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#BTEditorial – Pandemic a call to arms against inequality, poverty

by Barbados Today
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COVID-19 has been a rude awakening on several fronts. Beyond the obvious devastating impact of taking millions of lives and sickening millions more, crippling economies and wiping out livelihoods worldwide, it has exposed raw social issues in need of attention here at home.

At the height of the recent spike in cases, health authorities raised concern that the viral illness was spreading among families.

But the issue runs deeper.

What has surfaced is the changing construct of Barbadian families that requires a closer look as we try to manage the disease.

Barbadian families are not all tidy nuclear families, but there are also extended households of five, seven, nine and even 14 people living under one roof.  And blood alone no longer determines family ties.

Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation Corey Lane has told Barbados TODAY that poverty and homelessness must also be taken into account in the COVID-19 fight.

Lane explained that in some instances, a person’s dire financial circumstances can lead them to the homes of other relatives or friends in search of assistance.

He said: “I would say that poverty is part of it and by extension our socialization and our family makeup. They are not normal types [of families] that I grew up seeing, which was usually a mother, father and uncle and child, but there are some sub-families within a home and there are some family friends who live like family within a home…

“When we think of homelessness a lot of the time we think of persons living on the road but if you look at true and true homelessness, people without homes… a lot of the unstable families that we have in Barbados because of social status, because of selfishness, because of family relations breakdown, a number of people have to live by family, friends, old schoolmates, extended family, family-in-law and all of that causes interaction.”

Admittedly, these issues are not new. But they rather emphasise the need for authorities to take a closer look at socio-economic factors influencing worrying trends and how they can better craft a response.

There is no getting away from the fact that more households are under pressure as thousands were made jobless in the fallout of the pandemic.

Breadwinners, in addition to depending on social services provided by the Government, have had to find creative ways to feed their households.

But many may in fact be on the edge of a precipice.

As much as many may not like to utter the P-word  – poverty – in modern Barbados, we must.

If more than a dozen people have to live under one roof, social distancing is impossible.  Stocking up on groceries is, more likely than not, a luxury most cannot afford.

And what of the children in those situations?  They may not have the devices, far less electricity or the internet to join classes online.

Barbados has no doubt built a strong welfare support system that has served us well and it is needed now more than ever.

But for it to deliver what is needed to those who need it most, change is necessary for our constantly evolving society.

To its credit, Government has responded through this crisis with the Adopt-a-Family Programme, the distribution of care packages and other initiatives.

It is now clear that a more broad response is needed.  We are confident that we will beat the virus but issues of poverty and inequality will linger and therefore must be tackled to avoid far more serious fallout in the future.

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