▲ Map showing countries infected by COVID-19
In December 2019, Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei province in China, was the first victim to be swept through by the new virus. Coronavirus, a zoonotic virus also known as COVID-19, has affected more than 85,000 people across 50 countries. The cure for this virus has not been found yet, which raises the severity of the situation.
However, another type of virus seems to spread with Coronavirus, started by none other than humans themselves.
“This week, my ethnicity has made me feel like I was part of a threatening and diseased mass,” Sam Phan wrote in the newspaper The Guardian. He is an east Asian master’s student at the University of Manchester, located in the UK. Sam has faced direct racism on his way to work, where a man next to him moved his seat as soon as Sam sat down.
Cases of racism towards the Chinese have been found in more than 29 countries. However, the Chinese aren’t the only victim. Footages of people shouting ‘Coronavirus’ at East Asians are widespread online, along with Internet memes that are making jokes about East Asians and Coronavirus.
▲ Tang Center`s racist Instagram post about `common reactions`
People aren’t the only ones making racist comments. Educational institutions and magazines have faced backlash for racism, too. Tang Center, a health service of the University of California, Berkely listed xenophobia as one of the ‘normal reactions’ regarding Coronavirus, seemingly justifying racism as a common reaction. The screenshot of the post quickly spread online, with numerous comments flooding in to point out the racism of the post. Tang Center immediately deleted the Instagram post, later apologizing for causing any misunderstanding.
▲ German magazine`s controversial cover
The German magazine ‘Der Spiegel’ drew attention globally from its controversial magazine cover. It illustrated a man wearing a protection mask and a poncho, looking at his phone. The real controversy was the headline that was under the image: Made in China, in bold yellow letters. The cover sparked a dispute online - with one side claiming the headline was completely unnecessary and racist, while the other argued that it was just pointing out the origin of the virus. “Such a cover such as Spiegel is the only cause of extreme terror, accusation, and racism. We despise this movie,” the Chinese Embassy in Germany spoke out about this situation.
Racism does not make this situation any better. In a global crisis like this, people should understand each other and work together to overcome the difficulties.
February 29, 2020
By Soo Min Ko
