A friend of mine, originally from Sweden, who studies in the UK called me on Sunday night. He was coughing down the line. Words like microbes and droplets sent chills down my spine, a situation that most of us would relate to at these times. I asked if he was OK and he assured me he was fine and joked that Covid-19 cannot be transmitted through the phone. Neither does he believe 5G technology was a transmitting host.
Thinking about the 5G conspiracy, I reminded him of the high level of anxiety the virus has caused to many people, some of whom were turning to conspiracy theories for answers. We reminded ourselves of the role of witchdoctors and soothsayers in African societies during calamities. Our focus immediately shifted onto how the African diaspora is coping with the pandemic in Europe, particularly in Britain and his own country, Sweden. The rate at which the virus is spreading among the African community is alarming.
The African diaspora has been disproportionally represented in the Covid-19 statistics. Radio Sweden reported that the Somali community in Sweden has been hard hit by the virus. According to the English-speaking station, as of March 24, six out of fifteen deaths in Stockholm area caused by the virus were of Swedish-Somalis. As per the Swedish-Somali Medical Association, lack of awareness early on (along with cramped housing and smoking), may have played a role in this tragedy. He told me of stories of young men in Stockholm coming home from a football match, to their parents and grandparents, saying that they had “just the flu”, oblivious that their actions might cause death to their loved ones.
My friend and I agreed that the socio-cultural norms among some African communities may have also played some part. He thought some of the cultural norms had to be confronted head on in order to save lives. After ending the telephone conversation with him, I remembered a book that I read some time back. Richard Nisbett’s Geography of thought argued that “human behaviour was a function of culture”. This, I thought might help to understand some of the grim statistics about the African diaspora that is coming out of countries like Sweden.
Social distancing, a potent weapon in the fight against the pandemic seemed an antithesis of socialising. For collectivist societies, socialising is a matter of survival, and keeping oneself away from others is frowned upon. African maxims such as, if you want to go fast go alone, but if you want to go far go together, are invoked upon the members of the communities to cement communal bonding.
There is a plethora of traditional beliefs among African communities when it comes to diseases. The stigma associated with getting sick has in the past proved to be an obstacle in tackling pandemics. According to UNAIDS’ statistics, the early days of the HIV scourge, stigma and discrimination almost halted the AIDS response attempts. Infected people were afraid to be tested for the fear of being ostracised by their communities. Shame cultures, as in most of African societies, used ostracisation as a punishment for those afflicted by calamities. Some traditional African beliefs hold that diseases are caused by breach of taboo, sorcery, angry ancestors and acts of gods. It would be difficult to discourage this age-old cultural norm at these trying times.
There is also the religious aspect too. Islam, for example, teaches that everything that would happen in this world is pre-ordained. Unfortunately, this has been wrongly interpreted by some to mean that we should act in a way that is ‘normal’ since whatever is meant to happen will happen anyway. This interpretation has completely gone against the prophetic traditions, which explicitly ordered those with contagious diseases be kept away from those who were healthy. While Islam teaches trust and faith in God, it must not be construed to mean that one should be reckless and not take precautionary measures.
African Churches have not been immune to critics for their nonchalant approach to Covid-19, either. The Tanzanian president refused to close churches, claiming that the “satanic” virus cannot thrive in churches. A minister in Zimbabwe made a sensational claim that Covid-19 was not an African disease, but rather God was punishing the West for imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe.
Thoughts on how we could avoid here what is happening to the African diaspora in Europe has filled my mind. As an African New Zealander, balancing the echoes of the past and the promises of modernity is a constant struggle. I believe many among the African community would attest to the struggle of being influenced by our own cultural norms.
While numbers have stayed low here so far, a nationwide awareness campaign to target ethnic communities would be helpful. There is need to work with community organisations as well as religious leaders to harness the power of the media and social media to reach out to these communities, to ensure they get the message. We need quick decisive actions from relevant government agencies to come up with strategies to avert the devastating impact the pandemic has caused to African communities in countries like Sweden.
Disclaimer: These opinions in this article are my own and do not express the views of my employer or any other organization I’m involved in.