Yesterday, when I was waking my 6 years old son up for his
school, he asked me as soon as he opened his eyes “Mammy, who won the
elections?”. When I answered him “Donald Trump”, he looked at me with terrified
eyes and said “Then, we are leaving the US soon!”. When I asked him “Why do you
say that?”, he answered “Because he does not like Muslims”. Actually, I was
shocked because we, me and his father, never discussed such political issues in
front of him. We thought that his young age is not suitable to afford such
pressure. However, I realized that it becomes a reality that cannot be denied
or neglected.
After I calmed him down, I started to think about this new
reality in the US. The US has passed many steps for freedom, social justice and
equality. This was highly represented by electing Obama as a president although
he has a dark skin color that used to be a matter of inequality in the past. Now,
the new president has a hostile tone towards all minorities including but not
limited to Muslims, Hispanics and African American. He only cares about white
Americans. It is a surprise for me to see the leading country in the world returning
far away from its achievements on the social and humanity level. What makes me
even more surprised is the amount of support that the new president received to
win the elections. Does the majority of Americans support such racism? I am
thinking of the Syrian refugees who are struggling under fire for 5 years. They
lost their families, money, and health and came to the US, the country of
freedom and social justice, for legal asylum to have their right of life and
health. These refugees, are now threatened to be kicked away. I am thinking
about African Americans whose majority are suffering under the structural
violence practices. Now, they are expected to receive more racism and social
injustice which is called by some as "the white lash".
I wonder how these threats would affect politics and
consequently global health. I remembered the concept of “bare life”, life that
can be killed but not sacrificed because it has no political relevance, that we learned about in the start of semester. Are we entering a new era that account for
this bare life? Are we threatened on the global aspect, or am I having a pessimistic
view about the future?
Salma,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you shared this, as we had some of the same comments from my older children. I was concerned about sharing anything in this new environment and what the people around me stand for including my professors. For me, as a immigrant and as someone who's family is serving in the military, I trusted that the American people would categorically say that this is not the America I want by not electing Donald Trump. My faith in America as an immigrant and person of color have been completely shattered. I looked at the electoral map for Tippecanoe and I was stunned that the people in this county voted for that kind of hate and bigotry. I walk around campus and I hear people celebrating, and I think wow, is my family going to see an increase in hate slung at us from passing cars as we did before. Would the N word be used more often now. In terms of globally, I believe that it was the faith in America as the land where people of all races, religion and creed can come together that made it great. Even if the president elect walked back some of the things he has said while campaigning and who he aligned himself with such as white supremacist and alt right, the knowledge that the majority of American people wanted this way of life, where only white Americans are valued will always be a stain.
Now you folks know why I delve into history and discuss concepts like imperialism, colonialism, neoliberalism, racism, caste hierarchy etc., when talking about global health. This is indeed a time of reflection from a personal and also a global, societal standpoint; understanding that events of present are the result of deep rooted fault-lines we have created in the past. And for all those who hope to live in Utopia, my advice is to work for it but do not take it for granted. As we have discussed in class, health is ultimately a product of your own personal and social context, historicity and the forces that have influenced it/ continue to do so. A similar explanation applies to our views about anything including the present elections. Its personal and I do not expect you to understand mine or me to understand yours. All I can do is to work with you towards creating a better situation for all of us. Can it happen in my lifetime? I sincerely hope so or maybe my work can contribute to create a better future (whatever that means) for our children.
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