‘Excuse me, have respect for human dignity’: Top epidemiologist makes a stand against xenophobia

Health Protection Agency (HPA) epidemiologist Dr. Nazla Rafeeq, on Sunday, took a decisive stand against xenophobia, after a journalist at a press briefing used a racist term in reference to Bangladeshi workers.

The incident took place at the National Emergency Operations Center press briefing held on Sunday night.

A journalist said that a COVID-19 outbreak among the ‘Bangaalhi’ people in Male’ would be difficult to curb, and inquired regarding the government’s plans on repatriating Bangladeshi workers back to their home country.

Dr. Nazla cut off the journalist midway through this question.

“Excuse me. I believe we are all human beings. Therefore, we must comport our speech in a manner which awards them the respect they are due, even when asking questions,” said Dr. Nazla.

She said that the Public Health Act charged HPA, not just with the responsibility of protecting the health of Maldivian nationals, but that of protecting the health of everyone in Maldives, irrespective of nationality.

Dr. Nazla said that she found the prejudice some Maldivians held towards those from specific foreign countries impossible to comprehend.

“Some among us are of the mentality that if a foreign national gets infected, and is a person from a specific foreign nation gets infected, then Maldivian nationals will get infected or that it will result in an outbreak,” she said.

Dr. Nazla noted that the first COVID-19 patients identified in Male’ were Maldivian nationals, and that the first Bangladeshi patient identified in Male’ was a member of a Maldivian family – referring to patient 32, who is married to a Maldivian woman, who herself got infected with the virus.

“Therefore, they can claim they got infected from Maldivians. It’s therefore not right that we engage in such mentality,” she said.

Dr. Nazla noted that it was Maldivians themselves who were bringing in migrant workers and housing them in congested shared quarters, and must therefore be accountable for the situation.

Dr. Nazla noted during the press briefing that the COVID-19 pandemic was serving to bring to light the various social issues which existed in countries across the globe, along with issues in health systems.

She pressed on the need to make a conscientious effort to tackle such issues, once the battle against COVID-19 is done.

The video of Dr. Nazla taking the stand against xenophobia has gone viral on social media platforms, garnering her praise.