Damascus-Sana
The many dark aspects carried by the Coronavirus pandemic are not limited to physical health and the economic situation that has witnessed a deterioration at the global level, whether in poor or rich countries, there are other disastrous and more dangerous consequences that fell from the accounts of many ordinary people who were preoccupied with the effects of the virus on their health and their financial situation without paying attention to Those who actually benefit from the pandemic crisis and the fantastic profits that have returned to the pockets of the wealthy in exchange for the psychological and mental breakdown of millions of people around the world.
Taking into consideration that the poor and ethnic groups in Europe and the United States are the most affected by the Corona pandemic, the focus of Western governments on economic incentives and attempts to revive growth by pumping money to major companies raises many questions and serious questions about the presence of parties benefiting from the crisis. The epidemic and the conditions accompanying it. Many studies, most recently published by the British Mental Health Center, have proven that isolation and general closures have exacerbated the mental and mental illnesses of millions and pushed millions of others into bankruptcy and unemployment, at a time when the wealth of a particular class increased to unprecedented levels.
In this context, other studies come to reveal that the world's richest have added 730 billion dollars to their wealth since mid-March, while 40 million Americans have become unemployed compared to the 2008 financial crisis, during which 8.8 million Americans lost their jobs.
A study published by the American newspaper Los Angeles Times showed that between 2009 and 2012, the income of the elite class in the United States, which constitutes 1 percent of Americans, increased by 31 percent due to government financial aid that was confined to large companies and institutions and the reduction of interest rates to nearly zero, which made the rich They make huge profits when the markets recover again.
To shed light on the biggest beneficiary of the Corona crisis, the study indicated that during recent years, up to 2020, the total wealth of the rich class in the United States increased by more than 80 percent, while 4 out of 10 people lost their savings and were no longer able to cover their basic expenses.
The study pointed out that the global financial crisis scenario in 2008 was repeated again last year by granting economic incentives and financial aid to large companies and the wealthy and reducing the interest rate to almost zero.
Another, more dangerous aspect that reveals the true face of the epidemic and the biggest benefactor behind it is the psychological collapse that afflicted millions of people around the world. Parallel to this is the profits of the pharmaceutical companies.
A recent British study revealed that depression among the British people doubled last year, and according to the British Mental Health Center, 10 million Britons, equivalent to 20 percent of the population, need new and additional help in the psychological crises they are suffering and exacerbated by Corona.
An American study also showed that the epidemic contributed to the doubling of stress symptoms among Americans at a rate of three times than it was before 2020 and quadrupled the rate of depression among them, while an opinion poll indicated that half of Americans confirmed that the epidemic had led to their psychological and mental harm and according to studies, the rate Hot calls related to mental disorders and depression have increased by 1,000 percent since April in the United States alone.
Health experts in the United States sounded the alarm about the effects of the epidemic on mental and mental health, and revealed that 40 percent of Americans suffer from anxiety and depression, and the largest proportion of these are young people and teenagers.
The cases of anxiety and tension that have spread in Western societies are due in part to the emergence of social differences and manifestations of discrimination on the basis of race clearly and the problems associated with them surfaced again. Perhaps the American society is the greatest example of this. The great disparity in the numbers of victims of the Corona pandemic revealed the depth and seriousness of racial discrimination. It is historically present in the United States.
Basima Kanon