We are
currently experiencing the outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus), which the World
Health Organisation (WHO) has specified as being as a pandemic. We do not know
its duration or even the eventual outcomes with regard to deaths and long
lasting effects. In the midst the uncertainties, there are a few issues for
which we can be sure of the consequences.
There is no
doubt that we will all be affected one way or another. By the time that the
pandemic has been brought under control, we would have all known someone who
would have contracted the virus or even, unfortunately, have died from its
effects.
The fact has to
be encountered, however, is that the socially disadvantaged will be
disproportionately affected, as is so often the case in natural disasters, and
viral and bacterial outbreaks. It reinforces the disadvantages that are already
present and, in fact, will make the situation harsher. The impoverished will be
steeped into more poverty and the hungry will not feel their stomachs being
filled.
It could be
that it could take a generation or more to alleviate the worsening conditions
in which people ‘at the bottom of the pile’ find themselves. That is just to
get back to the position previous to the coronavirus outbreak, before they can
think of bettering themselves and become socially mobile.
It is bad
enough that many of those people who are socially disadvantaged already live in
areas where the live expectancy is lower than more prosperous locations. Research has shown
that there were 49 per cent more fatalities among 35-44 year olds in the north
in 2015, and 29 per cent more fatalities for those aged 25-34 in the same
period. Dying early (before reaching the age
of 75 years) is 20 per cent more likely in the north than in the south. A stark
rise in premature deaths among the middle-aged in the north began in the 1990s
and has increased steadily since. Overall, from 1965-2015 there have been 1.2
million more early deaths in the north compared with the south.
One of the
areas is in the foodbanks that so many who are the working poor have come to
depend on. The sad fact is that they too will suffer as staff members and
volunteers will experience the impact of the coronavirus, including the
necessity of looking after family and friends who have contracted it. When
people need to turn to the foodbanks to help them feed their families, there
will not be to assist them in filling their bags with the required foodstuffs
and to give them any additional help or signposting that is very useful.
The other
impact on foodbanks is that there will be a shortage of donations, that a
number of them have already started to experience. It can be explained partly
in that people are too busy filling their own larders ‘in case’ they and/or
others may have to self-isolate. The sort of food that is often required in the
foodbanks are the non-perishable, which are the very items that are being
hoarded. It is those who have money, often classified as middle class, who can
afford to stockpile – an activity that cannot be undertaken by people on
benefits or have little or no excess cash beyond the necessities of life.
There are other
agencies that those who are socially disadvantaged depend will be impacted by
the coronavirus because their staff members and volunteers will also contract
the virus or may have to look after loved ones who have contracted it. The
examples will include organisations like Age UK, the Citizens Advice Bureaux or
money advice centres (like Christians Against Poverty). The result is that they
will not get the timely response to the real problems that they face.
The advice that
has been given out has also not been beneficial to those people who are socially
disadvantaged. An example is the encouragement for people to work from home. There
has been a growing acceptance that working from home will reduce and could
possibly eliminate the possible of contracting the virus in the working
environment. Although it is possible for people in office workers to achieve
this objective, it is impossible for those undertaking manual work, such as
factory workers, cleaners or road workers. (It is admitted that there are
‘middle class’ jobs that cannot be accessed in the home situation, such as managing
the transport system, working in courts or prisons. However, it is
disproportionately the poorer people in society that are adversely affected.)The
outcome is that they remain exposed to any coronavirus infection, including the
contact with hard surfaces where the coronavirus is transmitted.
The reality is
that the same people are those who still rely on public transport to get to
work, whilst the clerical workers are ensconced at home in front of their
laptops. This situation leaves them exposed to transmitted virus, such as
through coughs or contact on rails, seats and buttons, even where the person
transmitting the virus has not demonstrated the symptoms. In addition to the
physical manifestations, there is the financial consequences as there will
still be fares to pay whilst those working from home can save on this expense.
Where the low
paid person does contract COVID-19, it could be that the person does not earn
enough to qualify for Statutory Sick Pay. The result is that they will not only
lose the meagre income, but they cannot make up for this loss of income in any
way. The result could be that they become more imprisoned in the dungeons of
debt and even beholden to the chains of high interest rates that wrap around
them, so making it even more difficult to escape from their prisons of
perpetual poverty.
The problems
also extend into the next generation. In order to help stem the progression of
the coronavirus, it has been proposed that educational establishments should be
closed. It has been proposed that pupils continue with their education by means
of online means, which is a supposition that all pupils have access to a
personal computer. The possibility of this happening among low paid households
is diminished. It is acknowledged as computers in libraries can be accessed
(presuming that there is a local library still being open five days a week),
but they will be required to be accessed by numerous pupils in the same
situation.
It can also be
stated that pupils from low salaried families generally have less motivation to
learn when they are required to participate in distance learning. It is more
compelling to meet your friends on their bikes than to sit in front of a screen
and continue with your lessons. The outcome is that they then fall further
behind in their academic achievement and their changes of being socially mobile
would be lessened.
Another effect
of the school closure would be that those entitled to free school meals because
low incomes will not receive their nutrition. It is already the experience of
children from socially deprived families that they are deprived of nourishing
meals during the school holidays, which makes them more dependant on foodbanks
(whose impact is pointed out in a previous paragraph). Although the measures
taken to close schools will lessen the impact of the coronavirus on the general
population, it may detrimentally affect children from low income families both
educationally and physically.
We are
encouraged to look out for those people who are at the ‘bottom rung’ of the
social ladder. We are called upon to ensure that those families and individuals
who in poverty get enough to eat (Exodus 23: 11; Leviticus 25: 25). It should
not be done in an attitude of being grudging, but we should be eager to
demonstrate our human responsibilities to our fellow human beings (Galatians 2:
10).
When the
avarice demonstrated in the panic buying takes hold, there is the divine
reminder: ‘Is there any poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the
land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or
tight-fisted towards your poor brother.’ (Deuteronomy 15: 7, cf. Deuteronomy 24:
12) It means that we continue to give provisions to the foodbank, even though
it means diminishing the amount of contingency foodstuffs in our larder. It
means that we do not strip the shelves of the shops so that there is plenty for
all to buy. It may also mean that we give of our time in an agency so that
those people in need continue to get good quality advice, even if it means
signposting them to another organisation.
God will have
good regard if we go out of our way deliberately to help the socially
disadvantaged people. We are told: ‘He who is kind to the poor lends to the
Lord, and He will reward him for what he has done.’ (Proverbs 19: 17, cf. Psalm
41: 1, Proverbs 14: 21, Proverbs 28: 27, Matthew 19: 21). It does not mean that
we will be immune from the effects of coronavirus, should we contract it, but
that we will know God in a more intimate relationship during such an
experience.
It stems out of
our attitude resulting from the outpouring of grace where Jesus Christ came
down in order to raise us up. Because we are recipients of God’s mercy, we
cannot look down on other people but should seek the good of all. It means
ensuring that we seek the good of all, without exception to race, gender, age,
disability or socio-economic status, and even placing ourselves in the line of
the virus outbreak as servants of those we seek to serve.
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