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COVID-19 as Disaster

Photo essay curating insights from critical disaster studies for the transnational disaster STS COVID-19 project. 

COVID-19 as Disaster

COVID-19 as Disaster

Digital collection supporting a Transnational Disaster STS COVID-19 Collaboration Call, Thursday, July 9, 2020. 

Covid-19 may be compuounded by both Anti-Blackness and preceding disasters

Roberto E. Barrios

In New Orleans, African American communities were not only hit hard by Katrina's floods, but also by violent policing during the catastrophe and a disaster "recovery" effort that was fundamentally Anti-Black (closing of publich housing and the privatization of schools and health care). Recovery efforts were not organized along ideals of racial justice that would have addressed gaps in educational and health care resources. Instead, they were imagined along neoliberal principles that systematically excluded the city's Black population. I am interested in looking into how the Anti-Blackness of Katrina "recovery" set the stage for the virulent way COVID 19 is affecting New Orleans' African American communities.

In the US Virgin Islands, Hurricanes Maria and Irma decimated what were already decrepit public school and public health systems. Public schools and hospitals had not been property repaired and remained under-supported as of early March 2020. In places like the Island of St. Croix, residents reported the hospital having only one physicial on staff, and indicated fear of misdiagnosis and prolonged waiting times kept them from seeking health care there. The clientelle of the public health system is predominantly Afro and Hispanic Caribbean. Meanwhile, US "mainlanders" (who are predominantly white) are reported to seek their healthcare off island, something only those with ample financial resources can do. Infection rates and fatality rates for the USVI seem rather low from official reports, but it is important to find out if this is because testing itself is not readily avialable in the territory.

Disproportionate and violent policing of racial/ethnic minorities has continued and evloved.

Roberto E. Barrios

Media coverage from hard-hit cities suggests there is a disproportionate number of arrests and citations related to enforcement of social distancing among racial minorities.

Also, police response seems to have followed very different patterns in the case of "re-open" protests and anti-police brutality protests.

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Sara.Till

1) Current INPO activities and chain of command, an organization that seems to be morphing from a quiet regulator of US nuclear industry to a proponent for international organization.

2) Further research into Three Mile Island incident, which is widely recognized as being a significantly smaller nuclear emergency. Yet, the aftermath of the incident highlighted tensions between public information, environmental concerns, and the need for more nuclear regulation.

3) France is noted by Dr. Schmid as being an international leader in nuclear power, a major surprise to me. I chose to explore this topic more, to see whether this has had any impact on French culture and environmental regulation.

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Sara.Till

This article examines the gaps in research concerning health care workers in "complex security environments". These work areas contain some sort of conflict, poverty or environmental issues, particularly those that are humanitarian or crisis settings, and are characterized by civil unrest. This, in turn, leads to an involvement of aid personnel-- this report primarily focuses on violence towards health care workers within these settings and the lack of information on this issue. It pays particular attention to discrepancies between peer-reviewed, academic research and general media commentary or articles.  

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Sara.Till

The report includes almost four pages of reference materials. These mostly include other journal articles or medical reports. The report, for the most part, seems to be grounded in a significant amount of medical and sociological studies and journal articles. However, there are a few government agency reports, including a National Health Institute report.