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Arabs across the region show solidarity with Asians

A woman wearing a face mask as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus waits to cross a street in the financial district in Beijing on March 3, 2020. (AFP)
A woman wearing a face mask as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus waits to cross a street in the financial district in Beijing on March 3, 2020. (AFP)
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04 Mar 2020 11:03:35 GMT9
04 Mar 2020 11:03:35 GMT9

Diana Farah, Dubai

With the widespread of the new coronavirus COVID-19 infecting over 70 countries around the world, some people have placed the blame for the outbreak on Chinese and Japanese citizens.

Recently, a video surfaced on social media in which a Palestinian woman in Ramallah berated two Japanese relief workers. The woman took pictures of them and called them “corona, corona.”

https://twitter.com/farisjpn/status/1234874261476605952?s=20

The Palestinian authorities have arrested the two people involved in the harassment of the Japanese relief workers.

However, the two individuals have expressed their regret and apologized for their behavior towards the Japanese women, according to the Palestinian Embassy in Tokyo.

Leila Ghannam, governor of Ramallah city, received the Japanese workers and expressed the Palestinian’s people’s respect for Japan and its people, stated the embassy.

[caption id="attachment_12486" align="alignnone" width="377"] Governor of Ramallah city, Leila Ghannam, with the Japanese aid workers. (Facebook/Embassy of Palestine - Tokyo)[/caption]

Palestinian police officers also offered an apology and a bouquet of flowers to the two Japanese women.

The Japanese aid workers in turn dropped their case.

[caption id="attachment_12485" align="alignnone" width="492"] Palestinian police officers offered the two women a bouquet of flowers along with an apology. (Facebook/Embassy of Palestine - Tokyo)[/caption]

Another incident involved a Singapore man with a Chinese background, Jonathon Mok, who was physically attacked in London.

Mok wrote in a Facebook post: “Last Monday, at roughly 9.15pm on Oxford Street in London, I walked past a group of young men, when I saw one of them look at me and said something to me, which I could make out the word ‘coronavirus.’”

“The guy who tried to kick me said, ‘I don’t want your coronavirus in my country’, before swinging another sucker punch at me, which resulted in my face exploding with blood (from my nose),” he added.

https://twitter.com/farisjpn/status/1234872834482200576?s=20

King Salman, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, ordered the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Action to send aid to China in its fight against coronavirus.

He also expressed his condolences to the friendly Chinese people and the families who witnessed the death of other family members or friends.

https://twitter.com/spagov/status/1225433176660758531?s=20

In showing their solidarity with China and its people, Saudi Arabia signed six contracts Feb. 13 to provide medical assistance to China as it attempts to combat the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19). The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) is overseeing the provision of assistance in coordination with the Chinese Embassy in Saudi Arabia.

“This initiative reflects the strong (and longstanding) relationship between Saudi Arabia and China,” said Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, supervisor general of KSRelief. “The Kingdom strives to fight crises facing countries and communities. It is always aiming to support stability and sustainable development around the world.”

“The two friendly countries enjoy a complete strategic partnership,” said Li. “Both parties are excited to move forward.”

“Saudi Arabia is a very important country that has a big impact, whether in the region or world,” said Li. “We consider the Kingdom to be a powerful ally in building (China’s Belt and Road initiative) and linking it with the Saudi Vision 2030, while preserving the stability and development of the region and the world.”

In 2013, China was the guest country at Saudi Arabia’s Janadriyah Festival, with Chinese Ambassador, at the time, Li Chengwen calling it “one of the greatest festival in the world.”

Chinese participants constructed a pavilion occupying 2,000 square meters at the national and cultural festival.

Prominent Arab leaders have also been showing their support for the Chinese people.

Crown Prince of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan recently tweeted that the UAE was prepared to provide any aid necessary in China’s battle with the coronavirus.

https://twitter.com/MohamedBinZayed/status/1221450119415050240?s=20

The Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces said he recently had a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping and reiterated the UAE’s support for China and dealing with the outbreak.

https://twitter.com/MohamedBinZayed/status/1232312183771394048?s=20

Bahraini Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China Anwar Alabdulla delivered a batch of protective face masks provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.

Chinese officials from the Ministries of Affairs and Trade and the Chinese Red Cross expressed their gratitude to Bahrain for its support of China against the outbreak of COVID-19.

According to the Times of Oman, the country’s Minister Yousef bin Alawi bin Abdullah responsible for Foreign Affairs sent a written message to the Foreign Ministry of China: “His Excellency, Yousef bin Alawi bin Abdallah, sent a written message to his Chinese counterpart, expressing the Sultanate's solidarity and sympathy with China in facing the challenge posed by the coronavirus.”

The letter expressed Oman’s confidence in China’s ability to overcome the outbreak’s challenges.

In another recent video on social media, Amir Wang, a Chinese student at the Lebanese University said he is subjected to negative comments in streets due to the spread of coronavirus, which started in his home country.

https://youtu.be/UOwravnZqv4

Wang complained to his teacher, Dr. Masoud Daher, and on social media during the past week, saying he was bullied by people in the town of Chehime and in other areas he crossed while travelling to his home.

Dr. Daher, a professor at the Lebanese University and head of the Lebanese-Chinese Association in Lebanon, told Arab News: “Wang was subjected to unjust harassment. He was insulted just because he was Chinese.”

Daher said: “The Lebanese University includes 10 Chinese students studying in the department of translation and languages, and there are two students at the doctoral school who are pursuing two economic research projects on China and the Arab world under my supervision. Some of the students live in the student accommodation on the campus of the Lebanese University in the Al-Hadath area, and they were harassed by some Lebanese as well.”

Dr. Daher said that Chinese students “have been going to the Lebanese University for 10 years. Some of them are teaching the Chinese language. They are assigned by their government to teach the Chinese language at the University’s language center.”

The rise in xenophobia around the globe is nothing new, as the US in 1882 had issued the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 that banned the immigration of Chinese laborers to the US for 10 years.

The act was placed in order to appease to worker demands and “maintaining white ‘racial purity.’”

Most recently, British TV show host Piers Morgan has come under fire for mimicking the Chinese language on an episode of Good Morning Britain, which aired Jan. 21.

Morgan’s mocking caused huge backlash and ITV has apologized for the presenter’s behavior.

He later tweeted insisting that he was “mocking a member of the British royal family appearing in an advert for Chinese state milk, not Chinese people.”

https://twitter.com/piersmorgan/status/1219525209088237569?s=20

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