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In the past months, COVID-19 has crashed into our lives and expectations. The scourge has also made Humanity in Action Fellows and Senior Fellows reexamine their worlds: their hopes and fears, their families and friends, work and responsibilities. At this moment of crisis we share with the Humanity in Action community—and with the larger world—the reflections and actions of our Fellows and Senior Fellows.
Humanity in Action Senior Fellow Hannah Joy Sachs (2018 Berlin Fellowship) shares her experiences and observations concerning the recent rise in anti-Asian racism, the yellow peril.
“COVID-19 has unveiled the reality that yellow peril is not a matter of the past as my history teacher once suggested. Individuals and governments alike have utilized this pandemic as an excuse to label Asians—especially those of Chinese origin—as dangerous, threatening, and incompatible with a safe, healthy, and orderly society.”
Click here to read her article.
Senior Fellow Lena Kampf reports on the recent spates of anti-Asian racist attacks in response to fear of COVID-19 in Germany.
Fellows June Thalin Worm Gibba and Hoang Tran Hieu Hanh invite you to a meet up for the Asian diaspora in Europe. This online dinner and dialogue will discuss community solidarity and anti-Asian racism in the Time of COVID-19.
Landecker Fellow Asha Shajahan wrote an opinion piece for the Detroit News, explaining her thought process behind getting the new COVID-19 vaccine.
Nathan Furukawa published an article concerning the transmission of coronavirus while pre or asymptomatic. This literature review tracked relevant articles from January 1st to April 2nd, 2020 with the goal of reviewing the available research.
Senior Fellow Oscar Baez was working as a foreign service officer in Jerusalem when the US State Department called him home in March. Now he serves the neighborhoods of Boston, where he grew up, as a contact tracer.
Senior Fellow Amish Dave was featured on an episode of Mocha Los Angeles' Picture Theory podcast discussing how the multiracial working class is affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and why he joined a Medical Society to continue his work in human rights and justice.
Senior Fellow Nathan Furukawa, an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Center for Disease Control National Center, finds in latest research that the asymptomatic transmission of SARS Coronavirus 2, the virus causing the COVID-19 disease, is a potent threat for health care systems' ability to contain the virus.
With an international obsession for cleanliness amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Senior Fellow Allister Chang reminds us that those in poverty often face barriers to even follow recommended health guidelines.
Around half of the 949 food banks across Germany have stopped operations since the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, reports Senior Fellow Lena Kampf. Many of the volunteers at the food banks are elderly people belonging to those who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19.
In an opinion piece for the New York Daily News, Senior Fellow Goleen Samari dissects how the Trump Administration's anti-immigrant policy measures are likely to worsen the COVID-19 public health crisis in the United States.
Landecker Fellow Iason Apostolopoulos was a panelist on the webinar titled "A Crisis Within a Crisis; Refugees facing Covid-19." Iason is the Rescue Team Coordinator of "Mediterranea Saving Humans," an Italian Association that is active in the Central Mediterranean Sea.
Landecker Fellow Dr. Asha Shajahan has started a monthly blog on Psychology Today, "combining purpose, knowledge, creativity, and health." She kickstarted her blog, Code of Living, with her first article "Protecting Women's Health During COVID-19."
Together with the Rutgers-Camden Define American Chapter team, Humanity in Action Fellow Melani Cruz Stokes created a fund to help undocumented/DACAmented and international students who are excluded from receiving assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Humanity in Action Senior Fellow Emily McDonnell shares updates about her community, the Navajo Nation in Arizona, eight months after the pandemic began. You can read the full piece here.
The pandemic is impossible to ignore because it has enveloped every aspect of reservation life.
The timing of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected us all, although to a very uneven extent. If you find yourself in a situation where you can devote some of your time and energy to others, here are 8 tips on how to do it safely.
Senior Fellow Jasmine Burton, Executive Director and Founder of Wish for WASH, invites you to join the organization's first COVID-19 inspired design thinking workshop.
Distinguished Diva, an online African magazine for and by women of African heritage, is seeking contributions on their upcoming issue on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the African continent. Distinguished Divas' current Editor-in-Chief is Senior Fellow Adeola Naomi Aderemi.
In this piece, Humanity in Action Senior Fellow and Board Member Henry Alt-Haaker (2005 Berlin Fellowship) and Johns Hopkins University professor Dan S. Hamilton argue against “social distancing” and for “spatial distancing.” To them, a one-word shift can make a monumental difference in our attitude and in our approach to this crisis. Physical distance, yes; social distance, no.
“Once the hurricane has passed, what will it have left behind? […] We will best address these questions by reaching beyond our spatial distance, working collaboratively, exchanging ideas vividly, and embracing our common humanity.”
Click here to read their article.
Senior Fellow Amy Larsen authors an article for New York University's Journal of Legislation & Public Policy, discussing potential cybersecurity threats the U.S. could face during the current election cycle amidst the COVID-19 public health crisis.
Senior Fellow Tim Schleicher's team of data scientists and organizational development specialists commit at least one day per week to help out. The idea is for organizations to leverage data in order to master the challenges COVID-19 imposes on them!
Together with a small team, Senior Fellow Sylwia Vargas coded and recently launched the beta version of the COVID-19 Risk Calculator. It is the first app that helps medical professionals triage current and incoming patients.
In this timely and personal comment, Humanity in Action Senior Fellow and Board Member Amish J. Dave appeals to all those of us who can to become or remain civically active in this critical time. He shares his perspectives as a Seattle-based doctor who is witnessing the pandemic on the frontlines.
“Physicians like me are continuing to see patients and do our utmost to save lives. We need you to reach out and offer to donate your time volunteering or your cash or your supplies to help keep our hospitals viable to protect you and your loved ones.“
Click here to read his comment.
“Iris, how is work? Hope you and your family are ok. Please stay strong.“ Ever since COVID-19 has hit Europe, I have been receiving messages of support from family, friends and nearly forgotten acquaintances on a daily basis.
Seeking to create inspiring discourse by highlighting medical practitioners currently on the front lines of the COVID-19 epidemic, Senior Fellow Lisa Muloma brings content to Faces of the Frontline to highlight the inspiring acts of medical practitioners currently on the front lines.
In this episode of the America Dissected: Coronavirus podcast, Senior Fellow Dr. Aakash Shah, an emergency room doctor in New Jersey talks with host Dr. Abdul El-Sayed about his experience on the frontlines in the United States' epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senior Fellow and POLITICO's inaugural Editor Director for China, David Wertime, writes his debut piece on the Chinese domestic reaction to the U.S. COVID-19 response.
Senior Fellow Saskia Brechenmacher writes about the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on democracy and governance at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
In tandem with Opinion Juris' online COVID-19 Symposium, Senior Fellow Kate Powers writes of the need now more than ever to center human rights in global health justice responses to the pandemic.
In her latest piece for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Senior Fellow Saskia Brechenmacher explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has forced civil society organizations to act creatively to bolster local responses.
In "A British Crisis of Confidence" published by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Senior Fellow Julia Himmrich analyses the Coronavirus crisis against the backdrop of a crisis of confidence in post-Brexit Britain's political leadership.
For The Guardian, Senior Fellow Beril Eski discusses growing anger in Turkey about the exclusion of jailed human rights activists, journalists and opposition politicians from those are being considered for early releases through an initiative that grants amnesties to up to one third of the country’s prison population in order to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
In response to Amish J Dave’s comment, Humanity in Action Founder and Executive Director Judith Goldstein addresses the Humanity in Action community with words that both encourage and warn.
“Clarity, I believe, gives strength. Hope is energizing. Engaging in common civic pursuit is emboldening. Voting is resistance. Resisting is what will restore our health.”
Click here to read the full speech.
Senior Fellow Mark Goldberg speaks with Philippe Bolopion, deputy director for advocacy at Human Rights Watch, and examines how the pandemic is impacting human rights around the world.
In this episode, Senior Fellow Mark Goldberg speaks with Sofia Fenner, an assistant professor of political science at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, about what comparative politics and political science can teach us about how governments are responding to this crisis.
In the latest episode of Global Dispatches, Senior Fellow Mark Goldberg is joined by Amanda Glassman, senior fellow and executive vice president of the Center for Global Development, to discuss the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic to low income countries, and what organizations like the World Bank can do to help mitigate this crisis.
In response to the recent glorification of domesticity and being forced to stay home, Humanity in Action Senior Fellow Jasamin Ulfat-Seddiqzai reminds us that these circumstances are not so temporary for many women around the world.
“What we experience [now] is very similar to the lives of women in highly patriarchal societies, be it Saudi Arabia, or Europe roughly one hundred years ago. While we usually talk about these women in theory only, now we have the chance to experience their version of captivity first-hand.”
Click here to read the full piece.
Senior Fellow Carolin Wiedemann wurde in einer Radiosendung des Deutschlandfunks über soziale Bewegungen durch Social Media vorgestellt.
COVID-19 has hit refugee camps in Berlin-Brandenburg and conditions there are worsening. To support Women in Exile e.V., Senior Masha Burina is raising funds for the organization to continue their critical health, legal and advocacy services to refugee women in the region.
Senior Fellow Goleen Samari was published in The Lancet on the behavioral and biological risks that vulnerable populations are likely to experience as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senior Fellow Saskia Brechenmacher writes about how the coronavirus pandemic threatens female political inclusion, and what we can do to prevent this.
The website, Feminist Covid Response, is a volunteer online data repository of information on feminist principles and actions, as well as policy responses to the COVID crises.
Humanity in Action Poland endorses the Statement of Feminists and Women’s Rights Organizations coordinated by the Feminist Alliance for Rights (FAR).
Passengers and businesses have complained that some companies do not comply with EU air passenger legislation.
Senior Fellow Paulina Milewska launched the special section in the biggest daily newspaper in Eastern Europe, Gazeta Wyborcza, to keep foreigners informed on COVID-19 realities in Poland.
Senior Fellow Anouk Eigenraam, China-correspondent for 'Financieel Dagblad' and 'BNR', is one of the two Dutch reporters who visited the Wuhan region in China during the 'Corona' outbreak. Anouk speaks out after a 14-day quarantine period.
Tenants in Colorado are facing a looming eviction crisis as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to reverberate. Through the COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project, Senior Fellow Zachary Neumann and associates conducted an analysis of the risks Coloradoans face and offer assistance.
“The COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project is a collaborative, community legal project. Our mission is to provide Coloradoans who are unable to pay their rent during the COVID-19 crisis with information and support.”
To support people in understanding a new law and to show solidarity with French employees, Senior Fellow Laure Assayag founded the group 'Manifestons Au Balcon' to stand up against the social measures in France's provisional Labor Code degree.
Keda Kas connects and supports the Dutch Caribbean through adequate information and news about corona, discussions and digital social activities.
In response to the growing upheaval surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Senior Fellow Katherine Clifton returned home to Honolulu, HI to be with family. Noticing a critical need for vulnerable people in the state, she became a founding member of Hawaii Help is on the Way, a nonprofit mobilizing volunteers to delivery essential goods to kupunas (elders) in Hawai'i.
In this article, Humanity in Action Senior Fellow Emily McDonnell shares how her own community, the Navajo Nation in Arizona, struggles with navigating life in a new reality.
“There are only 12 healthcare facilities with 170 hospital beds, 13 ICU beds, and 28 ventilators available for the entire Navajo Nation.”
Click here to read the full piece.
Senior Fellow Aditya Mittal is committed to highlighting the often overlooked perspective of refugees’ and their experiences with healthcare in communities in Germany and Pennsylvania.
Senior Fellow Noam Schimmel publishes book that analyzes the rhetorical strategies employed by the four Democratic presidents, Truman, Johnson, Clinton and Obama, who tried to expand access to and affordability of healthcare in the United States.
Senior Fellow Simon Bech biked around Aarhus, Denmark with a trailer in tow to spread awareness of the social aspects to global health issues while funding field work by MSF.
