Since its spread, the COVID19 pandemic has been repeating patterns of already existing health inequalities along racial and gender lines. What are the dire consequences of the health crisis on the historically and systematically marginalized, oppressed and subjugated people like Palestinians, black people, indigenous populations, migrant minorities and LGBTQ?
Having that said, what needs to be done to overcome the walls of oppression, injustice, racism, colonialism and discrimination standing between those labelled as inferior ‘others’ and their access to the healthcare system?
The series of World without Walls of three podcasts address the above posed questions. In this series we focused on the various forms of injustice playing out in the way states and corporations address the COVID-19 pandemic. The podcasts also draw on how the pandemic has deepened the impact of Israeli apartheid in many ways: From Israel’s denial of access to vaccines and the exploitation of Palestinian labour to keep an economy afloat while Jewish-Israeli citizens are in lockdown to the fact that for Palestinians the pandemic is a crisis on top of a decades old pre-existing condition of occupation and dispossession.
COVID-19 Colonialism: From Palestine to Brazil
In the first episode, Pedro Villardi, ABIA, Brazil joined hosts Manal Shqair (Stop the Wall) and Chandni Desai (Liberation Pedagogy Podcast). He discussed the policies of denial of access to vaccines and cures. Villardi underlined the injustices that are exposed in times of this global health crisis, Particularly speaking about Brazil.
Please listen to the full episode here.
#MedicalApartheid from South Africa to Palestine
In the this episode, Mark Heywood help us make the connections and share insights on the underlying injustices that are exposed in times of this global health crisis and ways to fight for the right to health, particularly speaking about South Africa. Co-hosted by Shatha Odeh from the Palestinian Union of Health Work Committees and Chandni Desai from the Liberation Pedagogy Podcast, the discussion also revolve around the effect of Israel’s prolonged and current apartheid practices on Palestinians during the health crisis.
Please listen to the full episode here.
From Palestine to South Korea: Surveillance and Exclusion
In this episode Susana Barria from the People’s Health Movement and Manal Shqair from Stop the Wall co-hosted Jungwoo Kim from South Korea. Kim is currently a member of the People’s Health Movement in South Korea and the People’s Health Institute. Together highlight false narratives regarding South Korea and Israel as model countries in dealing with the pandemic that should be praised either through the testing programs in the case of South Korea or vaccination in the case of Israel. To expose the falsity of the two countries’ mainstream narratives, we discuss with Jungwoo the pitfalls of South Korea’s entrenched surveillance on marginalized groups and the role of the private sector in combating the pandemic. Through that, we also draw on connections with the situation in Palestine.
Please listen to the episode here.