Covid-19社交耻辱如何影响了Nova Scotians

The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free.

When COVID-19 news began ramping up in February, Jacqueline Cho noticed a shift in the way some people treated her.

The 18-year-old Bedford student was working as a barista at a local coffee shop. She recalled the subtle but definite change in the way some customers looked at her and spoke to her.

“我是韩国人，所以我个人面对的很多耻辱真的与那些正在寻找似乎符合中国人的人的人来说，”在接受采访时说。“他们没有等待并问'你是什么种族吗？'在支持一些术语之前。”

In February, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent issued aguide to preventing and addressing social stigma。

在许多其他儿女中，它提醒人们不要将地点或种族附加到疾病。“这不是”武汉病毒“，中国病毒或亚洲病毒，”文件指出。

赵说,病耻感绝对是真实的,certainly touched her, her family and friends here in Nova Scotia. She recalled how a few of her Chinese friends dealt with people questioning the cleanliness of Chinese cultural practices and customs, especially around food.

“我记得在新星斯科舍进入检疫之前，当我咳嗽时，人们给了我非常奇怪的看起来，”她回忆道。

“There were some passive aggressive questions about ‘When was the last time you cleaned something?’ Obviously these are not very tangible acts of racially-based hatred, but it is a lot of microaggressions. It affects you when you have that experience.”

It is these kinds of experiences and their impact that Dalhousie University international development professor Robert Huish is hoping to learn more about as part of his COVID-19 research study examining cultural stigma during the pandemic.

Huish was one of 40 recipients who received funding last month through the newly created Nova Scotia COVID-19 Health Research Coalition. He was awarded $28,600 from a pot of about $1.5 million.

他的项目将检查结果和outcomes of cultural stigma from COVID-19 ordinances in Nova Scotia, New Zealand and Australia. Huish said the goal is to get a better sense of how government policies are furthering stigma and which communities are most impacted.

He said pandemic stigma doesn’t only impact people who appear to be of Asian descent but also those who have had public exposure during COVID. He points to essential workers, food delivery service people and those working in pharmacies, frontline workers at grocery and liquor stores, and taxi drivers.

“我们也有兴趣听取他们的经历，”他说。

“What ways have they felt either stigma from other people in society, from official institutions, or even self -imposed stigma? From there we’ll be able to get a sense of what role race and economics played into the scenario.”

Huish said very little is known about the impact of COVID-related social stigma in the Nova Scotia context. There are no general surveys about stigmatization for people of Asian descent, frontline workers, or seniors and others who may have survived the virus.

这就是为什么他的研究项目将在今年夏天推出网站。他邀请Nova Scotians通过该论坛进行简要的调查，这些论坛有关与Covid相关的耻辱有关的经验。他还将使用软件来“磨砂”社交媒体平台，以获得趋势，以了解人们瞄准他们愤怒并为大流行责备的地方。

“Stigma is something that is increasingly recognized within health systems and within global health more broadly as being a very serious concern, and the impact that it has on individuals both in terms of physical and mental wellbeing is becoming increasingly recognized,” Huish said.

“在整个人类历史上，任何时候都有一个被隔离的地方，总是侮辱了它。我们在Covid-19流行期间看到了这一发展。这项工作是关于了解耻辱的经历和谁。“

Huish said he wants to get a sense of how stigma is generated. From what forums does it emerge, and what does that stigma actually look like for those who’re experiencing it?

“通过比较所有三个司法管辖区，Nova Scotia和西兰和澳大利亚，我们将能够了解哪些政策，制度行动，甚至只是努力燃料或鼓励侮辱的社会行动。”

He believes that can help ensure future health emergencies aren’t branded to a certain group or people or nationality. That’s because the emergency won’t be viewed as “a fearful threat from afar,” but more of a collective problem to overcome.

Huish said the populist rhetoric from US President Donald Trump blaming China for the pandemic served to fuel pre-existing stigma. Those sentiments directly relate to how policy is shaped and implemented.

如果我们经历了第二波Covid-19，另一种流行病，第二大流行，甚至气候变化相关的紧急情况，惠兰表示历史教导我们渴望责备某人或一群人。他不指望倾向于消失。

“This has been a very historic trend and so going forward we need to craft responses that are very cognizant of who may be a victim of stigma,” Huish said.

“我们需要找到方法来确保如果我们要做这些涉及自我隔离和全社会的严重经济影响的普遍政策，我们非常认识到谁可以在这些情景中进一步脆弱。“

As someone who’s experienced COVID-related stigma, Cho said Huish’s research and the outpouring of support she’s personally received give her hope.

“It may be the social media bubble that I’ve curated to my case, but whenever I saw anyone say anything vaguely racist or had someone come in with a microaggression, I always saw something else that provided helpful information,” Cho said.

“特别是为了防止Covid-19或照顾亚洲人或任何可能面临耻辱的人。那是令人振奋的。每当我看到那个时，它往往是年轻人，所以我希望情绪继续存在。“

---

The Halifax Examiner is an advertising-free, subscriber-supported news site. Your subscription makes this work possible;please subscribe。

有些人要求我们另外允许来自读者的一次性捐款，所以我们通过下面的PayPal按钮创造了这个机会。我们还接受与信用卡的电子转移，支票和捐款;有关详细信息，请联系虹膜“在”哈利法克萨明猴“DOT”CA。

Thank you!