The corona virus is a political issue, not a health one

Author and historian Yual Noha Hariri says the crisis caused by the corona virus is not about health but about international politics.   The decisions we make today will have an impact on our lives in the years to come. Israeli author and historian who also authored a book on human history entitled "Sepans: A Brief History of the Mankind" says the decisions being made today to deal with the corona virus epidemic. Yes, it will affect our lives for many years to come. Will any kind of society be born after coming out of this epidemic? Will the nations of the world become more united or more distant from each other? Will the methods of monitoring citizens and the police system be used to protect them or to oppress them? The crisis is forcing us to make big decisions in a hurry. But we have 'options' or different paths, "he said." Two factors are very important, whether we face this crisis alone as a nation or whether we face it with global cooperation and solidarity. "Second, at the national level, we do it in an authoritarian and repressive manner, or through strict surveillance, or through social solidarity and empowerment of citizens," Hariri said. The questions that have arisen from the epidemic are both scientific and political. Efforts are being made to find answers to scientific questions, but little attention is being paid to how to respond to political questions. "Humanity has all the resources it needs to deal with this epidemic," he said. "In the Middle Ages, when the plague broke out, people were dying, but no one It was not known why he was dying and what could be done about it. Chinese scientists have identified and sequenced Sars-CoV-2 and many other countries are conducting research on it. No cure for Code 19 has yet been discovered, but researchers are working to develop a vaccine using modern medical technology and inventions. "We know that precautionary measures of hand washing and social distance can prevent the spread of the corona virus," he said. And financial resources. "The question is, how do we use these capabilities and this is basically a political question," Hariri told the Financial Times in an interview. In the past, discussions and deliberations used to take years, but now they are being done overnight with great speed. Citizen surveillance technologies are being developed rapidly and there is a race to use them without proper public debate.  "With these modern devices in the wrong hands, governments that want to closely monitor their citizens can gather information about each person and make secret decisions based on them," he said.  In Israel, for example, the government has given intelligence agencies access to information rather than just public health officials to see who was present at what time and place. In China, where state-of-the-art facial recognition technology is available, people have been fined for violating quarantine using this technology. This has been done literally, but according to Hariri, it has been done in a very transparent manner. This may be justified in the short term, but Hariri says there are many dangers to using these surveillance methods and devices on a regular basis. "I want governments to take strong action on public health and economic issues, but only governments that represent the people have the right to do so," Hariri said. "Under normal circumstances, a government can run a government with the support of 51% of the people, but in such extraordinary circumstances, you really need a representative government that can take care of everyone." In recent years, governments that have succeeded in seizing power on the basis of nationality and popularity have divided society into factions and sowed the seeds of hatred for foreigners and other nations. Hariri said the global pandemic has made it clear that it makes no distinction between countries and different social groups. "We have to decide whether to take the path of non-alignment or co-operation in the face of this difficulty," he said. He said that many countries have tried to deal with this problem alone and have procured medical personnel and resources from private companies. The United States has been widely criticized for violating the rights of other countries to obtain masks and ventilators. There are also concerns that vaccines developed in rich countries may not reach developing and poor countries in adequate numbers. Hariri said that with the cooperation of the modern world, it is possible that the lessons learned by Chinese scientists in the morning could save lives in Tehran in the evening. He said that it was most prudent to promote global cooperation and alleviate the disease. In all affected countries, knowledge and financial and material resources should be distributed and exchanged in a fair and honest manner. "The last time a man was separated from another and fought an epidemic, you have to go back to the Stone Age," he said. "The plague broke out in the fourteenth century in the Middle Ages, so we will not be able to escape the return to the Middle Ages," he said. Whatever the outcome of our decisions, Hariri is convinced that man remains a social animal and will not change. He said the virus was playing with human emotions. "It is human nature to feel sympathy for those who fall ill and to be close to them," he said. This virus is taking advantage of this and is engulfing us. However, we have to maintain social distance and use our minds, not our hearts. "It's very difficult for us," he said. He thinks that when the epidemic subsides, people will have a greater sense of sociality and there will be no fundamental change in human temperament.