March 25. Based on the FIR lodged with Delhi Police, a 40-year-old man was arrested for spitting and hurling racial slurs at Manipuri woman, calling her ‘Corona’. When the country is lockdown for 21 days in a fight for human survival and existence from COVID-19 pandemic. The one thing which we can do is to help each other out in times of distress. Essential food items and services are difficult to get! how would one feel as a citizen of this proud country when one is denied entering the store from buying groceries? Just because one physical feature either looks like a people from north or south or west or east or north east India. Same is the story of two men from northeastern state, they were denied entry at the grocery store of a large retail chain More Megastore in Karnataka’s Mysuru. The staff of the store allegedly insisted they were Chinese nationals and refuse to let them in. It was reported that the Mysuru city police has filed FIR into the incident and has taken the store’s manager and the staff into the custody. How a man on earth can go insane to this level? This is not just racial discrimination but an infringement on citizenship rights. Perhaps racial discrimination is due to stereotyping of particular people based on physical features. Furthermore, ignorance of social and cultural traits of a community is a threat towards nation building. “Nothing in this world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity”, this famous quote from Martin Luther King Jr is pertinent to the current situation how we are divided in the fight against coronavirus? We hope that we will return to normal life soon and restart our economic activities once the pandemic disease subsides.
Scientists and Experts may have busted many Myths around coronavirus, but they are not going to diagnose and cure social ignorance and discrimination. Therefore, the ruling party is reminded of many of these incidents of racial slurs against people of North East India and it is my fervent hope that PM Modi will take some exemplary action as it will help in educating rest of the Indians, about their outlook towards the Northeastern Indians. Together with love, respect and trust we can win over hate and discrimination in the fight against COVID-19 globally.