{"id":1069658,"date":"2021-11-30T18:14:06","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T23:14:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1069658"},"modified":"2021-11-30T18:14:09","modified_gmt":"2021-11-30T23:14:09","slug":"africa-fumes-at-omicron-travel-bans-racism-is-a-very-blunt-tool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/africa-fumes-at-omicron-travel-bans-racism-is-a-very-blunt-tool\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa Fumes at Omicron Travel Bans: \u2018Racism Is a Very Blunt Tool\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fafrica-fumes-at-omicron-travel-bans-racism-is-a-very-blunt-tool%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1069658&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/GettyImages-1236278162-e1638308393605-639x335-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\"><span>More African leaders on Monday joined South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera in condemning travel bans against their nations \u2013 imposed hurriedly by U.S. President Joe Biden and other Western and Asian governments after the discovery of the Omicron coronavirus variant \u2013 as unreasonable actions driven by virus panic and racist animosity towards Africans.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Malawi\u2019s Chakwera on Sunday <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/africa\/2021\/11\/29\/malawi-president-brands-biden-coronavirus-travel-ban-afrophobia\/\"><span>accused<\/span><\/a><span> the Biden administration, and others who imposed travel bans, of \u201cAfrophobia.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Ramaphosa said the travel restrictions are \u201ccompletely unjustified and unfairly discriminate against our country.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Botswana\u2019s Minister of Health and Wellness, Edwin Dikoloti, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmegi.bw\/news\/botswana-red-listing-might-affect-vaccine-arrivals\/news\"><span>worried<\/span><\/a><span> the travel bans could interfere with the delivery of much-needed vaccines.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe were expecting one million doses before the end of the year and now we are just confused as we are not sure if those vaccines will come because we have been red-listed by the manufacturing countries,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Dikoloti said only 19 cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in Botswana, and the first four patients were fully-vaccinated foreign nationals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cMost of these cases, contacts have been traced, tested and quarantined while the four foreign nationals have returned as they have finished their mandatory quarantine,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Namibia\u2019s Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism on Monday <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.news.cn\/english\/2021-11\/29\/c_1310341089.htm#:~:text=WINDHOEK%2C%20Nov.,as%20%22unacceptable%2C%20discriminatory.%22\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span> the travel bans \u201clack scientific basis and are unacceptable, discriminatory and in contradiction of guidance from the World Health Organization.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cAs we enter the festive season, this is a particularly crushing blow to our tourism industry and for the many lives and livelihoods that depend on it,\u201d the ministry added.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The African Union <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theeastafrican.co.ke\/tea\/news\/east-africa\/african-union-rejects-travel-bans-amid-new-covid-19-variant-3633610\"><span>denounced<\/span><\/a><span> the restrictions, asserting that \u201cimposing bans on travelers from countries where a new variant is reported has not yielded a meaningful outcome.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hourlyhits.com\/2021\/11\/30\/un-chief-says-africans-being-punished-for-sharing-omicron-information\/\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span> on Monday he was \u201cdeeply concerned about the isolation of southern African countries due to new Covid-19 travel restrictions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe people of Africa cannot be blamed for the immorally low level of vaccinations available and should not be penalized for sharing health information with the world,\u201d Guterres argued.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cWith the Omicron variant now detected in several regions of the world, putting in place travel bans that target Africa attacks global solidarity,\u201d Matshidiso Moeti, African regional director for the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2021\/11\/28\/omicron-covid-travel-bans-523428\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span> on Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201c[Chinese coronavirus] constantly exploits our divisions. We will only get the better of the virus if we work together for solutions,\u201d Moeti said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Mia Malan of South Africa\u2019s Bhekisisa Center for Health Journalism also <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/goatsandsoda\/2021\/11\/30\/1059780197\/african-leaders-condemn-travel-restrictions-as-omicron-variant-spreads-globally\"><span>charged<\/span><\/a><span> Western governments with scapegoating Africans for an outbreak they caused by \u201choarding\u201d vaccines.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cAfrica doesn\u2019t have enough vaccines because Western countries bought it all up and even hoarded those vaccines. So they are part of the reason why this new variant emerged, because there\u2019s a continent that didn\u2019t have enough access to vaccines. Now they want to punish the very people who are the victims of their actions. That\u2019s simply not the right thing to do,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>An especially furious <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/africanarguments.org\/2021\/11\/omicron-south-africa-rich-countries-cant-feign-shock-if-the-next-variant-goes-undetected\/\"><span>denunciation<\/span><\/a><span> of the travel restrictions came from Jess Auerbach, a professor at South Africa\u2019s North-West University, on Monday. Auerbach said the travel bans were an expression of \u201cglobal prejudice\u201d and remarked, \u201cRacism is a very blunt tool.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Auerbach was particularly angry that South Africa is being insulted and penalized for discovering the Omicron strain, potentially setting a dangerous precedent for developing nations that keeping such discoveries to themselves is wiser than warning the world and risking ostracization.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWealthy countries ought to recognize and reward this excellent science and follow scientific principles themselves. Instead, they are punishing it, risking dangerous repercussions,\u201d she wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Auerbach suggested the U.S. and Europe are impugning and penalizing South Africa because they are self-conscious about failing to detect the Omicron strain themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThat a developing country caught Omicron before the likes of the UK, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Israel, and Hong Kong, says everything about our commitment to humanity and our scientific prowess. That the world responded as it did, says everything about opportunistic racism,\u201d she charged.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIn the UK, masks are now mandated again, but we all know Prime Minister Boris Johnson needed to make that decision weeks ago \u2013 he waited until it was possible to blame another country. After Thanksgiving in the U.S., there will be another spike \u2013 now it can be blamed on South Africa, not on a polarized politic where so many do not believe in science,\u201d she added.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More African leaders on Monday joined South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera in condemning travel bans against their nations \u2013 imposed hurriedly by U.S. President Joe &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1069658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1069658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1069658"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1069658\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1069658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1069658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1069658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}