In Asia, SARS packs discrimination<\/p>\n
Jason Szep, Reuters, Singapore<\/p>\n
Shunned by taxi drivers, rejected at hotels, turned back at
\nimmigration counters, many people from SARS-hit Asian regions are
\ndiscovering another symptom of the deadly SARS virus --
\ndiscrimination.<\/p>\n
In Hong Kong, residents in buildings afflicted by SARS
\ncomplain of being turned away by private doctors as soon as they
\ndisclose their addresses.<\/p>\n
Ethnic Chinese in SARS-hit Toronto are quizzed on their health
\nby neighbors, or shunned on the subway, while some taxi drivers
\nin Taiwan avoid areas popular with mainland Chinese.<\/p>\n
As it burrows into the lungs of thousands of people worldwide,
\nthe SARS virus also appears to be infecting social attitudes,
\nprovoking mild discrimination or even blatant racism.<\/p>\n
In countries such as Singapore, a tiny island republic with
\nthe world's fourth-highest number of infections of Severe Acute
\nRespiratory Syndrome (SARS), some residents say they fear being
\ntreated as pariahs if they travel abroad.<\/p>\n
\"I'm staying here in Singapore because I don't want to make
\npeople feel uncomfortable,\" said Cynthia Tan, a 29-year-old
\ninsurance broker.<\/p>\n
Yeh Fu-lung, a taxi driver in Taipei, says he refuses to pick
\nup Taiwan travelers who are returning from China.<\/p>\n
\"A lot of these returning Taiwanese first take a shuttle bus
\nfrom the airport into town, and then hail a cab. You can tell
\nthey're coming back from China,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In the popular tourist destinations of Thailand all visitors
\nfrom high-risk countries must wear surgical masks at all times or
\nface a jail term or a fine, even if healthy.<\/p>\n
Malaysia, whose population is 30 percent ethnic Chinese, no
\nlonger grants visas to people from mainland China, which has the
\nworld's largest number of SARS infections.<\/p>\n
But Thailand's and Malaysia's dramatic measures are unlikely
\nto stoke diplomatic anger in countries hit hard by SARS, such as
\nChina, said Dr Lam Peng Er, a researcher at the East Asia
\nInstitute of the National University of Singapore.<\/p>\n
\"Right now the situation is really medical. It's an epidemic.
\nI don't think we should read too much into it,\" he said. \"The
\nlocal people expect the government to act, and the governments
\nhave to appear to be acting.\"<\/p>\n
\"Until the situation really deteriorates, I think countries
\nwill deal with it very pragmatically,\" Lam added.<\/p>\n
But for many people in multicultural Asia, the feeling of
\nbeing singled out at airports or isolated along ethnic lines, or
\neven shunned by a neighborhood dentist because of a chance brush
\nwith a mysterious illness, is disturbingly new.<\/p>\n
Ko Shiou Hee, an architect, said he was baffled when his
\nAustralian business partner quizzed him repeatedly about his
\nhealth just days before leaving for Australia.<\/p>\n
\"I actually didn't know why he called me. I thought he was
\njust concerned about my health,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"But after speaking with a few people, I started to realize
\nthat my partner out of politeness actually didn't tell me that
\nhe's a bit concerned about me going there.\"<\/p>\n
Like Ko, others bristle at reports of Canadian shoppers
\nstaying clear of Toronto's usually bustling Chinatown district or
\ncab drivers avoiding ethnic Chinese.<\/p>\n
\"I'm quite surprised to hear it from the Canadians, but maybe
\nit's because they are really feeling it with so many getting SARS
\nthere. People say irrational things when they are afraid,\" said
\nJuyi Ong, a Singapore photographer.<\/p>\n
To send a message of tolerance, Prime Minister Jean Chretien
\nlunched at a Chinese restaurant in Toronto last week. The
\nhysteria in Canada, which has 283 SARS cases, prompted one U.S.
\nofficial to say the virus was not a disease unique to Asians.<\/p>\n
But frustration is brewing as newspapers report scattered
\ninstances of stereotyping and racial bias. Taiwan's government
\nissued a rare public appeal on Monday to treat people from SARS-
\naffected countries no differently than others.<\/p>\n
\"Overseas tourists have passed through stringent measures to
\nenter the country, so their health conditions are guaranteed to a
\ncertain degree. Please do not look differently at tourists from
\nSARS regions,\" Taiwan's department of health said.<\/p>\n
Some like Danny Hor are putting a brave face on the
\ncontroversy. \"At least I won't get mugged,\" the 37-year-old
\nmanager of a Singapore coffee shop says wryly when asked if he
\nworries about his business trip to Boston this month.<\/p>\n
\"I just give a few coughs and they'll leave me alone.\"<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/in-asia-sars-packs-discrimination-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }