The Eruption of the Refugee Crisis and the Global Push for Vaccine Passports
Published: April 17, 2021
SAINT VINCENT, GRENADINE ISLANDS The controversy erupted on Twitter even as the 32,000-foot-high plume of smoke from Saint Vincent’s La Soufrière volcano was still rising in the sky. The firestorm on American social media platforms over reports that only those vaccinated against COVID-19 would be allowed to evacuate the eastern Caribbean island sheds light on the architects of the biosecurity state who have descended on Saint Vincent & the Grenadines (SVG) to explore the limits of mandatory public health protocols in the midst of a natural disaster now projected to “last months.”
Earth Day is less than a week away with this year’s theme of “Restore the Earth.” Earthday.org expounds on it by saying, “Together, we can prevent the coming disasters of climate change and environmental destruction. Together, we can Restore Our Earth.”
It is a fitting theme after the World Meteorological Society (WMO) declared 2011-2020 as the hottest year on record. Ocean heat is also hitting record levels due to greenhouse gas emissions. WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas explained, “In 2020, the annual Arctic sea ice minimum was among the lowest on record, exposing Polar communities to abnormal coastal flooding, and stakeholders such as shipping and fisheries, to sea ice hazards.” In a Panahon TV feature, PAGASA Hydrologist Rosalie Pagulayan warned that excess ocean heat may also fuel stronger tropical cyclones (
Northlines
Abhilash Pandi
The
COVID-19 pandemic shows that digital connectivity is critical to societal resilience and business continuity in the times of crisis
Technology is now all around us. The digital transformation we have seen over the last few years has increased the emphasis on always being online. For instance, in 2015, 7.5 per cent of the Indian population was connected to the internet but by 2019, this percentage increased to 34 per cent, according to the World Bank data. Indian mobile users consume 8.3 gigabytes of data each month on an average and India is digitising faster than any other country.
Digital transformation has opened the doors to alleviating poverty, creating opportunities and monitoring and improving emergency response. But it has also added a new layer of vulnerability. A single disaster caused by natural hazards could lead to serious damage to critical information systems and trigger the failure of entire networks. Not only
ARISE-Philippines, SM Cares, Resilient PH team up for webinar on women on disaster management and resilience msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
For How Long Will The Internet Hold Firm?
The digital divide must be eliminated so that all communities can in future unlock access to information, digital communication tools, and digital content in general. outlookindia.com 2021-04-07T20:55:17+05:30
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– Stephen King, Different Seasons
Crisis and disaster can barge in anytime, bringing catastrophe and disruptions to our lives. India is high on the disaster ranking list. According to India s National Policy on Disaster Management, almost 59 per cent of India s landmass is prone to earthquakes; over 12 per cent of the land to floods; about 76 per cent of the coastline to cyclones and tsunamis; with droughts, landslides and avalanches close behind. Statistically, according to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, between 2009 and 2019, the country experienced 321 incidences of natural disasters, leaving 108 crore people affected. 2020, the year of the coronavirus, changed the way people carrie