Monday, July 27, 2020

Have the French finally started talking about the racism in their country?

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Inshiya Nalawala

Article Title

Have the French finally started talking about the racism in their country?

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Global Views 360

Publication Date

July 27, 2020

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BLM Protest in France

BLM Protest in France | Source: Thomas de LUZE via Unsplash

France, which boasts about being a color-blind nation, isn’t truly what it asserts. For a non-white citizen living in France, being subjected to bias and ethnic profiling at the hands of some insensitive police officers is a real possibility.

Structural and institutional racism is evident in France, where children as young as 10 years old have to routinely endure police stops, even without being suspicious of any illegal activity. These unlawful stops often involve humiliating body pat-downs and searches of personal belongings are   usually left unrecorded by any agency.  

A speaker at the French media coverage of the Middle East at the Alliance Française in Beverly Hills, Slimane Zeghidour, in an interview with the ‘French Morning’ agency said that, “there is a very strong prejudice of class that is translated to a stigmatization of people”, adding that these targeted people are mainly immigrants from Maghreb or Africa.

The brutal killing of George Floyd in the US kicked off huge protests against the institutionalized racism in France as well. Hundreds of people protested at the Presidential Palace in Paris while 2500 people attended a rally in Lille, 1800 in Marseille, and 1200 in Lyon displaying  placards similar to those in the US – ‘Black lives matter’ and ‘I can’t breathe’.

Alongwith protesting the death of George Floyd, people in France also drew the attention to the murder of a 24-year old black man Adama Traoré in police custody in July 2016 in their own country. The police officers involved in this incident were exonerated which triggered mass protests at that time in France.

Such blatant racism and ethnic prejudice is the result of a sense of supremacy ingrained in the collective psyche of white citizens who constitute the overwhelming majority in France. Instead of acknowledging their racial bias, a large section of whites have started blaming the minorities as the cause of their economic and cultural problems.

When a black national icon of France, Lilian Thuram, the most capped player in the history of the French national team, spoke about the racism incident in a football match in Italy, it caused a massive storm in France.

Thuram said, it is not the world of football that is racist, but "Italian, French, European and, more generally, white culture" is racist. He further stated that "Whites have decided they are superior to blacks and that they can do anything with them," and “It is something that has been going on for centuries unfortunately and to change a culture is not easy."

Thurham was highly criticized and branded ‘anti-white racists’ by the far-right extremists and their sympathetic journalists. This criticism later expanded in the mainstream media as well.

Not only the far-right extremists, even the government flatly denies the existence of extreme violence and institutional discrimination in France.

“I don’t believe we can say that France is a racist country,” says Sibeth Ndiaye, a French Government spokesperson to the journalists after a cabinet meeting, when people took to streets in June 2020, all the while justifying that France cannot be compared with the USA.

Well, with fueling protests and awareness, things are slowly changing and the taboo around race and white supremacy is losing its grip. People have gradually started to acknowledge their identity as ‘white’ or ‘black’ and the mainstream media is now talking about race.

As Mr. Fassin, a sociology professor at the University of Paris says, “My hope is we'll realize that talking about race isn't against democracy but rather about democracy”, he reflects optimism for a better tomorrow.

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February 4, 2021 5:05 PM

Yemen's Multilayered War: The Failing Healthcare Infrastructure

This is the 6th and last part of a short explainer article series on the current crisis in Yemen. To read the earlier parts of the series click on the link.

To read the 1st part of the series click on the link.

To read the 2nd part of the series click on the link.

To read the 3rd part of the series click on the link.

To read the 4th part of the series click on the link.

To read the 5th part of the series click on the link.

The civil war in Yemen, more so after 2015 has taken a toll on the civic infrastructure of the already fragile and poor country. Among these, the healthcare infrastructure of the country was one of the worst affected.

Apart from the physical damage to the hospitals and clinics due to the aerial bombings by the Saudi Arabia led coalition, the naval blockades exacerbated the dire situation. In June 2015 itself, aid agencies warned of the humanitarian risks brought by the US and UK-backed Saudi blockades.

The humanitarian situation aggravated further as there was a consistent famine since 2016 and Yemen was dependent on foreign aid for feeding almost 80% of its population.  According to UNICEF reports, over 3.3 million children and pregnant or lactating women suffer from acute malnutrition.

In 2017, the World Food Programme estimated that an additional 3.2 million people would be pushed into hunger. If left untreated, 150,000 malnourished children could die within the coming months.

Save the Children, the international charity and aid agency, estimated that 85,000 children under the age of five have starved to death in between 2015 to 2018.

Major healthcare operatives are dying due to the active bombing and conflict in Yemen, including personnel from MSF and United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHO).

The MSF (or Doctors Without Borders), who have been in Yemen since 2007, have reported that fears of stigmatization are causing people to stay away from hospitals, with misinformation and lack of medical services only compounding the healthcare issue during the pandemic.

As of 24th July, the country reports 1640 confirmed infections and 458 related deaths.  Al Jazeera reported that “Cemeteries in Aden are overflowing with graves, suggesting that the number of people killed by the new coronavirus is higher than the official count.” Yemen and its related aid agencies also suffer from lack of PPEs and adequate information about the pandemic.

As of April 2020, there are 800,000 internally displaced persons in just one province of Yemen Marib. The number of verified civilian deaths stands at 7,700.

The United Nations has been continually asking for donations, but has failed to collect as much as it requires. While it collected $4 billion last year, it has only received $700 million, halfway into 2020.

The UN urged for $2.4 billion this year to fight the humanitarian crises and the Coronavirus. As of 2nd June, 29 countries and the European Commission pledged a total of $1.35 billion to support humanitarian efforts in Yemen, just over half of the amount needed to sustain programs through the end of this year.

In April 2020, the Saudi deputy defence minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, said Saudi Arabia “will contribute $500m to the UN humanitarian relief program for Yemen in 2020, and an additional $25m to help combat the pandemic. It is up to Houthis to put the health and safety of the Yemeni people above all else.”

There are 41 major UN programmes in Yemen, and it is estimated that more than 30 of them will close due to lack of funds. The UN stated, “Due to the COVID-19 suppression measures, all integrated outreach activities, which include the Expanded Programme on Immunization, Integrated Management of Childhood Illness, Maternal and Newborn Health,and nutrition activities, were suspended.”

Most of Yemen's 3,500 medical facilities have been damaged or destroyed in air strikes, and only half are thought to be fully functioning. Officials warn that monetary relief may not be enough to assist in the war against the pandemic alongside the Civil War. A solution to the war must be found soon, before the pandemic eviscerates more of the healthcare infrastructure.

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