Misplaced priorities

The much-feared second wave of the coronavirus has already gripped several parts of the world with the UK announcing a country-wide lockdown and other states mulling taking the same line. Attempts to shut down businesses have met with fierce resistance in countries like Spain where many believe it would do nothing except impoverish the people.

The contagion that has been comparatively less merciless in Asia is playing havoc with the lives of millions in India. Latin America and other parts of the world are also reeling under the brutal onslaughts of the virus that has claimed over 1.2 million lives besides infecting over 46.4 million people. The three largest democracies of the world – the US, India and Brazil – witnessed the largest number of deaths. As of November 2, the number of people falling prey to the coronavirus pandemic in the US was 236,471; in India 122,642; and Brazil 160,104.

The pandemic seems to have multiplied the hardships of the working masses across the world who were already struggling under the shrinking economic opportunities. The contagion has caused an over two trillion dollar loss in manufacturing alone, affecting more than two billion people. Even in advanced countries like the UK many people who had a reasonable income before the virus have resorted to seeking help from food banks now. The economic devastation caused by the contagion has also forced millions in the US to apply for unemployment allowances.

The poor in India were left at the mercy of the right-wing Hindu nationalist ruling party that turned a blind eye to the plight of millions, announcing a lockdown without arranging an alternative relief package for them. Millions walked for days to be told to go back to the cities that they left amidst the abrupt shutter-down.

This situation should have prompted the elite of the world to concentrate on battling this biggest enemy of humanity in modern times. The ruling classes in the world’s capitals should have put their differences aside and made collective efforts to stamp out the pandemic that is impoverishing millions besides creating hardships for the vast majority of people around the world. But unfortunately the ruling elite of the world did not learn anything from the greatest calamity of our time. They continued their bickering over trade deals and strategic agreements. Amidst this devastating contagion, they are hurling threats at one another instead of realizing the gravity of the situation.

The US is directing all energies towards containing China. Both the Democrats and the Republicans are trying to prove that they are more hawkish over the question of this containment. Both want to tell the American people that it is not the ruthless onslaughts of the pandemic that is affecting millions but some patent issues or theft of intellectual properties by the ‘communist monster’ that is the real enemy of the American people at the moment. They seem to have no plan to tackle this killing virus that has claimed more American lives than the Korean War, Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom and the Afghan war. It may be mentioned that the Korean War claimed around 33,686 American lives while the Vietnam War caused the loss of 58,220 lives.

France, which is one of the biggest victims of the pandemic in Europe, is busy portraying Muslims as terrorists instead of dealing with the contagion in an effective manner. It is strange that at a time when French President Macron should be seen making efforts to forge unity between various sections of his society, he is unfortunately taking steps that would further polarize French society. Flaring tensions that have been partly fomented by the provocative statements of the French government’s officials cannot be instrumental in battling the pandemic that has played havoc with the lives of millions of people. This may help the French elite divert the attention of the people from the unfolding catastrophe but such short-term machinations would do great disservice to French society because they risk tearing the social fabric of the country.

Amidst this devastating virus, the Indian ruling elite chose to fight an invisible enemy by squandering all resources to stage an imagined war against this so-called sworn rival. Conservative estimates suggest that more than 21 million salaried jobs were lost to the virus in India, triggering fears that the country would take years to recover from the grim economic situation. Ironically, the New Delhi government that wants to have access to satellite data by entering into an agreement with Washington does not have any accurate data of its own about the job losses that may have been caused by the pandemic. This reflects the apathy of the Modi government towards the hardships fuelled by the virus’ spread.

It is feared that the second wave could be more devastating than the first one. If the leaders of the world do not take it seriously, it may spell a disaster not only for one country or continent but for all of humanity. It is important that we put an end to the blame games, irrational statements and fiery speeches that are fueling tensions in various parts of the world. The Turkish president’s efforts to revive the caliphate or the French president’s tirade against Muslims can in no way be helpful in dealing with this colossal problem. Sabre-rattling in South Asia or war-mongering in the South China Sea would only cause the squandering of precious human resources at a time when they should be devoted to fighting the pandemic.

The global political leadership should convene a conference discussing ways to find a cure for the devastating virus. Russia, China, the US, the UK and the EU should make joint efforts to expedite work on a vaccine for the virus. Scientists, intellectuals, artists, players and other sections of society should revolt against the myopic approach of their ruling elite. This approach will push us towards a big disaster.

Working people of the world have a special responsibility to prevent the disastrous path that their ruling elites have adopted amidst fears of the second wave. It is they who have been greatly affected by the pandemic. The ruling elites of the world are trying to pit them against one another in the name of religion or nationalism to hide the sheer incompetence that was exposed during the pandemic. While the rich of the world are taking private flights to escape the onslaughts of Covid-19, the poor of the world have been left at the mercy of their incompetent ruling elites.

The first priority should be to expedite efforts to find a vaccine for the deadly virus. The second should be to extend help to billions of people that were hit by the contagion and the third should be to put an end to all sorts of attempts to polarize and further divide humanity in the name of patriotism, civilization and religion.

The writer is a freelance journalist.

Email: egalitarianism444@gmail. com