Imani Tafari-Ama | Political economy of the COVID-19 crisis

You would have to be living under a rock not to be aware of COVID-19 and its 180-degree-pivot impact on lives and livelihoods. It is hard to imagine what people who lost loved ones to the overnight global pandemic are going through, since death is not just a traumatic event but also a process of lifelong grieving for those left behind.

Cynics comment that the blanket influence of COVID-19 has eclipsed the attention that should be paid to routine illnesses that continue to beset the average sick person. In this vein, the complaint from the health facilities 20 years ago was that the wounds inflicted through the devastating violence that has become entrenched in the body politic so depleted the medical resources that even things like gauze and cotton became precious and scarce commodities.

The crisis created last weekend by the lack of oxygen in the face of the prevailing coronavirus surge is surely the straw to break the camel’s back. People died because of the collapse of the health system and realistic projections are pessimistic about the sustainability of the procured supply, which is scheduled to only last a few days.

The pandemonium created by the ultimatum for children to be vaccinated ahead of school opening must be the mother of marketing faux pas for the pandemic strategic planners. With the COVID-19 spread and the inevitability of resumption of online schooling, this carrot/stick approach constitutes a skirting of management responsibilities between ministries of health and education. One wonders if the instruction that will be available to vaccinated students will be better than that to which students who are not vaccinated will have access.

This conjecture is considered in the face of the already class-specific access available to students who can afford to attend the more endowed institutions, vis-à-vis their not so privileged counterparts. Pre-COVID-19, students who attend the better-off schools could do activities like robotics and gymnastics, which are not available to all and sundry. It is a system of you get what you pay for. I was shocked when I was on assignment in Germany and in the United States of America to discover that, as long as I paid taxes, education was free for my child. We have a long way to go to level that playing field. Whether your child is in face-to-face or remote modality, the need for parents to create supportive homeschooling networks is a critical resource to explore as a reinforcing mechanism for those students that are floundering or falling through the cracks.

One of the costliest outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic is the disconnection of students from extracurricular activities. In the year and a half since the onset of the pandemic, sporting activities have fallen below the radar. If the old adage that all work and no play makes Jack [and Jill] a dull boy [and girl], it means the tolling of an ominous bell for the psychosocial heath of the average student. Even with limited time and space, it is crucial that we do not lose sight of the capacity of children to exercise their bodies even while the struggle is on to marshal their grey matter.

FEAR OF DYING

Although death is intrinsic to life, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the discomfort that the average citizen has confronting the Grim Reaper. Part of the current existential trauma is the confusion that accompanies contemplation of the afterlife. To what extent is vaccine compliance tied to the fear of dying? Should counselling to improve the comfort of people to confront their mortality be part of the healthcare package? This input could counter the discomfort from protocols that prevent close-knit families from indulging in bashment burials and other practices to collectively mourn their loved ones. So, although eight per cent of citizens appear settled in their decisions to take the anti-COVID vaccine, as evidenced by teenagers to elderly showing up for the jab, a holistic approach to healthy lifestyles requires paying attention to the combination of factors that contribute to wellness.

While all eyes are nervously focused on the ticking clock, which will signal the back-to-school solution, an invidious threat to Jamaica’s economic stability has reared its ugly head. Jamaica is in the amber category, just shy of the red designation that would prohibit tourists from visiting the island. At the same time, the Home Office in London has advised potential tourists from the UK not to consider our piece of paradise as their holiday destination.

Concurrently, travel company TUI cancelled planned flights to the island. There is speculation that the amber classification is heading in the red direction as COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise. Before the onset of the pandemic, policy planners took it for granted that tourism was the mainstay of economy. With this fickle industry on the verge of collapse, the death knell is being sounded for the national coffers as much as for those at risk of contracting the deadly disease. A conversation about the state of the economy should be placed on the policy agenda with urgent proposals about alternative mechanisms to restore full health to all sectors that contribute to development.

As someone living in the area that was ground zero for the pandemic, I recall that, during the initial lockdown, the state took responsibility to provide food for those unable to procure victuals for themselves. We have come a long way since then. Now citizens have to figure out how to navigate super spreader supermarkets and wholesales to grab what they can afford. This is a challenge for those used to purchasing what they can, daily. As we face the possibility of full lockdowns, with severely contracted hospital space to accommodate those generally ill and COVID-19 patients in particular, it is time to consider sustainable solutions to the burgeoning crisis. Beyond the stop-gap measures, collective community farming mechanisms could be introduced to offset the impending hunger fallout as the average citizen struggles to cope.

Dr Imani Tafari-Ama is a research fellow at The Institute for Gender and Development Studies, Regional Coordinating Office (IGDS-RCO), at The University of the West Indies. She is the author of ‘Blood, Bullets and Bodies: Sexual Politics Below Jamaica’s Poverty Line’ and ‘Up for Air: This Half Has Never Been Told’, a historical novel on the Tivoli Gardens incursion. Send feedback to imani.tafariama@uwimona.edu.jm.