After nearly a century ... Will the "Spanish flu" scenario be repeated in India?

Uday Saleh-Delhi

In the Chandi Chowk, one of the most important districts of Delhi, the capital of India, hundreds of poor people gather and find no shelter or shelter other than the overcrowded neighborhoods, at a time when the authorities continue to enjoin violators of the comprehensive health ban they are applying to contain the outbreak of the emerging coronavirus (Covid-19). ).

On the sidewalks near shops and in the small alleys of the neighborhood, hundreds wait for a meal to be distributed by non-governmental charities.

The Chandi Chowk is located in the heart of the capital, Delhi, specifically in the old city of Delhi. It is characterized by many monuments, including the Red Fort and the mosque of the mosque, and is considered a center that includes many popular markets scattered in the big and small streets as well as alleys from it.

This neighborhood is a refuge for many poor and beggars who find refuge in its alleys and small streets, since many charities and philanthropists dedicate it to their charitable services.

The neighborhood included the curfew in the capital, Delhi, which led to the suspension of commercial traffic in a totally and sudden voice, and resulted in depriving the neighborhood's poor of their only source of strength, which mostly comes from donations.

Upward trend
Corona's spread curve began to escalate sharply in India, where 570 cases were confirmed yesterday. With the curfew measures, significant repercussions appeared, including purchasing fever, storing supplies, disrupting the movement of passengers, arrests, and beating for those who violate the ban, in addition to a flood of interstate displacement, coinciding with a lack of basic needs for the poor, the poor and daily workers.

India's domestic airports and train stations have been completely closed, both internal and external between cities and states, and the number of hours for the central bus station has been reduced to only certain hours during the day.

Workers face difficulty in movement, in addition to stopping their work, which makes them between the hammer of searching for work and the anvil of the spread of corona, which may kill hundreds of thousands of people in short periods, if the necessary preventive measures are not taken, according to the warning of local and international health organizations.

And placing someone who violates the curfew and commuting between two options: Either searching for any shelter which is very difficult for daily employment, but is almost impossible for the poor and beggars, or a second option, which is detention directly, especially those who do not carry any personal identity.

Relief calls
Appeals from non-governmental organizations concerned with distributing food to the poor were launched to work in response to the crisis and to prepare and distribute foodstuffs, after everything became closed in Delhi since the ban came into effect.

The Department of Shelters for the Welfare of the Poor replied that it was unable to shoulder more additional burdens, and that it was suffering from severe supply shortages and the absence of any cash or even in-kind assistance from the government.

A worker in Mumbai says, "Staying home means letting my wife and children die of starvation, I have nothing but my identity, and I have no identity for my children and my wife. What should I do?"

Historic scenario
It is reported that almost a century ago - specifically in 1918 - the Spanish flu spread throughout the world, killing tens of millions, and India alone recorded about twenty million deaths.

The Spanish flu pandemic spread through a ship laden with soldiers returning from the First World War, anchored in the port of Mumbai, and the virus infiltrated the families of the soldiers, then to the main villages and cities.

The beginning was in the cities of Mumbai, Madras and Calcutta, and then spread greatly north and south. The main reason for the outbreak was that Mumbai was a densely populated city in addition to the railway station and lines that played a prominent role in the spread.

The symptoms of the Spanish flu were very close to the Coronavirus, which begins with shortness of breath followed by a high fever.

Mandatory isolation
A week ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that 1.3 billion people will be subject to mandatory domestic isolation, authorities have tightened curfews across the Indian subcontinent, and the government has announced a $ 22.6 billion stimulus economic plan to provide direct cash transfers and support and assistance to poor families Nutritionally.

Economic and press reports show that the strict curfew on the whole of India will unleash a collective hunger crisis among daily workers in Delhi, Mumbai and major cities, who are now unemployed and lacking the money to buy their food.

Religious and charitable institutions have also been closed and access to the poor who are directly under their care has been lost. These institutions provided aid and relief on a regular basis, as well as providing food on a daily basis to the poor, workers and migrants.

In the context, Rahul Gandhi, a member of the Central Parliament and a member of the Indian National Congress, said, “Millions of our brothers and sisters workers across India are struggling to return to their homelands.

He added that "the government does not have any contingency plans for such displacement operations, it must take concrete steps as soon as possible so that it does not become a major tragedy."

For his part, Asaduddin Owaisi, a central parliament member from Hyderabad in Telangana state, said, "These workers are working away from their homes, they are sending their strength to their families, but the prime minister has abandoned them."