Friends in Asia speak of rising numbers of people facing effects of COVID-19. This morning, one friend in India spoke of people in his area coming out of their houses in hopes of finding some food to survive. Masks and hand sterilizer fall well below the need for clean water and a handful of rice. Another friend spoke of 1000 new cases a day in Singapore (where the tropical heat has not eliminated the virus).
A quick trip through the population centers of the Majority World reminds us many will not be able to keep six feet from one another or wash their hands in soap and water. Poverty pushes many people together in limited space that everyone shares, whether what is shared is good or bad. Cultural dynamics inform direct responses to the conditions inherent in the pandemic.
Jayson Georges’ recent article stretches our understanding of what many are facing during COVID-19. Below are four of the shame-related issues from the article.
1. The Shame of Sickness
People resist testing because they do not want their neighbors to learn they are a sick person. The stigma of illness is so deep, people avoid testing altogether. The father of a family told health workers, “Please don’t park in front of our house. I feel ashamed in front of the neighbors. This is so difficult for my reputation.”
In many religious contexts, people equate sickness with sin (cf. John 9). They assume that sickness is a divine punishment. And naturally, people will avoid such “sinners.” In this way, coronavirus has a layer of religion-sanctioned shame.
2. Burial Concerns
Burial practices are (unexplainably) significant in collectivistic contexts. Where, when, and how a person gets buried is the ultimate expression of their status in the community. Iraqi culture requires family to immediately cleanse and bury the deceased body, preferably within 24 hours. But what happens in a pandemic when bodies are abandoned, lost, or buried in mass graves? Well, they are “forgotten” by their family because their death cannot be properly commemorated. Such post-mortem desecration of the corpse is the ultimate disgrace. So, people rather die in their home to ensure a proper burial, rather than go to a hospital and risk an improper burial.
3. Fear of Isolation
In collectivistic contexts, people don’t want to be quarantined alone. People in Western cultures are used to being alone and enjoy privacy. But in many cultures people live with an extended family in a small space. So, solitude and privacy are not only foreign, but dreadful. The constant company of other people provides security and familiarity; spending 14 days in solitude seems horrendous.
4. Protecting Family Honor
The risk of sickness and quarantine risks the family honor. If a man gets sick, he is no longer able to protect his wife and children, especially if he is quarantined away from the home. A similar logic applies to women. Some families fear that a sick female relative will be removed from the house and thus be sexually vulnerable. The surest way to preserve the family honor is to keep everyone together, regardless of health risks.
Conclusion
These social values hamper efforts to fight the epidemic. But, expecting people to jettison their ingrained cultural values for public safety is not a realistic solution. The power of shame runs simply runs too deep. There must be ways to help people preserve their health and their honor, lest they be forced to choose one over the other.
Cultural narratives affect the way all of us react to life. In the US, we understand why people want to be free to get out of the house. At the same time, we may have difficulty understanding people who have some of the issues Georges mentions. COVID-19 doesn’t respect our narratives. We should note, it does not and will not treat us “equally.” Few things do.
Our challenge is to find ways to shine God’s light into the darkness someone else is facing. Learning of a friend’s efforts to reach across the barriers with God’s light challenged me. He and his wife are stretching across the water to provide food and water for a small leper colony in India. The lepers usually beg for food. These days people don’t have anything to give beggars. A small family of God discovered them and said, “We can help.”
Where are the people God wants us to discover? What does he invite us to do?
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COVID-19 in the Majority World
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Posted: April 18, 2020 by Harry Lucenay
Friends in Asia speak of rising numbers of people facing effects of COVID-19. This morning, one friend in India spoke of people in his area coming out of their houses in hopes of finding some food to survive. Masks and hand sterilizer fall well below the need for clean water and a handful of rice. Another friend spoke of 1000 new cases a day in Singapore (where the tropical heat has not eliminated the virus).
A quick trip through the population centers of the Majority World reminds us many will not be able to keep six feet from one another or wash their hands in soap and water. Poverty pushes many people together in limited space that everyone shares, whether what is shared is good or bad. Cultural dynamics inform direct responses to the conditions inherent in the pandemic.
Jayson Georges’ recent article stretches our understanding of what many are facing during COVID-19. Below are four of the shame-related issues from the article.
COVID-19: Coronavirus in Shame Contexts
1. The Shame of Sickness
People resist testing because they do not want their neighbors to learn they are a sick person. The stigma of illness is so deep, people avoid testing altogether. The father of a family told health workers, “Please don’t park in front of our house. I feel ashamed in front of the neighbors. This is so difficult for my reputation.”
In many religious contexts, people equate sickness with sin (cf. John 9). They assume that sickness is a divine punishment. And naturally, people will avoid such “sinners.” In this way, coronavirus has a layer of religion-sanctioned shame.
2. Burial Concerns
Burial practices are (unexplainably) significant in collectivistic contexts. Where, when, and how a person gets buried is the ultimate expression of their status in the community. Iraqi culture requires family to immediately cleanse and bury the deceased body, preferably within 24 hours. But what happens in a pandemic when bodies are abandoned, lost, or buried in mass graves? Well, they are “forgotten” by their family because their death cannot be properly commemorated. Such post-mortem desecration of the corpse is the ultimate disgrace. So, people rather die in their home to ensure a proper burial, rather than go to a hospital and risk an improper burial.
3. Fear of Isolation
In collectivistic contexts, people don’t want to be quarantined alone. People in Western cultures are used to being alone and enjoy privacy. But in many cultures people live with an extended family in a small space. So, solitude and privacy are not only foreign, but dreadful. The constant company of other people provides security and familiarity; spending 14 days in solitude seems horrendous.
4. Protecting Family Honor
The risk of sickness and quarantine risks the family honor. If a man gets sick, he is no longer able to protect his wife and children, especially if he is quarantined away from the home. A similar logic applies to women. Some families fear that a sick female relative will be removed from the house and thus be sexually vulnerable. The surest way to preserve the family honor is to keep everyone together, regardless of health risks.
Conclusion
These social values hamper efforts to fight the epidemic. But, expecting people to jettison their ingrained cultural values for public safety is not a realistic solution. The power of shame runs simply runs too deep. There must be ways to help people preserve their health and their honor, lest they be forced to choose one over the other.
Cultural narratives affect the way all of us react to life. In the US, we understand why people want to be free to get out of the house. At the same time, we may have difficulty understanding people who have some of the issues Georges mentions. COVID-19 doesn’t respect our narratives. We should note, it does not and will not treat us “equally.” Few things do.
Our challenge is to find ways to shine God’s light into the darkness someone else is facing. Learning of a friend’s efforts to reach across the barriers with God’s light challenged me. He and his wife are stretching across the water to provide food and water for a small leper colony in India. The lepers usually beg for food. These days people don’t have anything to give beggars. A small family of God discovered them and said, “We can help.”
Where are the people God wants us to discover? What does he invite us to do?
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Category: Collectivism Tags: honor-shame, honor/shame culture, pandemic, poverty, quarantine