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4 min read01 April

The Government was warned about what would happen when we faced a pandemic the current crisis facing our NHS is the result of decades of putting profit before people.

The Governments response to the current coronavirus crisis has been woeful. But it is also a thorough indictment of the ideology that it adheres to and which has dominated British politics for more than 40 years. A coherent and determined alternative to that ideology has never been more needed.

At the time of writing we remain on the Italy trajectory for cases and deaths. Italy has already surpassed the total number of deaths recorded in China, despite having a population less than one-twentieth of the size. We are already far worse than China, adjusted for population size, in terms of both recorded cases and deaths.

Under this Government and its predecessors, the NHS has gone from permanent winter to structural weakness in a time of crisis. It is the lack of staff, the lack of protective equipment for them, the shortage of beds and the inadequacy of ventilators has made a crisis situation a catastrophe.

The argument that no-one could have foreseen this is patently false. Scientists and epidemiologists have been talking about the next pandemic for years. In 2015 the government produced its strategic defence and security review, where the threat of pandemics was mentioned, but little done. If reports are accurate, Exercise Cygnus in 2016 showed the NHS failing a pandemic simulation exercise, and yet nothing was done to correct that.

It is not broadband communism to suggest that almost everyone now needs free, fast broadband access as a basic necessity

There will need to be a reckoning when this crisis finally passes. It must first include a complete change of the way public services are regarded, and funded, as well as the esteem, pay and conditions of those public sector workers.

It turns out that routinely-disrespected low-skilled workers are among the most important workers in our society. They make things work. We dont actually need hedge fund managers at all.

Of course, this includes migrant workers, who are a key component of our NHS, of public services in general and the whole economy. They are not a burden, we rely on them.

We also see that properly resourced public services are vital, not just the NHS, and social care, but everything from transport, to infrastructure to education. It is not broadband communism to suggest that almost everyone now needs free, fast broadband access as a basic necessity to stay connected and inter-connected.

Some commentators suggest that Boris Johnson understands all this and will act on it, and that there is such a thing as society is a moment of Damascene conversion. This is wilfully nave. The Institute for Fiscal Studies tells us that austerity will be with us for a very long time to come.

In reality, a comprehensive and radical alternative will be even more urgently required once the immediate public health crisis is resolved. The damage to peoples lives, to the economy and to public services will endure much longer. Many in government will argue that the spending for the coronavirus (and subsequently the impact of a no deal Brexit) are one-offs, and that they require a renewed belt-tightening to pay for them.

Corbynism rejects this approach. Not least because the legacy of this crisis has not only revealed the damage already suffered by public services, housing, transport and so on, but it will also provide the backdrop to the continuing climate crisis.

Viewed in this light, there is no basis for business as usual politics. We are not going to return to sunlit uplands without vigorous state intervention across society and the economy. A renewed, reinvigorated version of Corbynism will be required, which puts people before profits is required. Sleep-walking from one crisis to the next cannot be an option.

Diane Abbott is Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington and shadow home secretary.

The rest is here:
From migrant workers to free broadband, coronavirus has shown that Corbynism is needed - PoliticsHome.com

Our newsfeeds are flooded with videos and articles about migrant workers walking over a 100 km a day to reach their respective hometowns. The suspension of trains and buses and the sealing of State borders has left several thousands stranded across the country. Which industries do these labourers mainly service?

Real estate is the third largest sector after agriculture and manufacturing to use migrant labour. Says Prashant Thakur, Director & Head Research, Anarock Property Consultants: Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Tamil Nadu account for more than half of the countrys total construction employment. As per the National Skill Development Council, the workforce employed by the construction and real estate sector is expected to grow to 76 million by 2022.

In the light of the lockdown, it is time to ask what industry bodies and developers are doing for their workers. Due to the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 crisis, developers have been caught off guard and are unprepared to deal with the situation. However, many branded developers and major players are stepping forward with plans and policies to deal with this unforeseen situation, says Thakur.

Keeping a check

Niranjan Hiranandani, National President of the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), says, All industry bodies have communicated to their members the seriousness of the pandemics challenges and promised to assist migrant labourers as they are the most vulnerable. But, in the given scenario, he adds, we need to factor in that workers opting to move away from the sites to return to their villages is adding to the issue.

Arun Mn, Founder and Managing Director, Casagrand, explains that on-site accommodation and a daily food allowance is being provided to all the migrant labourers he employs. Basic sanitation facilities and wash areas have also been provided. We have arranged isolation rooms in each camp in case a need arises, he says. Migrant workers make up 80% of his total worker strength of 4,700. 50% of these workers are from Bihar, followed by Odisha (18%), West Bengal (15%), Uttar Pradesh (8%), Madhya Pradesh (6%), Jharkhand (2%) and Andhra Pradesh (1%).

Official guidelines (BOCW Act and Govt.)

Official directives

On March 23, the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health sent out a circular instructing employers of Building and Other Construction Works (BOCW) establishments to comply with the provisions of the BOCW Act 1996 and the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Condition of Service) Act of 1979. The Act states that food, medical care and suitable accommodation, with separate space for cooking, bathing, washing and lavatory facilities are to be provided on-site or at a designated space nearby.

It also states that when more than 250 workers are employed and when more than 100 inter-State migrant workers are employed, canteen facilities must be provided. The rules also say that the contractor must ensure suitable and adequate medical facilities and preventive measures against epidemics and virus infections: The entire cost on treatment, hospital charges and the travel expenses from hospital to resident shall be borne by the contractor.

According to S. Sridharan, chairman of the Tamil Nadu chapter, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI) has sent directives to its builder members. They are required to provide workers with food and other essentials. This is a tough time for the industry, and we have seen to it that all members are complying with the directives. Food and provisions are being supplied to labourers on-site and to those in camps. We have also intervened with contractors to ensure the supplies reach them, he says.

Cess funds

The Cess Act requires the construction industry to pay 1% of the total cost of their project towards the welfare of the labourers.

It is difficult to say how many have followed this directive but, on the ground, several developers are trying to do their bit, says Thakur of Anarock. Builders across cities are providing grains, pulses, vegetables, drinking water and milk. In many cases, building sites and camps housing workers are being fumigated and sanitised.

On-ground

According to Chitty Babu, Chairman and CEO of Akshaya, the 679 workers he employs have been sent to 10 labour colonies in Chennai and one in Trichy. We have been sensitising them on the issue and taking precautionary measures on-site as well. Accommodation, food, access to toilets and drinking water is being provided. We have ambulance and medical facilities as well.

Other builders say they are taking similar measures. If that is the case, what explains the mass exodus of labourers across States? The lapses have happened in a few parts of the country and need to be dealt with severely, said one industry source.

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What is the real estate industry doing to help their migrant labour workforce? - The Hindu

As the coronavirus crisis spreads, migrants attempting to enter Europe are in a vulnerable position with little or no help.

Just under a week ago, 56 people arrived on the Greek island of Lesbos.

The country is on lockdown but the migrants complain they've been given no protection.

"They said because of coronavirus you will be here 14 days," said this migrant from Afghanistan. "We are here 56 people, six African and all of us Afghans. They didn't give us gloves. They didn't give us any masks. "

The UN office on Lesbos described the camp living conditions as inhumane.

Last month neighbouring Turkey said it would no longer stop migrants from heading towards Greece.

The result is a border crisis between the two historic rivals. Greek authorities have said no migrants who arrived after March 1 will be able to apply for asylum. Instead, they will be detained pending deportation.

Camps on Lesbos and other islands of the eastern Aegean are already overcrowded and operating above their capacity.

The island's officials have complained there is no more room for new arrivals.

See the article here:
Migrants arriving in Greece say they have no protection against coronavirus - Euronews

A charity volunteer has launched a major clothing appeal to help provide dignity to women affected by the migrant crisis across Europe.

Jan Bettley, from Great Maplestead, is encouraging people to donate new pairs of underwear for female migrants who have sought refuge on islands across Greece.

While helping a team of volunteers to unload vital supplies on one of the Greek islands last year, Mrs Bettley was surprised to discover a drastic shortage of underwear for women, which prompted her to appeal for donations.

I believe women deserve the dignity of wearing their own underwear, said the 69-year-old.

Following her appeal, Mrs Bettley received hundreds of donations from her local Womens Institute group.

I was so proud of them and their friends who donated items, she said.

In November, 500 pairs of underwear were sent to a migrant camp, with the same amount of donations being delivered to Samos in February.

Keen to support migrants, Mrs Bettley, of Church Street, joined Hope and Aid Direct, as a volunteer.

Its a humanitarian disaster, and I thought, what can I do to help?, she said.

Run by volunteers, the charity provides vital supplies to vulnerable individuals and families across the world.

Despite their hardship, Mrs Bettley described the migrants resilience as awe-inspiring.

These women are so stoic they are just amazing, she said. They are living in total squalor and they are doing it with dignity.

Highlighting that it was considered a basic human right to own everyday essentials such as underwear, Mrs Bettley said the donations were always appreciated.

They deserve dignity and I feel that very strongly, she said.

To donate items, call 07901 711394, or email jan@janhancock.co.uk.

Businesses are also being sought to serve as drop-off points for donations.

See the rest here:
Charity volunteer launches clothing appeal in support of women impacted by migrant crisis - Suffolk Free Press

The coronavirus spread into Italy about one month ago. Early warnings from the authorities didnt give the impression that the disease could bring with it thousands of deaths and, despite the reality in Wuhan, for several weeks we kept speaking about it as if it were just another seasonal flu.

At the end of February, my grandfather died. He was an old man, with comorbidity and terminal cancer. The doctors didnt investigate too much further. But many other people died in these same weeks, and not all of them were old, or had a previous advanced chronic disease.

Soon after, the whole of Italy went into a complete lockdown. All of a sudden, everything stopped. And an issue that was dominating the news until the day before, disappeared from the general concern: themigration crisis. What would happen to it now that Italy was facing the coronavirus pandemic?

Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

The nationwide lockdown didnt only mean empty streets and empty bars. The humanitarian vessels operating in the Mediterranean have mooredin Italian ports, put in quarantine after disembarking the last people they could rescue at sea. Civil aerial reconnaissance aircrafts are grounded. The Lampedusa hotspot has been locked into quarantine.

Despite the current health emergency in Italy, however, desperate departures from the northern coasts of Africa have not stopped.

On 14 March, the Alarm Phone NGO monitoring for distress calls at sea reported two distress cases of ships carrying more than 200 castaways in international waters between Malta and Lampedusa.

The majority (112 of them) had already been located by a Frontex aerial asset in the early morning, as reported by sources in Alarm Phone and documented by Angela Caponnetto, Italian reporter covering Lampedusa. The 112 on board spent about 48 hours at sea before being eventually rescued by Maltese authorities, 18 hours after receiving the Alarm Phone alert.

The remaining castaways were on a rubber dinghy in sight of the Maltese oil tanker ship Gineshli since the early morning. Alarm Phone recordings testify how migrants on the dinghy had been communicating with the tanker to ask for floaters and water.

Instead of coordinating with its tanker, Malta called up the Libyan Coastguard, guiding the Libyan vessel Ras Al Jadar to the second distress case of the day. The 46 people on board were intercepted and taken back to Libya when they were only 80 miles away from the Maltese coast.

It is not the first time that the so-called Libyan Coast Guard, reportedly made of armed militias trained in Europe and cooperating with EU border agency Frontex, are called in to perform illegal push-back operations inside European rescue-zones.

On the night of the 9 February, Aita Mari, the rescue ship of the Basque humanitarian organisation Salvamento Martimo Humanitario, witnessed another joint operation between La Valletta and the Libyans happening in Maltese waters. Michele Angioni, the first officer on board the Spanish ship, said that the humanitarians offered to intervene, but the Maltese authorities ordered them to stay away from the case as a military plane, probably Maltese, was flying over the rubber dinghy.

A reconstruction of the events based on the testimonies of the people on board and collected by Alarm Phone shows how the Maltese Armed Forces, first to arrive on the scene, had purposely delayed the rescue operation so as to allow for the arrival of the Libyan coastguard to bring the dinghy back to Libya.

This operation, illegal under international law, was prevented only by the castaways jumping into the water once they had understood what was happening.

In November last year, The Times of Malta exposed a secret deal between Malta and Libya to prevent further migrant arrivals, a negotiation that involves coordinated intervention by the Armed Forces of Malta and the Libyan coastguard. A similar negotiation was already revealed taking place between Italy and Libya, when known Libyan traffickers were invited by the Italian intelligence for a round table in Sicily, in 2017.

The coastal countries reluctance to take responsibility is reflected by the purposeful delay in rescue operations, which now has no more witnesses, as the humanitarian assets are all blocked in quarantine because of the coronavirus emergency.

Non-assistance, purposive delays, and even pushback are becoming the new norm in the Maltese and Italian rescuezones, causing more disappearances and deaths, both at sea and in Libya. But at the times of coronavirus, there is no humanitarian presence at sea, which can monitor, denounce and counter these crimes.

Top: Nabi Younes market, Mosul

Bottom: Charles Bridge, Prague

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Top: Nabi Younes market, Mosul

Bottom: Charles Bridge, Prague

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The fact that so many people are still attempting to cross the Mediterranean despite the lockdown of European countries and the absence of NGO ships in quarantine is strong proof against those accusing NGOs of being responsible for the so-called migration pull-factor. Once again, it has become clear that the only thing driving this crisis is a push factor: the deprivation of the most basic human rights in the middle of a civil war in Libya. Thats why the coronavirus outbreak wont stop people fleeing Libya and seeking asylum in Europe.

Even at the time of the coronavirus emergency, people fleeing Libya have the fundamental right to save themselves and demand asylum. The coronavirus pandemic should not trump on anyones right to live and escape violence and war. Aid coming to Italy to tackle the pandemic should also take into consideration the fact that Italy and Malta are still the safe ports for people fleeing the hell of Libya. They too, are facing this pandemic.

Valeria Alice Colombo is an Italian Doctor and Crew member onSea Watch 3.She is also a member of the journalistic collective Brush&Bow

Read more:
Im a medic on a rescue ship in Italy right now, authorities are using coronavirus as an excuse to let migrants die - The Independent