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The socio-cultural implications of Covid-19
By Professor Fethi Mansouri
Worldwide, the Covid-19 response has been largely premised on physical distancing, though this has,
unfortunately, been discursively referred to in formal and informal discourse as social distancing. There
is a big difference between the two concepts, with physical distancing not necessarily precluding social
connectedness, whereas social distancing unavoidably presumes disconnectedness.
[5] But for physical distancing not to also engender social distancing and inter-personal disconnectedness,
certain societal conditions need to be met and made available indiscriminately. These include, first and
foremost, access to basic infrastructure such as shelter, internet and basic everyday living needs.
Sadly, across the world, and even within some developed societies, this has not always been the case.
Entrenched social inequalities and economic marginalization have resulted in large proportions of the world’s
[10] populations being deprived of the most basic of human needs, let alone the capacity to be physically distant
while at the same time socially connected and adequately supported to meet living needs.
The problem of social and economic inequalities are amplifying the challenge of managing the rapid spread
of Covid-19 globally, but what has also emerged is the systematic racism, particularly against people of
Asian background, in Western émigré societies. Indeed, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence of racist
[15] attacks in many countries. This is not altogether a new phenomenon; a significant existing body of evidence
shows that at times of crises – be they economic, environmental, security or health-related – minority groups
are often made scapegoats and are subjected to racist, exclusionary, often violent discourses and practices.
Covid-19 is already showing us a variety of patterns of racism aimed at Asian people ranging from cyber
bullying to physical attacks, racist trolling, and a variety of xenophobic conspiracy theories that have been
[20] articulated not only by ordinary citizens but also some politicians and world leaders. None of this serves the
intercultural dialogue agenda, with its emphasis on cross-cultural contact, mutual understanding, respectful
engagement and inter-communal solidarity.
(Retrived from: https://en.unesco.org/news/socio-cultural-implications-covid-19)
The author employed the terms “social inequalities” and “economic marginalization” to state that the pandemic
