The
world was shocked by the corona virus in Wuhan, China. Media reports to date
(8/02) at least 638 people have died, 31,480 people have been infected and 36
countries have confirmed the disease. These numbers continue to grow and
increasingly worrying. WHO itself has previously announced an emergency status
related to the deadly plague.
Many
34 countries in the world helped to limit flights to China due to the Corona
virus. Reporting from kompas.com, according to Cirium data which provides data
and research on the travel industry noted that nearly 10,000 flights were
canceled due to the corona virus since January 31, 2020. A number of countries
have also begun to close their border areas to arrivals from China, this is
done in anticipation of the spread of the corona virus even wider.
WHO
Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that restrictions related to
the concern of a number of countries about the spread of
the corona virus were considered excessive and unusual
measures. Such action, according to him, will not stop the spread of the corona virus.
As a result of the corona virus fear, Chinese citizens and tourists in several countries have suffered of racism. Quoted from BBC Rome, Veronica Li, an Italian citizen of Chinese descent, was forced to lay off three workers at his restaurant due to lack of visitors.
“Usually
50 or 60 people come here for dinner,” Veronica said. “But last
Saturday there were only two people. I have to lay off three employees. If it
continues like this, I have to close this restaurant next month, “he
added.
The
act of racism is thought to have been triggered by the massive spread of hoax
in the media. Panic spreads much faster than the virus itself. The panic is
detrimental to a number of workers from China in several countries. They were
forced to close shops, accept various sadistic curses and harassment from the
citizens they inhabit.
A
bar next to the Trevi fountain in Rome shows an announcement sign containing a
ban on customers from the Chinese people.
In
France, citizens of Chinese descent were reportedly angry when the local
newspaper Le Courier Picard posted headlines “Alerte jaune”
(Yellow Alert) and “Le péril jaune?” (Yellow Danger?), With
photos of Chinese women wearing protective masks. Residents of Chinese descent
in France then enlivened the hashtag #JeNeSuisPasUnVirus
(I am not a virus) on social media as a form of resistance to racism that
attacks them.
In
York, a suburb of Toronto, Canada (27/01), an online petition was signed by a
number of parents who asked students who had just returned from China in the
last 17 days to be banned from school. Luckily, the school refused and condemned
the petition because of fear that the students would be targeted at the school
due to their ethnicity.
Eventually racism
and xenophobia became an equally deadly plague, no less deadly than Corona. The
difference, if the corona attacks the respiratory system, acute pneumonia to
cause death, racism and xenophobia attack the critical power and humanism of
the wider community.
Racism and
Xenophobia make victims lose their human rights. And, unfortunately, those two
things are starting to plague our society.
Translated from the original article : https://islami.co/rasisme-dan-xenopobhia-wabah-berbahaya-setelah-virus-corona/, By : Vinanda Febriani on 11 February 2020.
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