Recently, many of us have become aware that we are currently facing 2 global crises. Everyone is both aware of and affected by one - Covid 19. No matter where you check - social media, news channels, government directives - precautionary measures and the vaccine is the main topic of conversation everywhere. The second global crisis is kept hidden, not discussed, and often ignored. What we fail to understand is that this crisis is as catastrophic, if not more than the pandemic. 

The crisis in question? Inequality. Many communities around the world face inequalities and are unable to access basic necessities due to their race, ethnicity, religion, and gender. Though these inequalities have existed for as long as we can remember, the Covid 19 outbreak has brought to light many of the issues faced by various groups on a day-to-day basis. Over the last year, the virus has retraced and often aggravated the fault lines of class, gender, race, and social injustice that bedevil our world today, resultantly leaving the well-off better off and the lives of the marginalized even more unsafe.

The pandemic has emphasized gaps in access to technology and the internet. At the top end, technology companies’ profitability is at an all-time high. However, at the bottom end, students from low-income households are unable to attend classes or do their homework. Some do not have laptops, some do not have internet access at home, and many do not know how to use these resources. Taking an example from our very own country, millions of children from the middle and upper classes have recently completed a year of online education, while millions more from underprivileged backgrounds have faced a year of regression as they wait for government schools and colleges to open. 

On the other side of the world, inequalities based on race have been unveiled. In the west, a disproportionately large number of fatalities have been among black and ethnic minority groups. After looking at the statistics, one could almost say that the virus itself is racist. The truth, however, is that people from minority groups have a much higher chance of having pre-existing health conditions, being informally employed, living in overcrowded neighborhoods due to poverty, and having poorer access to healthcare. Thus, they have a much higher probability of both contracting the virus and not having access to the type of healthcare needed to survive once they do have it. Decades of social injustice and structural racism can be easily seen through the COVID-19 death tolls.

COVID-19 has acted as a mirror for the world. The sight we see may seem pleasant at first, but, the closer we look, the clearer the imperfections become.