Muslim Views, April 2020

A pandemic and the eclipse of millions of untold stories

by MAHMOOD SANGLAY

‘THE cheapest commodity on earth today is human flesh and blood. To make a profit at the expense of human life is the central controlling motive of the capitalist system,’ said Eugene V Debs, 118 years ago. Debs was an American socialist when the US still had a socialist party.

These ominous words are today visited upon the world’s leading capitalist economy, the United States. It is significant that the US is now the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The unprecedented global calamity has foregrounded the best and the worst in people.

Among the best is the global community of health care workers, essential services personnel and volunteers in local communities who provide and distribute food and other essentials to the poor and needy.

An unprecedented global outpouring of compassion, altruism and collective and personal sacrifice is evident everywhere. At a time when most of the world is compelled to halt, those with compassion are mobilised to serve humanity, especially the needs of the poor.

In South Africa, several charities, mosques and volunteers in the community have responded to the crisis with small- and large-scale initiatives.

A coalition called SA Muslim COVID-19 Response Task Team was formed under the auspices of Awqaf SA to co-ordinate a national effort to provide relief and other forms of support for poor communities under lockdown.