Double trouble for the poor

Hundreds of people are being arrested every day for violating lockdown rules, and as this newspaper reported on July 8, most of these arrestees are the poor going out to earn their daily bread. The on-again, off-again lockdown induced by the Covid-19 pandemic has decimated the financial stability of hundreds of thousands of households. Poverty in the country has gone up, and every time we have a fresh round of lockdown, the struggles of the poor only get worse.

Therefore, even though we understand the need for strict lockdown with the number of cases and deaths reaching record highs every day now, the poor cannot be expected to just stay at home and starve to death. In order to ensure that enforcing a strict lockdown is possible—as it is necessary given the current Covid situation—and also humane, the government needs to urgently provide support to the poor who are being hit the hardest by the ongoing lockdown, as many of them have to live hand to mouth. This support can be in the form of cash assistance or the delivery of essential items (for free or for cheap) or both.

Moreover, due to the poor getting arrested, they are having to pay fines—which is making life even more difficult for them financially—and their family members are gathering outside of court premises, increasing the risk of the virus spreading. According to a report, family members of the poor, in their desperation, are also falling victim to fraudsters who are promising the release of their loved ones in exchange for cash and then disappearing—whereas those being arrested are having to pay Tk 100-200 in fines for their release. These fraudsters are asking for much more and robbing people blind. The authorities must stop this from happening.

Here we must point out the lack of planning by the authorities when it comes to implementing and enforcing lockdowns. How can people comply with the directive to stay at home if they are on the verge of starving? The authorities should have planned to deliver sufficient relief for the poor alongside (or before) implementing the lockdown. And having done that, they should have made people aware of the penalties for going outside without an emergency, so that there would be no confusion as to how much they or their family members would have to pay for getting them released.

Nevertheless, there is still time for the authorities to enforce the lockdown correctly. Given the current Covid trends, it is highly likely that the lockdown will have to continue for a while still. The authorities need to immediately start providing relief to people who are financially struggling. Law enforcers must be more understanding when it comes to arresting people and trying to get them to follow the health guidelines and government directives. And those who are arrested should be given a way to inform their loved ones of what happened and what they need to do to get them freed so that any gathering outside of the courthouse is avoided and fraudsters cannot take advantage of them.