Dear world leaders, shouldn’t we take lesson from this pandemic in lieu of making China a scapegoat for COVID-19…!
How can we live without lives? How will we know it’s us without our past? John Steinbeck.
The beauty of accusing china lies in its obscurity. As you all know about accidental disaster that went on first in China where its state (Wuhan) became epicenter. However, China could uphold this pandemic by stringent lockdown. But unfortunately other countries didn’t take it serious when China was completely stuck in catch 22.
For example, America currently has 4,35,165 cases & is believed to have so many cases earlier when they had no thought of conducting tests. Now the more they conduct tests the more they find positive cases. Same for Italy which is also considered to have dodged COVID-19 at their first stage. Now they are the worst hit country & they should hit the nail on the head. All the countries are under lockdown including India but lockdown is a very different experience for different people relying on their circumstances & their temperament.
It’s not any difficult thing to stay at home in a cosy room having Dell laptop & iPhone inside you than in a cramped house with no front door. There is no exaggeration for a person who receives proper food at proper time during this crucial lockdown than the one who has to beg even for a half food else is bound to die.
So, the bourgeoisie’s who have money to spend must realise if they feel (hungry & thirsty) proletariat too are humans and too feel the same. So, it all means is that I ought to be discreet & tactful towards my neighbours. If I am then no harm, no stress & no strain. And this lockdown makes it emphatically clear about our leaders that honesty is of the essence. Which is what Hobbes says: Some people get to tell others what to do.
It is believed that this disaster can create stringent economic meltdown since Great depression (1929). The Great depression which lasted from 1929-1939 and was the worst economic depression in the history of United States. Economists & historians point out to the stock market crash of oct24 1929. The effects of the stock market crash rippled throughout the economy and nearly 700 banks failed in waning months of 1929. There was another financial crisis in 2008 but this is going to very very tough. As long as you are under lockdown shrinking of economy is widely expected. There has been never a crash landing like this the way international as well as domestic flights are shut. Factories are shut around the entire world. This is something new under the sun. COVID-19 shall pass but will definitely have ruthless consequences onto lives.
On one side, people die owing to this pandemic other while poor people are worst hit & they are expected more owing to hunger, malnutrition, on the other. John Steinbeck said it very well in his masterpiece “The Grapes of Wrath”. It would be years, if not decades, before the regions environment is recovered.
Question for world leaders: Can they bomb this pandemic? How long will they keep buying fighter jets? Does any fighter jet work for us during this disaster?
Whoever stays alive after this pandemic but should get to find out something from this unveiled lesson. It’s a lesson for America who had planned to mount an invasion in Afghanistan after 9/11 waged such a ruthless, bloodthirsty & prolonged war for around 20 years and made Afghanistan a war-torn country.
America must lift inhuman sanctions imposed on Iran. America must realise that this is the time to show unity and togetherness & should fight all countries together at this critical juncture else we are doomed for death just like stray dogs.
According to a report, US has spent $2.4 trillion in Afghanistan. But the million dollar question is what did US get for 2.4 trillion in Afghanistan? Was the money well spent? The Taliban control much of the country where more than 2400 American soldiers & more than 38000 civilians have died. 2.4 trillion waging war (a question that’s still up in the air).
Coming to India, it has spent 7.87 billion euro on Rafale fighter jets each jet costs (786 crore) but the health system in India is worse & worse than Bhutan & Bangladesh. As per global hunger index report which was released by Washington based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) India has slipped down to 100th rank among 119 countries. Surprisingly, India’s ranking is worse than Iraq (78th) Bangladesh (88th) & North Korea (93rd). 1/6th of the Indian population is undernourished. One in four children is malnourished. 190 million people in India sleep hungry daily. 3000 children die daily owing to poor diet related illness.
30% of global neonatal deaths are in India. So, the million dollar question here is. Have we plethora of money for buying fighter jets but when it comes to healthcare, education, poverty, malnutrition etc. which are our vital needs India becomes mute spectator.
This pandemic has exposed human weaknesses and vulnerabilities. It has revealed there is no space of making any egregious error. It has revealed that we simply are at jeopardy all the time owing to our fiasco policies.
It unveiled that our priorities has always been nuclear weapons & fighter jets we must reprioritize our policies towards health sector & human security. It said that geographical boundaries are irrelevant. It also said that concept of “sovereignty of nation” is a flawed idea. Because when pandemic like catastrophe goes on it doesn’t see any geographical boundary it transcends national all boundaries.
As we live in an interconnected world where my problem is yours & yours is mine if China was not safe United States was not safe. So one can’t sit in a cosy room & say that am safe until & unless we all are safe because this pandemic is not a catastrophe like earthquake or flood the moment earthquake happen it just cover’s some particular area. Pandemic is a global worry & threat that plagues entire world.
We need to revisit our policies because somewhere we have done fatal mistake. We need to spend more & more money on health sector, education etc. The current impasse have us realised that we are in dire need of doctors/ nurses/medical facilities etc. look at the Italy & America who are top ranked countries in healthcare system in world but still couldn’t win everything is mess & grim there. China evinced that authoritarianism does work but Italy & America evinced that pretentiousness & laissez-faire approach is an impediment for concerted endeavours. The question here is can world sustain after this horror? As we know the great depression cataclysm followed by 2008 economic crisis.
Noam Chomsky in his recent take said: “There will be recovery but can have terrifying consequences”. He also said: “We should think about the emergence of this crisis, why is there a coronavirus crisis? It’s a colossal market failure. It goes right back to the essence of markets exacerbated by the savage neoliberal intensification of deep social-economic problems”.
So, we must revisit our policies our priorities our orientation our interests because they are fundamentally based on our flawed premises flawed assumptions & flawed principles. Our principles are to the hilt idle and unethical. National interest is totally an “unethical” concept.
We need global governance to figure out all global problems like climate change, global warming, epidemics, nuclear proliferations. These global plagues are a threat to human survival. And they do required & demand a collective global response. We live in a connected world where if wings of a butterfly touch one side of the ocean it will create repercussions on other side of it. If a global leader misadventures from one part of the world it will be a catastrophic for other part of the world.
So, by considering ruthless circumstances we must revolutionise & reform our fatal flawed policies insofar as to make this world a better and a safer place…
Otto Rene Castillo says: “But I don’t shut up & I don’t die; I live and fight; Maddening those who rule my country; For if I live I fight; and if I fight I contribute to the dawn”….