#JeNeSuisPasUnVirus
This text is a contribution to contagious-cities as part of a KISD Workshop with the topic “Barriers & Borders”.
One of the phenomena of the COVID-19 Pandemic is the accumulation of racist and discriminating attacks of citizens with Asian ancestry. They can be brutal, like a case in Essen, Germany, where a Chinese patient with symptoms of cold was not treated in a doctor’s office. But there are also cases where racist comments are getting disguised as jokes. Like when two Vietnamese Americans shared a video on TikTok eating Pho, and a user commented: “Where is the bat in your soups???”.
The political scientist Dr. Lya Yu. says, that in time of a crisis like the Corona pandemic, marginalized groups are being excluded even more. People try to personify danger. But also in newspapers, we can observe xenophobia. A German Magazine, Spiegel, titled the headline “Corona-Virus. Made in China. Wenn die Globalisierung zur tödlichen Gefahr wird” (When globalization becomes a deathly hazard). Such wording suggests, the virus was actually made in China on purpose and then exported. These kinds of argumentation are similar to colonial-racist conspiracy theories. The virus echoes old prejudices Roger Keil, professor of environmental studies at York University, says. It triggers a fear that was always latently there: the idea that bad things come from elsewhere.
This phenomenon is not entirely new. Also during the SARS and Ebola outbreaks, the spread of xenophobia on social media took place. However, there are also positive patterns that can be observed. More and more people are working against racism and acting as defenders. As movements against stereotyping of people of Asian descent in France, people show solidarity with the hashtag #JeNeSuisPasUnVirus.
Only by raising awareness communities can stand together. Everyone, individuals, political leaders, businesses or others, self-assess whether their actions in response to the coronavirus outbreak come from a place of prejudice. Roger Keil says there are two things to remember every morning these days: “Wash your hands and don’t be racist”.
Sources
Amnesty International, “Coronasvirus: Keine Rechtfertigung für Rassismus”, in Amnesty International Deutschland, 19.03.2020, https://www.amnesty.de/informieren/aktuell/deutschland-coronavirus-keine-rechtfertigung-fuer-rassismus [March, 25, 2020]
Eleanor Cummins, “The new Coronavirus is not an excuse to be racist”, in The Verge/Science, 04.02.2020, https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/4/21121358/coronavirus-racism-social-media-east-asian-chinese-xenophobia [March, 25, 2020]
Jasmine Aguilera, “Xenophobia ‘Is A Pre-Existing Condition.’ How Harmful Stereotypes and Racism are Spreading Around the Coronavirus”, in Time, 03.02.2020, https://time.com/5775716/xenophobia-racism-stereotypes-coronavirus [March, 25, 2020]
