Xenophobia in the midst of the Covid pandemic

The COVID-19 virus, which is still spreading until now, has certainly had a major impact on the lives of people around the world. With the intensified movement physical distancing, people are now more aware of the environment around them.

However, some people even carry this awareness as a means to discriminate against a certain group. Called xenophobia, this phenomenon is happening again in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What is xenophobia (xenophobia) ?

Xenophobia (xenophobia in English) is a term that refers to the fear of people or things that are considered foreign. This term comes from the Greek words, "xenos" which means stranger and "phobos" which means fear.

The existence of xenophobia as a real phobia is still being debated, some argue that xenophobia can be the same fear as phobias in general.

However, this term is more often interpreted and used in a similar way to the way people use homophobia, a term aimed at haters of homosexuals.

Xenophobia is usually triggered by a dislike of hatred towards individuals and groups that they perceive as something from the outside or that they are not accustomed to seeing. The causes can be various, ranging from race, lineage, ethnicity, skin color, to religion.

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Xenophobia is transmitted through acts of direct discrimination, incitement to hostility, and violence. This action is carried out with the aim of humiliating, humiliating, or injuring the group of people concerned.

Sometimes, this is also done with the aim of eliminating a group from the environment around people xenophobic.

Xenophobia emerged in the midst of a pandemic

Source: Views From The Edge

It turns out that the COVID-19 pandemic is not the first to cause this reaction. Reflecting on previous events, epidemics and pandemics inevitably tend to trigger xenophobia and stigma, especially in individuals related to the region where the disease spreads.

The pandemic has generated social stigma, which in the context of health is defined as a negative relationship between individuals or groups of people who share certain characteristics related to their disease.

This phenomenon has occurred when the Ebola and MERS virus diseases broke out. In one example, children of African descent living abroad often receive taunts and calls "Ebola" at school at the height of the spread of the disease.

Xenophobic behavior is on the rise again amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 started in the city of Wuhan in China, this time people with Asian descent have been affected.

Not only patients and health workers who care for them, people who are not infected are also negatively affected because of this stigma.

This can be seen in a video that was busy some time ago, where two women of Asian descent were suddenly attacked and berated as the cause of contracting the COVID-19 disease.

The situation was further exacerbated when Donald Trump, President of the United States, referred to COVID-19 as " chinese virus " on the pretext that the virus originated in Wuhan in China.

Indeed, it is natural that this pandemic that has claimed hundreds of lives has made people confused, panicked and even angry. Moreover, COVID-19 is a new disease that still needs to be studied more deeply. Ignorance of this disease triggers fear and paranoia.

However, that does not mean that people can vent by hating a group just because stereotypes are not true.

The impact that will accompany

If this continues, xenophobia can certainly have a negative impact on groups that are affected by discrimination. This behavior can also lead to difficulty controlling disease transmission.

The existence of this stigma makes affected individuals reluctant to have their bodies checked. He may even try to hide his symptoms for fear of being mistreated in the hospital.

In addition, the stigmatized group tends to have difficulty accessing care, not to mention that they also have to face the possibility of bias in the health care system.

Prevent xenophobia amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Xenophobia can occur anywhere, including in Indonesia itself. Therefore, everyone must raise awareness so that they do not fall into hatred in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the public to take part in steps to stop stigma, some of which are as follows.

• Educate yourself and those around you with information about COVID-19. As already explained, stigma can arise due to a lack of knowledge about disease transmission, prevention and treatment. Therefore, read more news or information from trusted sources.
• Use social media tools to spread the right information. At times, social media can be a source of fear because of the large amount of news covering COVID-19 that has not been verified. In order not to worsen the situation, help spread accurate news and knowledge about COVID-19 in simple language so that it is easier to understand.

The COVID-19 disease can affect anyone regardless of age, race and country. Instead of pointing out who was the first to transmit the virus, it would be better if you stay focused on taking various precautions to avoid infection with the virus.