An Insight On The Plight Of Lower Classes
In the last 2 years, the Covid-19 pandemic has quite naturally brought about disastrous consequences globally and has challenged the most basic aspects of our lifestyles, no matter where we are from or what we may have already been through. Unlike previous challenges faced by mankind, the coronavirus has unprecedentedly and almost uncontrollably grown to be the most tempestuous one in our lives.
It is obvious that everyone, all over the world has been affected by the pandemic, but to what extent? There is a whole sector of people that have a stable economic and social support system to soften the blow of the pandemic for them. However, there are a lot of the lower classes that have been hit hardest. In India, the pandemic and lockdown restrictions have been hard on everyone. Many lost their jobs, while others have had to face the challenge of making ends meet on a day-to-day basis. The daily wage workers, roadside vendors, non-essential services’ workers among plenty others have been affected brutally as their shops and services had been shut down for long durations during multiple phases of the nation-wide lockdowns imposed by the government. On a general note, it is safe to say that the pandemic has been a trying period not just economically/ financially for the lower classes but also mentally. If one just happens to take a walk along the streets of a big city, they will see 100’s of people just swarming the streets, having lost their jobs, completely displaced along with their entire families, with no homes and nothing to give them even a shred of hope. This is a more than devastating and hopeless situation to be in- something that people in the comfort and safety of their homes, with relatively stable finances cushioning their fall in the crisis, will not be able to relate to. The disease alone isn’t the problem that the states are being faced with- it is also the unemployment, economic loss, worsening lack of educational facilities or access to them, deficiency in the healthcare system, are also some of the cascading effects. The crisis has affected the labourer and working class the most.
According to a smartphone location data survey, analyzed by The New York Times in the USA, many low wage workers can be seen moving around and across cities all over America, while those with good incomes stay home and limit their exposure to the virus. The vulnerability faced by sanitization staff, home service workers, security personnel, delivery men, etc., that come under the “essential service providers” category is more than ever. While the middle and upper classes stay home and maintain social distancing, the lower class doesn’t even have the privilege of the “work from home” option because so many of them have lost their homes while their finances have simultaneously taken a dive. They are left with either exposing themselves to the deadly virus or dying from starvation; or they are now stuck in between- a well in front of them and a cliff behind. In such a condition, one cannot be expected to even have the emotional and mental capacity to cope with the same. While in high income families itself, individuals continue to struggle to adapt to the “pandemic lifestyle” and maintain their mental stability, even after about 2 years of its conception, the lower classes do not even have the privilege of thinking about the same.
In the USA, the number of people living in ultimate poverty by the end of 2020 alone could have shot up from 40 million to 60 million, compared to previous years. According to a study, the number of people in extreme poverty could raise up to 85 million, 180 and 420 million based on three situations i.e., global economic contractions of 5 percent, 10 percent and 20 percent respectively, as compared to 2018. These statements just supplement the fear that the class divides could get worse due to the pandemic. In the USA, approximately 40% of Black and Asian Americans reported that since the COVID-19 outbreak people have acted as if they were uncomfortable around them due to their race or ethnicity.
One can only begin to imagine the burdens of not having a roof, an income, at least one meal a day and the agony of debt. Where on one end the economies of several countries have taken a dive overall, the daily lives and mental states of the average working individuals have also deteriorated and reached burnouts. Coping with the pandemic has been strenuous and arduous for the whole world and those who do not have the means to sustain themselves with failing finances are no doubt suffering the most. One can only hope that the coming year will have better days.
About The Author
Anushkaa Prabhu, Sub-Head of the PsyCreative Column
Psychology Committee, SDSOS, NMIMS
Anushkaa Prabhu is a student in her first year pursuing B.Sc. Applied Psychology. Her main interests lie in artistic fields like dance, music, painting/sketching, etc., where she has won major accolades for folk and Indian Classical dance. Undoubtedly, these interests include the pleasures of writing short essays and poetry. The author found her passion for writing at the very beginning of the infamous ongoing pandemic and continues to enjoy the freedom of expression and the depth to emotions that literature and language can provide.
Image Source: Unspalsh
Comments
Post a Comment