Human Rights Issue

IT’S HUNGER!” “It is not the virus that will kill us,

China, Italy, Korea and the U.S. made for useful case studies for a Covid-19 crash course. So we learn from those who walked this way ahead of us…

BY: PEOPLE DYNAMICS CORRESPONDENT

The current context of the COVID-19 lockdown means that the state has suspended certain freedoms, in terms of the Disaster Act, which materially impacts on many people’s ability to make the money with which to buy food. So far, South Africa has received praise from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the way the country has responded to the threatening and decimating virus. The effects of a relatively early lockdown seem to paying off, judging from the ratio of infections to deaths.

Asked how come Gauteng province with the highest number of infections recorded a remarkably low number of fatalities, the Health MEC attributed it to the fact that most of those afflicted happen to be from the affluent sectors of the economy, and have been able to recover.

Successful recovery has been linked to a multiple of factors – which also help deter new infections and symptoms. The more obvious factor is a sound constituency or immune system of the infected person. This is followed by adherence to recommended health-safety measures, including maintaining good hygiene and avoiding compounding infections. The matter of isolation has also been regarded as a positive factor in “slowing the upward curve” for

There’s no greater lawlessness than the injustice of allowing people to live precariously, deprived of food and food sources to sustain them. The Corona virus is not just highlighting the imparity between the haves and the have-nots, it brings to the fore what a greed-laden capitalistic system and its economics subject humanity to.

both infections and deaths. So far, families of surviving Covid-19 patients have kept themselves safe by either restricting contact with infected members, or ensuring maximum protective measures (PPE) when in their company.

It is also a fact that the availability of hospital isolation facilities and the quality of care have played a role in the recovery of the early patients. The measures mentioned, coupled with effective early contact-tracing, served the province well to constrain the deadly force of the virus.

Streets away - Worlds apart

It does not take a scientist to imagine how different the Gauteng picture would have been had those early infections been in densely populated communities with high, untraceable contacts.

There’s no doubt that the country is saying a collective prayer that the spread should be contained and, as far as possible, kept away from the less affluent communities who will not have the resources, the space and other social conveniences that have so far arrested the loss of lives in Gauteng. The quote (title) above echoes the words of many members of township communities and informal settlements. These areas recorded success and compliance during the first couple of days of lockdown. But increasingly, hunger has driven many to the streets, in some cases, literally. In one case, a long queue of people waiting for food parcels stood in vain before breaking into a riot. There are reports of shop looting and trucks transporting food being allegedly threatened by protesters who wanted to relieve them of their load. All this, while small-farmworker vehicles carrying fresh produce to urban areas (without required legal permits) are turned back.

It is reasonable to argue that there is no room for lawlessness irrespective of one’s circumstances. People have no business breaking lockdown restrictions that have been gazetted for their own protection. Let alone leaving home to loot or steal others’ property. Things people do in desperation!

The hunger suffered by many is not a case of lack of resources.

LERATO SENOKO HARVESTING SPINACH

It’s a case of unfair distribution and in the worst cases, deliberate destruction of resources. A recent report alleging that a dairy producer in the U.K. was throwing milk in drains due to lack of demand (and perhaps due to closure of processing facilities due to lockdown) may be news because of the topical Corona issue. Yet, it is a “norm” to many industries, to control prices by driving higher demands (versus supply). They would rather destroy food than find and feed those in dire need, who can’t afford to buy it.

There is a lot wrong with humans who would rather protect personal wealth than protect human lives. The concept of human rights is constantly being hollowed out while authorities who do not engage on global sustainable solutions allow gross inhumanities to take place on their watch.

Given that this season commemorates the world’s declaration of human rights, and that the country is reminded of its journey to liberation whether by Mandela, Sobukwe or Jesus, the following piece by Human Rights advocate and a recipient of the Mail & Guardian Top 200 Young South Africans Award piqued the interest of our researchers. It may not get you resolving global issues, but it may incite you to creative thinking toward a lucrative project that will help create humane ways to distribute resources – as much to those who need them as to those who can afford to pay for them.

“You came to earth with nothing, and you will leave with nothing.” I think of this quote and why as humans we won’t use our acquired resources to benefit those we’ll leave behind.