Pandemic COVID-19, instead of uniting us together to fight against the invisiblevirus entrapped the whole world ‘leaving no one behind’, has proportionately flared-up hatred, inhumanity, conflict as well as the sickness the virus has brought with itself.
Sudden attack of Corona virus has not brought this to us,inhumanity, hatred, disintegration of human values,tolerance to injustice and phenomenal supply of intolerance to fuel narrow perspectives which take the form of violence,aggression, discrimination and even death, we have quite a long history of dissonance.
Hasina Begum Renu (42),waiting on the school premises for her son was thrashed by the locals to death suspected as abductor on July 30th, 2019. According to Ain O ShalishKendro (ASK), from January 2019 to March 2020,78 death occurred in mob beating.
On January, 2020, some Parliamentarians demanded during ongoing session of Parliament to endorse crossfire for the rapists to ‘tackle’ the issue effectively.Such demandsshould terrorize us as ‘ordinary’ citizen.The legal, judicial system was already problematic; instead of urging for justice,we started to accept this. Allegations of such killings has already been developed.
Last couple of years were remarkable with such issues.Extra-judicial killing, political violence, violence against freedom of expression, women, children& religious minorities, mob violence- violence in every possible way were present. But still good vibes of New Year 2020 fetched some sort of light amid all the darkness amongus that things might be changed. But the COVID-19 broke in.
Our hardcore bigotry which we generally consider as piousness, is familiar with seasonal ‘wazmahfil’ at winter. Such events are surprisingly established as hot trend since last couple of years. Immediately prior to COVID-19 appearance, most of speechesin waz-mehfilshave tailored this belief nationwide such aesthetically that Corona is wrath of God upon the Chinese because of their torture on Uighur Muslims and their ‘haram’ food habits. The seed of hatred towards non-Muslims was embedded, deeply.Nobody stopped them, questionedthem to explain what ‘wrath’ really means!
Let’s be kind. If love is enough to save us from falling apart, why hatred.
The first patient was detected on March 8 in Bangladesh, and the number of infected was riding up rapidly, the ‘wrath’ of Almighty turned into upside down statement ‘God is testing us’.But theunison of collective hatred remains. Corona patients and doctors, nurses, health workers werebeing evicted from houses, the returned immigrants were being beaten by people, more or less all types of patients had experiences of getting refused to get medical support from the hospitals. Even the dead people were not being allowed to get buried. Decision of limited gathering in Masjid, like markets, schools etc. was delayed because it smelled to us as conspiracy against religion. There were health directives to become aware of the virus. But we have become ill-disposed instead in name of awareness.
Wewatched people being slapped forced to pose for ‘promotional’ photographs while accepting of relief assistance to survive some more days from starving; watched mother with corona symptoms abandoned by her children in Sakhipur forest; ambulance driver being ostracized from buying iftar during the holy Ramadan doubted if he carries COVID-19 patients. We have watched all these with the same eyes we watched the wrath upon China.
Till today, more than 3.5 lakhs COVID-19 cases are detected, more than 5000 already died in Bangladesh. Measures of prevention and mitigation of losses have been taken. But it has now turned into a newform of epidemic, unnoticed, of despair. The quantity of social degradation, hatred, hostility we adopted is alarming far more than the wound in economy, employment, education, livelihood. These things can be improved by policies, enterprises, but corrosion of humanity- which policy can change this?
We hopefor betterment however the situation worsens. People must feel that they are cared, by the state, by the doctors, by people, by us. With the blind race of bottomless profits, developments, this is time we start realizing that digits of salary are not really everything for being prosperous life rather one of the necessities. We must be able to sort out the shortcomings of the world we made that has nakedly failed to save us. The world needs solidarity above all to get healed. Great many of us must act with kindness, with humanity. People are dying, people are starving, and are helpless.
Inherent value of life, to live is same for every single people. Not more, not less. Solidarity is the catalyst, not only in disaster but always to speed up wellness. Let’s be kind. If love is enough to save us from falling apart, why hatred.
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