Corona and erosion of human values
The Coronavirus is impacting not only the physical health of people but also the mental health, posing innumerable challenges to society. It is testing the strength of human relationships by shaking its very foundations. The manner in which bodies of the victims of the Coronavirus infection are being disposed in various places show us that it is not only important for people to protect themselves but also ensure that humanitarian values that form the bedrock of a civil society are also protected and nurtured.
In a recent incident, it has been reported that the bodies of nine persons who died of the infection were dumped in a pit and their last rites were performed in a ghastly manner by pourakarmikas in Bellary. It is almost as if the dignity and respect accorded to the people of the state were also given a quiet burial along with the dead. After the video of the burial went viral, the district administration tendered an apology and ordered an investigation. But as is the norm, the incident might soon be closed after the pourakarmikas guilty of the act are identified and suspended. If, however, we do not use this incident to introspect how such an inhuman act could occur in our civilized society, such incidents are likely to recur.
Another incident reported from Bangalore revealed the complete lack of sensitivity of the medical world in these times of crisis. An employee of a garment factory who was suffering from acute respiratory problems died on Sunday after struggling for 36 hours and after knocking at the doors of 18 hospitals that refused admission. “I am feeling suffocated, please admit and treat me”, the employee pleaded with the hospitals, but the hospitals refused to heed. Later, the employee and the family made frantic telephone calls to about 20 hospitals, but none of them bothered to respond and the person eventually died. In this incident, there is no clarity about the actual cause of the death, whether it was due to the Coronavirus or respiratory problems. If the person’s Coronavirus test report is negative, then the hospitals must be held responsible for causing the murder of an innocent. If we assume that the person was infected with the Coronavirus, it is still the responsibility of the hospitals to provide primary medical aid, treat the patient, conduct the Coronavirus test, and continue treatment. But who can punish these hospitals who do not attach any value to a human life?
A report published recently indicated that the state of tuberculosis in India is worse than the Coronavirus. Also, in the rainy season, diseases such as dengue and malaria take away many lives every year. Due to the Coronavirus, though, a situation is created where medicines for dengue and malaria are not available. Doctors are viewing the Corona-infected as some strange beings to be kept at bay. People visiting hospitals for fever, cough, cold, asthma, headache or other regular, seasonal illnesses are being sent back and asked to return after getting themselves tested for the Coronavirus. In the absence of medicines or immediate treatment, these illnesses are getting aggravated and people are being pushed towards death. This raises an important question about the need for individuals suffering from regular illnesses to be forced to subject themselves to the expensive Coronavirus test.
The health care system in India is in a pathetic condition. The recent lockdown has pushed people towards economic bankruptcy. In such a situation, what is the need to impose an unwritten rule that people suffering from regular illnesses should also test themselves for the Coronavirus? It is being alleged that mega hospitals are making money out of the Coronavirus. People are enraged that they are being subjected to Coronavirus tests unnecessarily and medicines are being denied if they are not willing to go through the test.
The double standards of public authorities can be seen in the way the number of people dying of the Coronavirus is being made public while at the same time, the number of people dying due to other illnesses after being denied treatment in hospitals is being covered up. If some hospitals are using the Coronavirus pandemic to make money, other hospitals are treating other patients as untouchables. If this is the attitude of the medical fraternity, it is not surprising that the common man has wrong notions about handling dead bodies or performing funeral rites of the Corona-infected people. First, hospitals and district administrations should become sensitive towards the infected people and those who have died due to the virus. Only then can we expect the common man to reflect the same values.
Recently, in Mangaluru, a few mischievous elements tried to create a controversy over the participation of an MLA in the funeral of a Corona-infected person, with a section of the media also contributing to it. No one can dispute the fact that social distancing should be maintained from the infected persons, but it does not mean that infected people should be treated inhumanely. The dead too have dignity. Refusing a decent, dignified burial to the infected not only reflects our superstitions but also the fact that humanitarian values are slowly getting eroded. The move of politicians, legislators, ministers, and district administration officials to participate in funerals by taking safety measures conveys an important message to restore confidence in people. Such behavior will not only send out a positive message but also help in allaying unnecessary fears. Only through such proactive measures can we stop inhuman acts such as the one that occurred in Ballary.
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US vetoes Palestinian bid to gain statehood at the United Nations
United Nations, Apr 19: The US has vetoed a resolution in the UN Security Council on the latest Palestinian bid to be granted full membership of the United Nations, an outcome lauded by Israel but criticised by Palestine as “unfair, immoral, and unjustified".
The 15-nation Council voted on a draft resolution Thursday that would have recommended to the 193-member UN General Assembly “that the State of Palestine be admitted to membership in the United Nations.”
The resolution got 12 votes in its favour, with Switzerland and the UK abstaining and the US casting its veto.
To be adopted, the draft resolution required at least nine Council members voting in its favour, with no vetoes by any of its five permanent members - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Palestinian attempts for recognition as a full member state began in 2011. Palestine is currently a non-member observer state, a status that was granted in November 2012 by the UN General Assembly.
This status allows Palestine to participate in proceedings of the world body but it cannot vote on resolutions. The only other non-member Observer State at the UN is the Holy See, representing the Vatican.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz praised the US for vetoing what he called a “shameful proposal.”
“The proposal to recognise a Palestinian state, more than 6 months after the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and after the sexual crimes and other atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists was a reward for terrorism”, Katz wrote on X, after the US veto.
US Ambassador Robert Wood, Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs, said in the explanation of the vote at the Security Council meeting on Palestinian membership that Washington continues to strongly support a two-state solution.
“It remains the US view that the most expeditious path toward statehood for the Palestinian people is through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority with the support of the United States and other partners,” he said.
“This vote does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood, but instead is an acknowledgement that it will only come from direct negotiations between the parties.”
Wood said there are “unresolved questions” as to whether Palestine meets the criteria to be considered a State.
“We have long called on the Palestinian Authority to undertake necessary reforms to help establish the attributes of readiness for statehood and note that Hamas - a terrorist organisation - is currently exerting power and influence in Gaza, an integral part of the state envisioned in this resolution,” he said, adding that “For these reasons, the United States voted “no” on this Security Council resolution.”
Wood noted that since the October 7 attacks last year against Israel by Hamas, US President Joe Biden has been clear that sustainable peace in the region can only be achieved through a two-state solution, with Israel’s security guaranteed.
"There is no other path that guarantees Israel’s security and future as a democratic Jewish state. There is no other path that guarantees Palestinians can live in peace and with dignity in a state of their own. And there is no other path that leads to regional integration between Israel and all its Arab neighbours, including Saudi Arabia,” he said.
The Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, sharply criticised the US veto, saying that it was “unfair, immoral, and unjustified, and defies the will of the international community, which strongly supports the State of Palestine obtaining full membership in the United Nations.”
Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine, said that “our right to self-determination has never once been subject to bargaining or negotiation.
“Our right to self-determination is a natural right, a historic right, a legal right. A right to live in our homeland Palestine as an independent state that is free and that is sovereign. Our right to self-determination is inalienable...,” he said.
Getting emotional and choking up as he made the remarks, Mansour said that a majority of the Council members “have risen to the level of this historic moment” and have stood “on the side of justice, freedom and hope.”
He asserted that Palestine’s admission as a full member of the UN is an “investment in peace.”
On April 2, 2024, Palestine again sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres requesting that its application for full UN membership be considered again.
For a State to be granted full UN membership, its application must be approved both by the Security Council and the General Assembly, where a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting is required for the State to be admitted as a full member.
Earlier in the day, Guterres, in his remarks to a Council meeting on the Middle East, warned that the region is on a “knife edge”.
“Recent escalations make it even more important to support good-faith efforts to find lasting peace between Israel and a fully independent, viable and sovereign Palestinian state,” Guterres said.
“Failure to make progress towards a two-state solution will only increase volatility and risk for hundreds of millions of people across the region, who will continue to live under the constant threat of violence,” he said.
The UN, citing the Ministry of Health in Gaza, said that between October 7 last year and April 17, at least 33,899 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and 76,664 Palestinians injured. Over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, including 33 children, have been killed in Israel, the vast majority on October 7.
As of April 17, Israeli authorities estimate that 133 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including fatalities whose bodies are withheld.
