Who is the Most Affected by Natural Disasters?
We live in a society where social class shapes the life of the individual. Our destinies are based on the income we have and the efforts we put to maintaining our sum of wealth. Social class also frames our experiences with natural disasters. The position one occupies in the social ladder could influence if we survive or die during a crisis. Of course, this varies depending on where one lives, considering geographical locations affected as well the intensity of the disaster. Areas such as Haiti have been severely devastated after an earthquake in 2010. Consequently, places that are poor are severely more devastated by natural disasters and often take longer to recover. For Haiti, their weak state institutions made them less likely to recover economically and socially. However, in the United States, hurricane Katrina emphasizes that social class and race influence the experience of disasters. During Katrina, poor Afro-American communities were the most affected. The experience of Katrina may tell us that being poor and belonging to a minority group decreased the chances of being rescued; according to Barbara Lee USA representative of California 13th congressional district, “the disparities in which different communities, and neighborhoods, and individuals experienced the effects of Katrina were driven by a history of racism and inequality in the region”. Similarly, a catastrophe like the Chicago heat wave that killed many low-income seniors during an intense heat wave in 1994 reflected a similar situation where many poor African American seniors died. Eric Klinenberg stated, “a key reason that African Americans had the highest death rates in the Chicago heat wave is that they are the only group in the city segregated and ghettoized in community areas with high levels of abandoned housing”. In both situations government failure to respond efficiently and income inequality reduced the chances of African Americans surviving the crisis. In 2020 Covid-19 has not been the exception; even here in Canada our experiences of the pandemic are shaped by the social class to which we belong.
When Covid-19 started, celebrities tweeted about their experiences being in quarantine and a group of them made a video singing “Imagine” by John Lennon. They tried to symbolize global unity and that “we are all in this together”. However, they communicated solidarity through their social media from their expensive houses. Of course, quarantine may be experienced differently living in a luxurious mansion comparing to many of us living in small houses or tiny one to two-bedroom apartments. Many of us with little space to move around may not have felt joyful being in lock down for weeks and many working people lost their jobs or were laid off with no savings, hoping to receive government assistance. The wealthy have more advantages to contain the virus. They can sustain themselves financially and have more traveling and shopping options, therefore avoiding possible contact with the virus. Those that are not wealthy become more dependable on government aids for their survival. Our experiences with Covid-19 may be different depending where one is located and the income one possesses. Therefore, being aware of our position in the social ladder gives us an insight that, during this global health crisis we are not in this together; at least not all in the same way. Based on social class the pandemic experiences are not the same for everyone.
By Eder Leonel Torres
