By Jo Smith, writer for the Immigration Advice Service, an organisation of immigration lawyers based in the UK & Ireland
As the media is awash with statistics, time-lines, advice and news about the Coronavirus pandemic, there have been stories focussing on various aspects of the disease. The government’s response has been scrutinised and analysed while the public have talked of little else both on- and offline. While it has been an unprecedented sequence of events which has drawn much speculation and debate, it has also revealed a more unpleasant side to the way the media presents certain elements of the story.
Ignoring expert advice
The World Health Organisation warned news outlets and governments to avoid linking the outbreak to the communities from which it is believed to have originated. Their concern was that it could lead to discrimination and stigmatisation, but this did not stop the US President from repeatedly branding it ‘the Chinese Virus’, inciting bigotry and anti-Asian sentiments through his choice of words.
The president’s lead was followed by the former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who used the term ‘Wuhan Virus’, drawing criticism from politicians and news agencies who accused the pair of racism and xenophobia. Asian communities in the US, UK, and elsewhere in the West have reported that they are suffering disproportionately from the effects of the pandemic with people avoiding their businesses and treating them as potential infection risks based purely on their appearance and ethnicity.
This high-profile activity has opened the floodgates for speculation about the origins of the disease, with many ill-informed individuals using it as an excuse to spread misinformation about links between Chinese eating habits and the outbreak of the virus. A video showing a young Chinese woman eating a bat has been widely circulated as ‘evidence’ of the ‘dirty’ eating habits of the Chinese and blaming these for the origins of the outbreak.
The fact that the video wasn’t even shot in China has been overlooked by westerners who are seemingly quick to distance themselves from such ‘disgusting’ eating habits, harking back to outdated beliefs and reigniting prejudices that should be dying out.
The experience of Asians living in the West
By mid-March, Chinese students at universities in the UK were fleeing back to China, citing their fear of xenophobic attacks and the poor handling of the situation by the UK government as reasons why they felt safer at home.
‘Maskaphobia’ became a real issue, with people reporting that they had been shouted at, called names, and even physically attacked simply for wearing masks. Many students found themselves in the unenviable position of choosing between staying in the UK and facing racist attacks, effectively isolating themselves to avoid abuse, or returning to China and being exposed to the virus.
Chinese-run businesses were also affected, with Chinese restaurants experiencing a significant downturn in order in the wake of the virus outbreak. Even before the social distancing measures were brought in and the widespread closure of restaurants across the UK, Chinese eateries were seeing a 50% downturn in their incomes, meaning that they are likely to be the hardest-hit once the restrictions are relaxed. Individuals have also reported that they have been put off seeking medical attention due to the way they were treated in waiting rooms.
Hypocrisy enshrined in UK policy
The UK government’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak has revealed a worrying lack of consideration for the advice of the WHO. While international experts expressed concern about the potential for the virus to spread if left unchecked, the UK implemented a policy that relied on herd immunity, despite fears that this could lead to hundreds of thousands of deaths among UK citizens.
While criticism for China’s ‘barbaric’ dietary practices was plastered all over social media, the UK’s lawmakers were potentially sentencing thousands of its citizens to death, in a move that would be considered ‘unethical’ if it were imposed on the population of a country ruled by a different political system.
The double standard that allows Western governments to act unilaterally against the guidelines set down by the bodies and experts whose job it is to provide advice while simultaneously criticising governments that implemented more severe measures shows a degree of institutional racism that is hugely damaging.
Fighting fear as well as Coronavirus
At a time in global history where fear has been at its peak, it is important to appreciate the long-term implications of the way the Coronavirus outbreak has been handled. Creating divisions between nations is always dangerous, but allowing them to inform policy could have potentially devastating repercussions.
The response by the UK government and the reaction by the public shows that we need to address the issues of ‘othering’ people of different nationalities. While we wage war on a virus, we must also seek to dismantle the attitudes and cultural frameworks that allow racism and xenophobia to thrive in what is supposed to be an advanced civilisation.