Commentary by Polli Hagenaars
We are worried about the ongoing corona crisis. We are worried about our loved-ones, about people around us, and about of those in vulnerable situations. We think of the refugees in Syria, at the Turkish borders, at the Mexican/US borders and elsewhere, of those on the move, of people ‘sans papiers’, and in the many refugee camps, in particular camps with subhuman standards, such as the Moria camp. We think of the homeless and the stateless; of children in need of getting away from their home environment, and those separated from their good and stable caretakers outside their homes, not being able to follow quality education; of elderly deprived from their caring families and friends; of the health care-takers working day and night. We think about regions where persons are deprived of necessary medical health provisions, where they may be suffering already from the terrible consequences of hurricanes, fires or floods; or of the countries in southern Europe struggling with the cut back on health care spending during the Eurozone debt crisis. And we are worried about the discrimination we see towards people from certain countries from where the virus seemed to have originated [1].
[1] Trump: “Chinese virus,” (NYT, March 19)