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| Image source: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Migration/Pages/MigrationAndHumanRightsIndex.aspx |
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| Supporting Reasons Matrix |
The COVID-19 crisis brought out who we are. It brought out the competence of the government on how they deal with this kind of global issue. They had already announced lockdowns and community quarantines. They imposed safety protocols and informed business establishments of what to do. But, the pandemic also tested how we treat each other. It tested how we look at people of different races and colors and how we converse with them. Migrants are the people who are at most disadvantages during this situation. They receive limited access to information and are afraid to receive health services. Migrants face discrimination and difficulties, and most of us are blind to this fact. The treatment they face is also like the virus, killing every inch of their dignity. But, it doesn’t take time to open our eyes. So, let’s open it to reality, shall we?
Image source: https://mini-ielts.com/115/reading/overcoming-the-language-barrier
One of the things they face is language barriers and the discrimination that come with it. There have been many cases of this, but it had become more evident during this time of the pandemic. One evidence comes from The Korea Times is a Chinese-Singaporean officer who entered a café in Seoul, was directly asked to leave once the staff heard him speaking in English. Another was from a complaint filed by a Latina worker from a food corporation saying her supervisor told her that Spanish-speaking workers “who are not good in English” should not talk to the OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) investigators. Other cases of migrants having issues with the language barrier were from a Russian student who had a hard time accessing the COVID-19 news in Korea because she couldn’t understand Korean very well. While a Guatemalan national, who spoke Quiche, only got access to COVID-19 updates and health information through Facebook. Low-income migrant workers in the United States cannot afford and access COVID-19 medication and information, and immigrant contract tracing was hard to accomplish as information was in a different language. After all of these, the government and business owners could’ve just given the migrants information and protocol materials written in a language they can understand. It’s not that hard, you know?
Image source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2020/03/03/stop-using-the-coronavirus-as-an-excuse-to-be-racist/
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| Image source: https://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/racism-undermines-covid-19-response |
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| Image source: https://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/opinions/wheres-all-data-covid-19-racism |
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| Image source: https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2020/11/25/tesco-accused-of-racism-with-romanian-anti-shoplifting-posters |
Another reason, why migrants face discrimination, is that their home country is a subject of crimes or health issues. During
this time, people had become racist towards Chinese citizens because
coronavirus spread first in China. It has been so evident now that UN Secretary-General
already labeled it as the ‘virus of hate’. There have been reports of Asians
stabbed, abused, and harassed and many more accounts of hate. Asian students in
Australia could not escape this, too, as two people yelled at them, “Go back to
China, you f***ing immigrants’. Another case was people punched and resulting
in a coma for days. Vandalized with racist statements are Asian businesses.
This enthusiastic hate was also encouraged by leaders. US President termed it
as the ‘China virus’ or ‘Chinese flu’ while his Secretary of State used the
term ‘Wuhan virus’. These leaders supposedly should possess the qualities their
position requires, but they are adding fuel to the flame. In a friend group,
they can be called bad influencers. In another view, there had also been racist
actions targeted towards migrants whose country, according to natural-born
citizens, a subject of crime. One example is a Tesco branch placing a warning
to shoplifters in Romanian. It means Tesco sees Romanian people as shoplifters.
I don’t see the need to spread hate and spit racist comments. Good thing there
are still organizations and government agencies, like the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, out there
that keep track of these racisms and implement projects to protect these
migrants.
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| Image Source: https://livelihoodlaw.com/discrimination/religious-discrimination/ |
Image source: https://bohmlaw.com/areas/religious-discrimination/
Discrimination happens even during 14-day quarantines. Instead of fourteen days, a member of an Islamic missionary movement, Tablighi Jamaat, was forced to quarantine for 41 days. Authorities claimed that he brought people from India to spread the virus. Over 3000 members of this movement have been in quarantine for more than 40 days. Blamed for the spread of the virus are Indians. All of this is happening because of their religion. Some governments blame religious groups for the COVID-19. The politicians, under the Prime Minister of India, demonized the Muslim community of India, while in Cambodia, the Ministry of Health posted that the people who contracted the virus were coming from the followers of “Khmer Islam”. Now, they are discriminated against by their neighbors. The discrimination doesn’t only apply to what religion you belong in; it also implies to the beliefs of people regarding health. Some families of COVID-19 patients wanted priests to pray for their sick love ones, but hospitals had been declining them, although priests are willing to wear PPEs. Now, families have sued them. This tradition is important for families because it is their belief and the reason that could bring light to those patients. With hospitals declining these, it would create a problem between them and religious groups. Hospital staff could facilitate those priests to ensure they are not going against health protocols. In this kind of case, respect is a need.
Image source: https://itsjustlunchmnblog.typepad.com/dcblog/2015/11/why-being-an-open-minded-dater-will-lead-to-relationship-success.html
Migrants’ experience during this time is a topic that all of us should be open-minded. We should acknowledge that most of them have it worse than us. Several of us keep ignoring their issues; even officials are against them. Let’s not be close-minded people. Let’s open our eyes to the harsh reality of the treatment of migrants. Let’s also teach ourselves to acknowledge the mistreatment they are getting. Young or old, we could help them in every way. Supporting organizations that provide equal treatment for them is one thing to do. Let’s spread positivity, not hate. Let’s stand for each other. After all, our only enemy in this sickly battle is the deadly virus.
References:
Associated Press. (2020, August 19). Fear, Language Barriers
Hinder Immigrant Contract-Tracing. Retrieved from https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/fear-language-barriers-hinder-immigrant-contact-tracing?amp
Covid-19 Fueling Anti-Asian Racism and Xenophobia Worldwide.
(2020, May 12). Human Rights Watch. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/12/covid-19-fueling-anti-asian-racism-and-xenophobia-worldwide
Hussein, F., & Douglas, G. (2020, October 9). Language
Barriers Pose Worker Rights Pitfalls During Pandemic. Retrieved from https://news.bloomberglaw.com/safety/language-barriers-pose-worker-rights-pitfalls-during-pandemic
Kim, C. (2020, March 13). Low-income immigrants are afraid
to seek health care amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/identities/2020/3/13/21173897/coronavirus-low-income-immigrants
Larsson, P. (2020, March 31). Anti-Asian racism during
coronavirus: How the language of disease produces hate and violence. Retrieved
from https://theconversation.com/amp/anti-asian-racism-during-coronavirus-how-the-language-of-disease-produces-hate-and-violence-134496
Lee, H. (2020, November 27). Foreign residents experience
discrimination amid COVID-19. Retrieved from https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2020/11/177_300037.html
Rios, S. (2020, April 7). For Non-English Speakers,
Difficult Language Barriers Become Dire Amid Outbreak. Retrieved from https://amp.wbur.org/news/2020/04/07/coronavirus-translation-problems
Safdar, A. (2020, November 25). Tesco accused of racism with
Romanian anti-shoplifting posters. Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2020/11/25/tesco-accused-of-racism-with-romanian-anti-shoplifting-posters
Sarkar, S. (2020, June 29). Religious discrimination is
hindering the covid-19 response. Retrieved from https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m2280
Selsky, S. (2020, May 8). State-Sponsored Religious
Discrimination Rises with the Pandemic. Retrieved from https://freedomhouse.org/article/state-sponsored-religious-discrimination-rises-pandemic
Strochlic, N. (2020, September 2). America’s long history of
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