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COVID19 Places: India

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This essay scaffolds a discussion of how COVID19 is unfolding in India. A central question this essay hopes to build towards is: If we examine the ways COVID19 is unfolding in India, does "Ind

Class Inequalities, Government Response, Citizen Initiatives

Nishtha
Annotation of

Covid-19 and class inequalities :

As India Battles Covid, Class Divide is Growing https://www.deccanchronicle.com/opinion/columnists/070520/sanjay-kumar-as-india-battles-covid-class-divide-is-growing.html

 A Pandemic in an Unequal India https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/a-pandemic-in-an-unequal-india/article31221919.ece

 India cannot Fight Coronavirus without Taking into Account its Class and Caste Divisions https://scroll.in/article/956980/india-cannot-fight-coronavirus-without-taking-into-account-its-class-and-caste-divisions

The Lockdown Revealed the Extent of Poverty and Misery Faced by Migrant Workers https://thewire.in/labour/covid-19-poverty-migrant-workers

India's Response to COVID-19 Is a Humanitarian Disaster http://bostonreview.net/global-justice/debraj-ray-s-subramanian-indias-r...

Documentation of Disaster Relief Work :

PM-CARES Fund 'Not a Public Authority', Doesn't Fall Under RTI Act: PMO https://thewire.in/government/pm-cares-fund-not-a-public-authority-rti-act-pmo

 Community volunteers:  

https://www.facebook.com/thejucommune/

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Sara.Till

Sonja D. Schmid, Ph.D., works as an assistant professor of STS (science and technology studies) at Virginia Tech. Her expertise includes history of technology, social studies of risk, and energy policy with a concentration on nuclear industry and proliferation. Dr. Schmid appears to have an extensive list of publications following the Fukushima incident, including a book on the development of the Soviet Nuclear industry (MIT 2015). 

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Sara.Till

The organization of the group came from within the areas riddled with violence. As their commander is quoted in an article about the 27th anniversary, "People in the 'hood' had no chance. We had to wait for someone who did not look like us to come and save our lives." Commander Robinson is credited with starting the organization in an attempt to decrease wait times for emergency services in Bed-Stuy. Additionally, he and other ambulatory members regularly run EMT courses, aimed at pulling youth away from drug and gang related activities, providing them with an education and a future career. The agency, in many ways, has helped save multiple community members from a short and terrible life marked by violence.

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Sara.Till

1) Haitian government instability: Despite some knowledge of the Dominican Republic, I hadn't fully grasped the political instability in Haiti. This is an important factor when looking at disaster relief as political climate can often dictate how well or poorly aid is received.

2) USAID: I've chosen to delve into more about the USAID, including what countries are currently being given aid and how, including Haiti.

3) UN Peacekeeping units: obviously, a force meant to be helpful and to bring the world a little closer. Yet, the article seems to indicate peacekeeping forces can do more harm than good; I'm curious to see if this is a common theme, and if so, why this continues to occur.

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Sara.Till

While there was criticism of the policy (see the Washington Post's rebuttal), the policy appeared to be well received until implementation of quarantine for returning health care workers. This, and the backlash, caused the policy to be revised and invited confusion about guidelines. Leaders may have lost political points by staying firm with their guidelines, but chose to revoke their initial decisions-- leading to confusion and worry in the general population. 

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Sara.Till

Preston's article mentions the EPA still had not formulated and enacted a plan for cleanup-- it should be noted the year of publication was 2006. She claims "After an expert panel failed last year to settle on a method for organizing an E.P.A. cleanup, the agency said it would proceed anyway with limited testing and cleaning". Moreover, in the 10 years since publication, several studies have indicated increased public health risks and chronic illness prevalence in populations near the disaster zone. It seems the approach of sit-and-wait did nothing but exacerbate the issue, leading me to believe this will serve as a symbol in any future pollutant-laden disasters.