RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE IS PEACE - STOP DISCRIMINATION AND STIGMA WITH YOUR FAITH: PROMOTE PEACE

RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE IS PEACE!

STOP DISCRIMINATION AND STIGMA WITH YOUR FAITH: PROMOTE PEACE

If it were not because of COVID-19 Pandemic, 24^th May 2020, would have been one of the busiest days of the world. For Eid ul Fitr falling on Sunday, whilst our Muslim brothers and sisters would be busily praising Allah for a successful fast: Christians too would have been busy glorifying God in our various churches. Unfortunately, a tiny but powerful invisible enemy, SARS-CoV-2 is outside there waiting for the children of God to infect them.

This should tell us that instead of discriminating against and fighting ourselves, we should rather put our differences away, and fight the invisible enemy sitting on our PEACE. Infectious diseases like tuberculosis (Tellier et al., 2019) and natural disasters like hurricanes (Tipson, 2013; Chan et al., 2017) are increasing threats to human health and peace. Instead of focusing on our problems, human beings are rather fighting themselves, and our world is rather increasingly violent than before; especially domestic (Huecker & Smock, 2020), religious (Wibisono et al., 2019; Glock & Stark, 1965), and political violence (Majumdar, 2020)! Amongst all these, “religious violence” is said to have been increasing (Muggah & Velshi, 2019) more; that is a very bad news for us as believers. This is because, increased violence mostly goes with increased discrimination and stigma (Mehta et al., 2019; Torrey, 2011).

The WHO, (2002) defines violence as: “The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community that either resulted in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation” (Dhahlberg & Krug, 2006). Violence is multidimensional like “Religious extremism” (Wibisono et al., 2019). From, this definition, it means that, when you discriminate against and stigmatize COVID-19 positive persons, you are not only inflicting emotional pains in them; you are giving them psychological problem/violence.

Peace is evolutionally defined by the WHO as a situation in which there is no war and “Structural violence” in our societies (WHO, 2020). But peace and health are interrelated, as can be seen in the WHO definition of health in 1948, as: “A state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 2020; PHAST, 2020). The relationship between health and peace is even made clearer in Steinhauer, (2016) definition of peace as an environment full of positive wellbeing without conflict. Violence leads to diseases and infirmities that can let one lose their health and have no peaceful minds!

The WHO world report on violence and health for 2002, declared violence as a global public health problem (WHO, 2002; Dhahlberg & Krug, 2006; Krug et al., 2002). It is revealed by the WHO, ( 2002) and many writers that, violence is not only when people are attacking each other with weapons like guns or cutlasses, but anything that does not allow you to have peace (COE, 2017; Cohen, 2019). The WHO, (2002) gave some examples of violence, such as: emotional or psychological harassment, depriving/neglecting others (very common amongst stigmatized people), hindering others’ developing (sabotage), sexual harassment or starvation and so on.

Religion and culture is identified as one of the fundamental triggers of major global unrests on earth, especially in nations that are yet to develop (Stewart, 2002; Cohen, 2019; WHO, 2002). Religion and culture are like blood and water in our bodies, this is why religion/culture is always amongst the major causes of violence on earth (Stewart, 2002). Some religious violence around the globe (Wibisono et al., 2019; Basedau et al., 2014), testified that religion is really amongst major causes of our 21^st Century World’s unrest. Some political and tribal conflicts even appear in the form of religious identity (Majumdar, 2020; Wibisono et al., 2019; Sule, 2015; Canetti et al., 2010); where there are mostly some forms of political influences in every religious violence (Wibisono et al., 2019). Sule, (2015) has named twenty-seven ethno-religious violence in Northern Nigeria alone which he even said are some of them. As the “light of the world”, we Christians and Muslims who are the majority on earth, must be very ashamed of this shameless revelation! We cannot be preaching peace and justice, and we are the same people causing problems on earth!

Glock & Stark, (1965), trying to explain the multiple associations of religious extrimism, revealed that all religions on earth have five (5) major attributes that distinguish them from one another. These are; differences in religious ideologies (beliefs), intelligence (knowledge), ritualisms (sacrifices), “experiential (feelings or emotions)”, and implications (effects arising from religious differences). My interest amongst these today is the: “Experiential”. COVID-19 has re-affirmed a serious global problem called stigma, where COVID-19 infected persons are stigmatized (Logie & Turan, 2020; BBC., 2020; Starr, 2020).

For fear of being exposed and stigmatized, some COVID-19 positive persons, especially the asymptomatic ones, are seeing those helping them (contact tracers) as their enemies and are threatening them (Asamoah, 2020; Ghanaweb, 2020). A Ghanaian pregnant mother who survived COVI-19 has bitterly complained of how her daughter was discriminated against, stigmatized and stoned by her community (BBC., 2020). A man likewise revealed how his brother discriminated against and stigmatized him because of COVID-19 (Starr, 2020).

Both Holy Books preach and stand for LOVE and PEACE (Brink, 2016; Zaimov, 2015; Akhter & Qadoos, 2017; ALgul, 2017)!  When the Pharisees’ lawyer tempted Jesus by asking him that which of the commandments is the greatest?, he replied: “… love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul ³⁷, … Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself ³⁹” (Matthew, 22: 34-40KJV). To help us know who our neighbour is, Jesus gave a parable about a Good Samaritan using a man who was travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho and how he was help by a “supposed enemy” (Luke, 10:25-37KJV).

He added in (Matthew 5:44-47, KJV) that our ability to love our enemies is what differentiates us from the unbelievers. One who loves does not discriminate or stigmatize others! We are even asked to feed our enemies when we see them go hungry or beg for food from us (Proverbs, 25:21, KJV). Jesus use himself as an example by praying for those who crucified him, though he was going through unbearable pains on the Holy Cross of Calvary (Luke 23: 33-34, KJV). Anyone who does not love his/her neighbor does not love God, because He is love (1John, 4:8KJV).

The Holy Quran also started the peace process and by avoiding religious discrimination in this statement, that: “There is no compulsion where the religion is concerned” (Quran, 2:256; GNN, 2015; Ashley, 2015). I like this particular quote very much, because it exposes religious extremism in which some religious fundamentalists (Azarian, 2018; Weston, 2019) still see their religious opponents as their enemies-the root cause of religious violence! If we really understand this quote, there should be no religious violence (Wibisono et al., 2019; Sule, 2015) or discrimination and stigma on this earth, like seen in the case HIV/AIDs (Reyes-Estrada et al., 2018)?

To pray for someone to be peaceful or find peace in life is a prayer that is found in both Holy Books - Bible and Quran (Steinhauer, 2016), and we can only do this out of love. Jesus himself was always greeting his followers by saying: “Peace be unto you” (John, 20:19-21, KJV; Luke 24:36, KJV) and he said in (Matthew 5:9, KJV) that: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God”. There are hundred Bible Verses on peace alone (Smith, 2020). Up to now, Roman Catholics greet each other by saying: “The Peace of Christ be with you”.

It is said that Quran 56: 25-26 promises anyone who believes that: “Therein they will hear no abusive speech, nor any talk of sin, only the saying, “Peace, peace” (Steinhauer, 2016). The global head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission was lamenting why there is enmity amongst humans globally, saying that Islam is a religion of peace can help solve this (Rashed, 2013). It is natural that, once you see someone as an enemy or a threat to you, you would discriminate against and stigmatize that person. Meanwhile, just as the Holy Bible teaches that we should love our enemies (Matthew 5:44-47, KJV), so does the Holy Quran (Google.com, 2015).

The Holy Quran calls its ways “… The ways of peace” (Quran 5:16) by promoting reconciliation as the best (Quran 4:128), because God hates disturbance of peace (Quran 2:205). Despite these beautiful teachings, most of our members still coin their own ways of creating hatred both interfaith and within the same faiths; resulting in words such as “Unbelievers” and “Infidels” (Ashley, 2015). These words are discriminatory in nature, leading to automatic discrimination and stigma! Forced conversion is something that all religions must avoid! As Pastor Mensah Otabil revealed: “Salvation is not religious, it is a spiritual issue” (Otabil, 2020). Forcing people into the church or mosque is not a guarantee that they will go to Heaven. So, people are worshipping with us only for acceptance (Otabil, 2020), but they are even wicked than “unbelievers”. Today, most criminals have found their way into our places of worship as revealed in most robbery arrests (Wealth, 2020).

What makes things worst is that; though religious intolerance is now a global problem that needs solution, in some countries like Saudi Arabia (which should have been a shining example for the Islamic Nations), small children are thought to discriminate against non-Muslims (Ibrahim, 2019). Though in Ghana Christians and Muslims live as if we have the same belief; in Iraq it is considered as “haram (forbidden)” if a Muslim wishes a Christian merry Christmas (Ibrahim, 2019). I am not a Muslim, but with the little that I have learnt about Islam, I know that Islam is as peaceful as Christianity. From this and the Ghanaian Christian-Muslim relationship, I have seen that our religions are not the problems. We human beings who are the only religious on earth (McCauley, 2018; Coghlan, 2008), are the ones tarnishing the images of our religions. If not, how can our Holy Books preach peace, yet some fundamentalists rejoice in killing in the name of God, as seen in the case of Nigeria (Geller, 2019)?

In (Matthew 7:12, KJV), Jesus: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets”. If you do not want others to maltreat your religious members, why subject others’ religious members to harsh treatments? Relating to this verse to the Greatest Commandment (Matthew, 22: 34-40), such treatments are pure hatred, discrimination or stigma; and cannot be described as love. All religions believe that theirs is the best, and this has resulted in most of them referring to themselves as the selected lucky ones that God chose (Tarico, 2015). This has resulted in automatic discrimination/stigma in which members of the same religion or denomination are treated as special/superior than outsiders.

You will not discriminate against or stigmatize your neighbor if you really love him/her and want peace! When there is no love in your heart and you value peace, you might be hurting others with your actions or inactions like stigma. But, stigma kills (Ruffell, 2017); and religious discrimination (Kawika, 2018) has been an open secret for years. Comments that COVID-19 is a punishment from God (Martin, 2020; Gordon, 2020) or a “Death angel” (Brown, 2020; Dossey, 2020) that God is using to wipe off sinners; does not only affect the compliance level of people, it also increases the level of stigma attached to it. COVID-19 is no respecter of a righteous or a sinner, just comply! When Cain killed his brother Abel, God demanded Abel’s blood from his hands (Genesis, 4:1-15, KJV). If because of stigma others are not willing to comply, and others loss their lives, God will request for their blood from your hands. So, the quick reaction by Christian leaders that COVID-19 is not a disease of sinners, was an excellent move in the right direction (Dennis, 2020).

There is a Beautifully and Peaceful Relationship between Christians and Muslims in Ghana (Abdul-Hamid, 2011). This is a clear demonstration of love that puts a smile on God’s face, and we have to protect it. Through that we can stop discrimination or stigma and any form of evil. destroy it.  Our COVID-19 positive persons need this Love! Love them, Love All: Stop the Stigma. We are the majority on earth, once we don’t support a certain evil behavior, it can never survive!

Recommendations

Ø  As we preach peace, we must find a way of protecting or promoting it through interfaith or religious dialogue.

Ø  Use of words like “Infidels” or “Unbelievers” are discriminatory and should be stopped. Once we believe it is justifiable to harm others because they are infidels or unbelievers, religious violence or stigma will never end.

Ø  Just like no single human being is powerful, no single religion on earth is powerful. All religions should come together to fight against religious intolerance, discrimination/stigma.

Ø   The cry of discrimination and stigma by COVID-19 positive persons, is a revelation that we are not showing love to those who need it most. All religions should compete in doing good or showing love to the less privilege and neglected in society.  

Ø  We are the lights and the salts of the world. If there is no peace on earth, we must bow our heads in shame, because we are the majority. We must all stand up for peace!

Ø  We cannot worship our God in a violent environment as revealed by COVID-19. The examples shown by some religious leaders by donating to support the less privileged during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown or curfew, is worth emulating. 

Ø  Comments that God is using COVID-19 to destroy sinners, create discrimination or stigma and must be avoid as we resume religious activities.

Role of the 21st Century Mother in Disease Prevention, COVID-19 Transmission

MOTHERS’ DAY CELEBRATION 2020 

Role of the 21st Century Mother in Disease Prevention, COVID-19 Transmission

Gender is very critical in our preparation to prevent any infection on earth from spreading! All genders play very important roles in disease prevention, and acknowledging them can motivate them to do more. The roles of women in our collective efforts to contain this novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, cannot be overlooked (Fig. 1). Though women may be seen busily working at our various work places, they are mostly the ones taking care of our various homes (Sharma et al., 2016; Friedemann & Buckwalter, 2015). It is an open secret that our little ones are mostly closer to their mothers than their fathers. In our fight to prevent the spread of COVID-19 Pandemic, social distancing has been one of the major ways of doing that. This cannot be complete if only adults are maintaining social distance and children are going about with their normal lives without doing the same.

Fig. The Role of Gender in the Prevention of Infectious Diseases, Like COVID-19.

Even amongst adults, it has not been easy for them to practice this new lifestyle of living, where they have to maintain social distance (Hartmann, 2020). There have been many reports of adults violating social distance (Agyeman, 2020; Crabbe, 2020; Hartmann, 2020), especially at our market places. So, you can imagine what our little ones would be doing if they are not controlled/monitored by their mothers! This puts our wives, mothers, and sisters as front-line workers right from the home or community level (Wenham et al., 2020).

Our little ones do not know what social distancing is except their mothers teach/tell them, and guide them to practice. Most of them listen to their mothers more! Without their mothers, we should forget about social distance amongst the kids; because their mothers are the ones mostly taking care of them (Jolly et al., 2014). All the preventive measures aimed at preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2, such as; washing of hands with soap under clean running water for at least 20seconds, wearing of face/nose masks, sanitizing our hands with 70% alcohol-based hand sanitizers, and so on; can only be practiced by our children under instructions, mostly by their mothers. Mothers are also the ones who mostly bath their children to ensure that they are not dirty. SARS-CoV-2 is a virus like most infectious agents that like dirts and touching; so, bathing them helps reduces their risks of probably getting infected. Women are also the ones who would mostly wash their hands, sanitize them, and put face/nose masks on them. 

Children generally like roaming about and playing with friends (Vlaar et al., 2019; Marzi & Reimers, 2018), but you can never tell which child is asymptomatic and is capable of transmitting the virus. Though some literature is asking for parents to give their wards the freedom to roam neighborhood territories (Vlaar et al., 2019), at these particular difficult times, parent can do that at their own risks. The mother is the one who mostly ensures that her child(ren) is/are at home. No matter how careful you might be, if your kids are not well protected from the virus, it is like pouring kerosene into fire; thinking that you are quenching it. It is revealed that our 21^st Century children mostly have access to “Mobile devices” with an increasing percentage of 38% as at 2011 to 72% in 2013 (Bozzala et al., 2018; Redeout et al., 2013). As children roam about, they can get infected not only from infected sick persons or the asymptomatic ones (Brownson, 2020); but from some of these infected devices as they use the internet, computer, playing video games (either on the computers or phones), and so on (Bhatta, 2018; Bozzala et al., 2018).

When SARS-CoV-2 was first discovered in China, Wuhan, it was spreading amongst clusters of families in Beijing where family members were tested positive for COVID-19 (Song et al., 2020). There were also reports that children and their whole families were found to have been infected with the virus (Ji et al., 2020). This explains why there is the need for us to take social distancing and all the other preventive measures very serious. This will not be possible if you do not put your eyes on your child(ren), and this is mostly done by their mothers.

When Jesus parents took him to Jerusalem for the Passover and took away their eyes of him, they could not find him (Luke 2: 41-51, KJV). They tried to search for him everywhere amongst their Kinsmen ⁴⁴, but could not find him. So, what happened was that, they could not go home, they returned to Jerusalem ⁴⁵. It is said that his parents spent three days before they saw him in the temple ⁴⁶. His mother was the one who talked to him when they found him ⁴⁸. His parents could have beaten him for being too known or inquisitive, but they understood and took him home ⁵⁰. Jesus also became obedient to them when they went home ⁵¹. This biblical message is telling you as parents to be patients with your kids, especially during this difficult time. When you beat your children: you are chasing them to the virus!

Before, I forget, eating of a healthy diet is known to help boost our immune system to protect us from most sicknesses, especially viral diseases like COVID-19 (Prompetchara et al., 2020; Taghizadeh-Hesary & Akbari, 2020; Jayawardena et al., 2020). Though in our modern-day marriages, some men are also helping their wives with household chores, women are mostly in-charge of the kitchen and our bellies (Cerrato & Cifre, 2018). So, they are playing very critical roles, not only in COVID-19 pandemic’s prevention, but all diseases.

Though a research findings in the Central Region of Ghana revealed that “Small small quarrels bring about happiness or love in the relationships” (Dako-Gyeke, 2019), some men have been reported to have said that, they do not stay at home because of violence (Tribbett, 2020; TNN., 2017; Huntley et al., 2019). Both men and women are victims of domestic violence! As we remember mothers today; may all mothers use their uniqueness to make their homes look like junior heavens, so that their family members can stay home to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Recommendations

Ø  Without peace at our homes, social distancing and staying at home cannot be successful. Mothers have what it takes to create peace, even in the mist of violence. Do so, please.

Ø  At this particular moment, wives/mothers should be considerate and manage what ever chop money is given to them, to prepare nutritious meals for their family members. This will help boost their immunities to fight against most infectious disease, like COVID-19.

Ø  Though mothers by nature do not joke with their kids, at this particular time our kids need more attention than before, and it should be given to them.

Ø  You must show them more love than before, in order to win them from SARS-CoV-2. If you beat them: they will run to the virus. So, do not beat them.

Ø  Children will not frequently wash or sanitize their hands. Our mothers who are always their best friends, should not forget to always be doing that for them.

Ø  Though it is reported that some men are helping with house hold chores, men need to offer more helps to their wives, mothers, or sisters during this period.

Ø  All partners should use whatever they have to help each other safely stay at home.

References

Agyeman, A. T. (2020). Ghana: 4 Akropong Chiefs Arrested for Violating Social Distancing Order. Ghanaian Times (Accra), Retrieved, on 6th May 2020 around 9:25PM, from https://allafrica.com/stories/202005040769.html.

Cerrato, J., & Cifre, E. (2018). Gender Inequality in Household Chores and Work-Family Conflict. Front Psychol, 9: 1330. Doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01330.

Crabbe, N. (2020). COVID-19: Soldiers storm Chorkor after residents flouted lockdown directive to party at beach (video). Latest News, Retrieved on 14.04.2020 at 2:05AM from https://yen.com.gh/153299-covid-19-soldiers-storm-chorkor-residents-flouted-lockdown-directive-party-beach-video.html.

Friedemann, M., & Buckwalter, K., C. (2015). Family Caregiver Role and Burden Related to Gender and Family Relationships. J Fam Nurs., 20(3): 313-336. Doi: 10.1177/1074840714532715.

Hartmann, F. A. (2020). Watch How People Partied at Chorkor Beach on Easter Sunday. News, Retrieved from https://ghanaxtra.com/2020/04/watch-how-people-partied-at-chorkor-beach-on-easter-sunday.html on 14.04.2020 at 5:32AM.

Jayawardena, R., S., Sooriyaarachchi, P., Chourdakis, M., Jeewandara, C., & Ranasinghe, P. (2020). Enhancing immunity in viral infections, with special emphasis on COVID-19: A review. Diabetes Metab Syndr., Doi: 10.1016/j.dsx.2020.04.015.

Ji, L., C., Chao, S., Wang, YJ., Li, XJ., Mu, XD., Lin, MG., & Jiang, RM. (2020). Clinical features of pediatric patients with COVID-19: a report of two family cluster cases. World J Pediatr., 1-4. Doi: 10.1007/s12519-020-00356-2.

Jolly, S., G., Griffith, K., A., DeCastro, R., Stewart, A., Ubel, P., & Jagsi, R. (2014). Gender Differences in Times Spent on Parenting and Domestic Resposibilities by High-Achieving Young Physician-Researchers. Ann Intern Med., 160(5): 344-353. Doi: 10.7326/M13-0974.

Marzi, I., & Reimers, A., K. (2018). Children's Independent Mobility: Current Knowledge, Future Directions, and Public Health Implications. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 159(11): 2441. Doi: 10.3390/ijerph15112441.

Prompetchara, E., K., Ketloy, C., & Palaga, T. (2020). Immune Responses in COVID-19 and Potential Vaccines: Lessons Learned From SARS and MERS Epidemic. Asian Pac J Allergy Immunol., 38(1): 1-9. Doi: 10.12932/AP-200220-0772.

Sharma, N., C., Chakrabarti, S., & Grover, S. (2016). Gender differences in caregiving among family - caregivers of people with mental illnesses. World J Psychiatry, 6(1): 7-17. Doi: 10.5498/wjp.v6.i1.7.

Song, R., H., Han, B., Song, M., Wang, L., Conlon, C., P., Dong, T., Tian, D., Zhang, W., Chen, Z., Zhang, F., Shi, M., & Li, X. (2020). Clinical and epidemiological features of COVID-19 family clusters in Beijing, China. J Infet., Doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2020.04.018.

Taghizadeh-Hesary, F., & Akbari, H. (2020). The Powerful Immune System Against Powerful COVID-19: A Hypothesis. Med Hypotheses, 109762. Doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2020.109762.

Vlaar, J., B., Brussoni, M., Janssen, I., & Masse, L., C. (2019). Roaming the Neighbourhood: Influences of Independent obility Parenting Practices and Parental Perceived Environment on Children's Territorial Range. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 16(17): 3129. Doi: 10.3390/ijerph16173129.

Wenham, C. S., Smith, J., & Morgan, R. (2020). COVID-19: the gendered impacts of the outbreak. Lancet., 395(10227): 846-848. Doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30526-2.

Note: This is a beautiful research area, those who have interest can take it up as a full project. There are more that I could have added, but I decided to shorten it for today's purpose. Thank you again for Reading!

Written by Benjamin Pulle Niriwa and Posted on 10th May 2020
Last Updated on 15th May 2020 at 11:26PM.

PREPARATION IS PEACE: COVID-19 Pandemic Exposes Mistrust in Health Care Delivery and Politics, What a Bombshell!

PREPARATION IS PEACE

COVID-19 Pandemic Exposes Mistrust in Health Care Delivery and Politics, What a Bombshell!

Fig. I. COVID-19 Is A Promiscuous Disease, So Be Careful.

Though physical preparation is very important in our lives, like in the prevention of COVID-19 Pandemic (Niriwa, 2020), we need to also always prepare psychologically or emotionally (Hammond, 2010). This is because, psychosocial problems (Hammond, 2010; Goold, 2002) and perceptions (Goold, 2002) are open secretes that create mistrust in health care delivery or medicine. Mistrust is becoming a serious global trend that is not only found in our health care system, but in almost every aspects of human relationship (Oxman & Paulsen, 2019; Rodrigues et al., 2017). To have quality health care delivery, our perception(s) that create(s) “psychological” or “emotional” problems (Rand et al., 2017; Hammond, 2010; Goold, 2002) is/are very important and must be considered.

But what then is mistrust? Mistrust is the act of losing trust or confidence in someone/something, an institution/organization/company, profession/job, government and so on (Dictionary.com, 2020). Public health which is the backbone of health and politics are like twins (Bekker, 2018), that is why in most cases, when there is mistrust in any health institution, political rulers are also accused. A very painful example is when a 19-year old male is allegedly reported to have died of COVID-19 at Walewale, but the family rejected his lab result, suspecting a plot by managers of the hospital and government (Annang, 2020).

This mistrust can also be seen amongst politicians themselves who are the ones mostly involved in policies formulations and their supporters. Example; “Science scepticism and political dogma have contaminated the debate about COVID-19” in Brazil (Kalache, 2020). The same author has revealed how the implementation of certain emergency public health policies in the US, which were supposed to be of national interest, were rather foiled with partisan interest. Ghana is not an exception, as the two major political parties are victims as seen in (Awuku, 2020; Nana., 2020) and (Zoure S. a., 2020; Darko, 2020; Amofa, 2020). Despite these, the major opposition is seen on many occasions, openly praising the government (GNA, 2020; Zoure S. b., 2020). The NDC let by Former President John Mahama have also openly pledged their support to the government in the fight against COVID-19 Pandemic spread, and have acted by forming a Covid-19 technical team (Yakubu, 2020).

This is something that politicians around the globe can learn from, though we play politics; we know our limit(s). However, the politics in Public Health and its policies is a known secrete (Bekker et al., 2018; Greer et al., 2017; Bambra et al., 2007), but should we continue practicing something that is not helping our citizens? What was particular very beautiful and worthy of emulation is when the two major political parties were seen together peacefully sharing relief items to persons in need during the partial lockdown (FM., 2020). This is not possible in some nations! But, in Ghana, we ask why not? Let us unite as ONE Human race to Contain this Global Obstacle of PEACE.

SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 does not respect Party Membership, religion, tribe/race, body structure, location/place, profession/job, educational level or your social status; as I posted, 22^nd March 2020, on WhatsApp. However, manipulation by human being can let it follow any of these trends. The only way that we can permanently contain this virus, is when we put all our differences aside. Comments like, COVID-19 is a “genocide” that is targeted at some particular tribe/race (Court, 2020), especially without any concrete evidence, create perceptions and mistrust. Whilst we condemn such comments, there is also a saying that: “There is no smoke without fire!” (van Dongen & van Twist, 2018). Instead of discriminating against each other as revealed by some black Americans referring to COVID-19 as a “Racial Justice Issue” (Evelyn, 2020), let us rather see the virus as our problem; but not our colleague humans. If we continue to discriminate or stigmatize against ourselves, instead of the virus, it will also continue to give us oppressor’s rule for long.

Whether this is true or not, it is a reality that can affect our efforts to prevent it from spreading. Let us rather turn all our discrimination mentalities to this virus, but NOT the human. Let us avoid all forms of negative perceptions that create mistrust and racial or tribal discrimination. Mistrust is a serious challenge in quality healthcare delivery (Smith, 2017; Choy & Ismail, 2017). Some of our neighbors are already suffering from job losses as a result of this pandemic (Kawohl & Nordt, 2020). But, remember that you are only safe when others are safe; that is one of the reasons why our COVID-19 Front-line Workers are sacrificing themselves to save us, at the expense of their own lives (Steinbuch, 2020).

This is a serious global problem that has been exposed again by COVID-19, but research findings by Guadagnolo et al., (2009) and Musa et al., (2009) have found out that mistrust needs to poor satisfaction of health care delivery. Having trust in your health care system is very important in your preventive/healing process (Choy & Ismail, 2017; Smith, 2017). As we remember all workers today, also remember that your health is really your wealth (Carlson, 2016; Pett, 2018) and without trust your health is questionable. This reality is confirmed by the fact that, as we celebrate workers day today, some people around the globe have lost their jobs because of COVID-19, as revealed by (Kawohl & Nordt, 2020; Nicola et al., 2020).

COVID-19 is like a drunkard, you cannot trust it! As at 19^th January 2020, its cases which was initially 44 (08.01.2020) was reduced to only 2 cases, with the hope that it could be contained in Wuhan (Chen & Yu, 2020). Within just eleven days, it suddenly started inflicting emotional pains in residents of Wuhan and the whole world; and has therefore, been declared by WHO on 30^th Jan 2020 as a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” (Chen & Yu, 2020). Within just a blink of our eyes, it is now ruling everywhere! This behavior has revealed to us the kind of promiscuous disease that it is (Fig. I).

However, there is no need to panic! This revelation will rather help us to create some counter-behaviors to neutralize its behavior, since we know how it behaves. To protect yourself and others from this worldwide cancer, you need to create your own barriers between you and SARS-CoV-2. If you are the kind of person who cannot see without touching; try to temporary avoid touching things for now, for your own safety as well as that of others; except it is necessary. You will not see and want to touch, get into crowded places, or step on infectious droplets, if you stay safely at home. You need to self-assess yourself for behaviors that can put you at risk of being infected, and devised your own ways of dealing with them; in addition to some experts and the WHO advise (WHO., 2020). If we all maintain social distance and stay at home, wash our hands regularly with soap under clean running water, sanitize our hands with 70% alcohol-based hand sanitizers regularly or before and after touching any object, SARS-CoV-2 which causes COVID-19, will have no other option than to run for its own safety. Thank you for Reading!

Recommendations:

1.      We need to constantly keep reminding ourselves that COVID-19 is a reality and still keep on practicing the preventive measures that have been suggested by experts.

2.      We must flee any form of discrimination or stigma that can affect our COVID-19 Pandemic Prevention.

3.     Comments that COVID-19 is a genocide targeting some particular race/tribe, create negative perception and mistrust. They must be stopped, except there are evidence!

4.      It is true that there is politics in everything, but matters of life and death must not be politicized.

5.      Death from COVID-19 will be reduced if other institutions, organizations or companies are able to identify people with underlined health conditions and help them with flexible work schedules.

6.      If you are staying with a needy person who has no option than to go out onto the street before he/she can eat, help him/her stay at home if you can afford that.

References

Amofa, F. (2020). Mahama rejected our allowance request for the front-line nurses and doctors during the Ebola Outbreak – Former GMA Boss. COVID-19 Updates, News 360, Politics., Retrieved from https://ghananewspunch.com/john-mahama-rejected-our-request-for-allowance-for-the-nurses-and-doctors-during-the-ebola-outbreak-former-gma-boss/amp/ on 11.04.2020 at 12:05PM.

Annang, E. (2020). Family of dead Covid-19 patient in Walewale reject test results; 'fights' gov't. Local News, Retrieved from https://www.pulse.com.gh/news/local/family-of-dead-covid-19-patient-in-walewale-reject-test-results-fights-govt/wbjzk1r on 12.04.2020 at 10:17AM.

Awuku, W. P. (2020). When the EC becomes a tool for Executive Manipulation. . News, Retrieved on 29.04.2020 at 1:45AM from https://starrfm.com.gh/2020/04/when-the-ec-becomes-a-tool-for-executive-manipulation/.

Bekker, M. P.-M. (2018). Public health and politics: how political sciece can help us move forward. Eur J Public Health, 28(3) 1-2. Doi: 10.1093/eurpub/cky194.

Carlson, K. (. (2016). Your Health is Your Wealth. . Living the Big Stuff., Retrieved at 3:27PM on 25.12.18 from http://kristinecarlson.com/your-health-is-your-wealth/.

Chen, X. &. (2020). First two months of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) epidemic in China: real-time surveillance and evaluation with a second derivative model. Global Health Research and Policy, 5:7. Doi: 10.1186/s41256-020-00137-4.

Choy, H. H. (2017 ). Indicators for Medical Mistrust in Healthcare - A Review and Standpoint from Southeast Asia. . Malays J Med Sci., 24(6): 5-20. Doi: 10.21315/mjms2017.24.6.2.

Court, A. (2020, April 19). Top NIH coronavirus immunologist under investigation for tweets suggesting the pandemic is a 'genocide' and claiming doctors are 'letting black patients die'. Retrieved from Daily Mail: Retrieved from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8233119/Top-coronavirus-researcher-tweeted-doctors-let-blacks-die-COVID-19.html on 23.04.2020 at 4:14PM.

Darko, D. A. (2020). NPP Using COVID-19 Interventions To Launch Akufo-Addo's 2020 Re-election - Mahama’s Aide. . Politics. , Retrieved on 25.04.2020 at 2:15PM from https://www.peacefmonline.com/pages/politics/politics/202004/406468.php.

Dictionary.com. (2020). Mistrust. Retrieved from Dictionary.com: Retrieved from https://www.dictionary.com/browse/mistrust on 1st May 2020 at 3:19PM.

FM., P. (2020, April 9). NPP, NDC Officials Unite To Feed Thousands Of ‘Kayayei’ In Accra. Retrieved from Peacefmonline: Retrieved from https://m.peacefmonline.com/pages/politics/politics/202004/405158.php on 10.04.2020 at 6:37PM.

GNA, (. N. (2020). NDC praises Government’s response to coronavirus fight. . Health., Retrieved from https://newsghana.com.gh/ndc-praises-governments-response-to-coronavirus-fight/ on 25.04.2020 at 1:45PM .

Goold, S. D. (2002). Trust, Distrust and Trustworthiness Lessons from the Field. J Gen Intern Med., 17(1): 79-81. Doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2002.11132.x.

Guadagnolo, B. A. (2009). Medical Mistrust and Less Satisfaction With Health Care Among Native Americans Presenting for Cancer Treatment. J Health Care Poor Underserved., 20(1): 210-226. Doi: 10.1353/hpu.0.0108.

Hammond, W. P. (2010). Psychosocial Correlates of Medical Mistrust Among African American Men. Am J Community Psychol., 45(1-2): 87-106. Doi: 10.1007/s10464-009-9280-6.

Kalache, A. (2020). Coronavirus makes inequality a public health issue. . World Economic Forum., Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-makes-inequality-a-public-health-issue/ on 26.04.2029 at 8:10PM.

Kawohl, W. &. (2020). COVID-19, unemployment, and suicide. Lancet Psychiatry., 7(5): 389-390. Doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30141-3.

Musa, D. S. (2009). Trust in the Health Care System and the Use of Preventive Health Services by Older Black and White Adults. Am J Public Health, 99(7): 1293-1299. Doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2007.123927.

Nana. (2020). I'm surprised EC defied court order. . News, Politics. , Retrieved from n 27.04.2020 at 9:45AM https://mobile.ghanaguardian.com/im-surprised-ec-defied-court-order-clara-beeri o.

Nicola, M. A.-J. (2020). The Socio-Economic Implications of the Coronavirus and COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review. Int J Surg., 4-20. Doi: 10.1016/j.ijsu.2020.04.018.

Niriwa, B. P. (2020). Preparation is Peace: Some Identified Mistakes in Our Physical Preparation to Prevent COVID19 Pandemic. Featured, Retrieved from https://mynewsghana.net/preparation-isipeace-some-identified-mistakes-our-physical-preparation-to-prevent-covid19-pandemic on 07.04.2020 at 10:54PM and revisited on 01.05.2020 at 2:51PM for updates.

Oxman, A. D. (2019). Who can you trust? A review of free online sources of "trustworthy" information about treatment effects for patients and the public. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak., 19: 35. Doi: 10.1186/s12911-019-0772-5.

Pett, W. (2018). Your Health Is Your True Wealth! . Mind, body, spirit., Retrieved at 3:39PM on 25.12.18 from https://www.wendiepett.com/your-health-is-your-true-wealth/.

Rand, K. V.-V. (2017). "It is not the diet; it is the mental part we need help with." A multilevel analysis of psychological, emotional, and social well-being in obesity. Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being., 12(1):1306421. Doi: 10.1080/17482631.2017.1306421.

Rodrigues, L. M. (2017). The Price of Distrust, Anxious Attachment, Jealousy, and Partner Abuse. Partner Abuse, 6(3): 298-319. Doi: 10.1891/1946.6560.6.3.298.

Smith, C. P. (2017. ). First, do no harm: institutional betrayal and trust in health care organizations. J Multidiscip Healthc., 10: 133-144. Doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S125885.

Steinbuch, Y. (2020). Italian nurse with coronavirus kills herself over fear of infecting others. . News. , Retrieved from https://nypost.com/2020/03/25/italian-nurse-with-coronavirus-kills-herself-amid-fears-of-infecting-others/ on 04.04.2020 at 3:37PM.

van Dongen, H. E. (2018). A Red Eye and a Brown Back: There's No Smoke Without a Fire! Eur J Intern Med., 53.e2-e3. Doi: 10.1016/j.ejim.2017.12.014.

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Yakubu, M. (2020). NDC sets up Covid-19 technical team, committed to assisting gov't fight pandemic – Mahama. Prime News., Retrieved on 25.04.2020 at 2:04PM from https://www.primenewsghana.com/general-news/ndc-sets-up-covid-19-technical-team-committed-to-assisting-gov-t-fight-pandemic-mahama.html. .

Zoure, S. a. (2020). Covid-19: It’s not ‘by force’ for Akufo-Addo to consult GMA before decisions. News., Retrieved from https://www.mynewsgh.com/covid-19-its-not-by-force-for-akufo-addo-to-consult-gma-before-decisions-deputy-minister/ on 23.04.2020 at 11:10A.

Zoure, S. b. (2020). Zoure, S. (2020). Akufo-Addo Is Thinking Outside The Box, Becoming One Of The Best In Recent History- NDC's Dela Coffie. News, Politics., Retrieved from https://www.mynewsgh.com/akufo-addo-is-thinking-outside-the-box-becoming-one-of-the-best-in-recent-history-ndcs-dela-coffie/ on 06.04.2020 at 11:17AM.

PREPARATION IS PEACE

How Are You Spiritually Preparing to Prevent COVID19 Pandemic’s Spread?

As I have posted on WhatsApp on 10^th April 2020, Good Friday is not ONLY about being inside the church. In the same way, Easter is not only about that too. What happened before, during and after the church is what rather tells whether you are really remembering the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This difficult time is a time that will also indirectly tests our faiths in our believes or religion. The social distancing strategy that has called for suspension of social gatherings and complete or partial lockdown  (Graphic, 2020) in some countries, is a period for us to self-assess our spiritual lives and the impacts that they have on others. You can do this as you sacrifice by staying at home to save yourself and others.

This COVID19 Pandemic is already causing lot of fears and panics (Zoure, 2020; Graphic, 2020) in people globally. Meditating as we read through our Holy Books can help us withdraw from our past sinful ways or cope with this difficult period (Fig. A1) as revealed by some of my Facebook posts on 07.07.13; 21.09.14; 08.11.15; and 30.04.17. At this particular time people would want to hear something that will reduce their fears; and that is why psychologists are involved in our fight to prevent it as revealed in: “Ghana Psychological Association Lauds Isolated Patients” (Gyamfi, 2020). The psychological problems associated with this infection and the fears or panics are what have resulted in some isolated (Citi-news., 2020) and quarantined (Dapaah, 2020) people trying to escape. This why some religious leaders who are adding more fears by referring the COVID19 as a “Death angel” purposely sent by God to eliminate sinners on earth (Brown, 2020) must desist from that.

Have a clean spiritual mentality by believing that COVID19 Pandemic is not a “Death Angel” (Brown, 2020) from God that is sent to come and kill all sinners. It is no respecter of person: whether you are a righteous or sinner, if you do not maintain social distance or practice the advices by experts, you can get it. All our major religions are faulty of this hilarious claim which has a negative impact on our collective efforts to contain this deadly obstacle of Global PEACE. Once people are made to believe that this cancer is a spiritual problem, most of them may be reluctant to comply with the lockdown orders or education to maintain social distance and habits that can help prevent it from spreading. This could be why despite the alarming cases and deaths; some people are still violating these rules to seek spiritual solution(s) in our churches (Mawutor, 2020; Opera.com., 2020) and mosques (Kindzeda, 2020).

Disbanding religious activities to help maintain social distancing in order to prevent the continued spread of COVID19 is NOT a disbandment of your faith. It is not only being in the church or mosque that makes you a believer or a God-fearing, it is about your faiths/believes. You are not absent from church/mosque by your own will, but by circumstances! Remember to stay connected to your God as we remember the unbearable humiliation and pains that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ went through into victory because of you and I. Jesus did not die for Only Christians: he died and resurrected for the whole human kinds. All you need to do to benefit from his painful death and victorious resurrection, is to acknowledge him as the Son 
of the Highest God Almighty and the Savior of your life.

	Figure A: COVID19 Pandemic and its effects on religious activities

Practice the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:34-39, KJV) regularly as much as possible before, during, and after any religious activity. It is through love that you can be able tolerate others irrespective of their differences like religion, politics, race/tribe, profession/social status, and so on. There is no way that you can prove that you love God (Matthew 22:37-38, KJV) by remembering the resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ, when you cannot genuinely love your neighbour (Matthew 22:39, KJV).

Ghana is one of the countries around the globe where there is an admirable and peaceful relationship between religious groups like Christians and Muslims (Abdul-Hamid, 2011). The president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, also acknowledged this; speaking on the topic “Religious Tolerance” during the Eid-ul Fitri Prayer 2019, as he said: “We must continue to work to preserve our culture of Religious Tolerance” (Classfmonline.com., 2019; GTV., 2019). Love all: Hate None as you remember the Victorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. But; to cope with this new change, get your own acronym for “LOCKDOWN” as seen (Fig A2). I wish all Christians a Happy Easter! Thank you for Reading!

NB: Written and First Posted on 12th April, 2020. Picture Edited and the Post Updated on 16th On 16th April, 2020.

References

Abdul-Hamid, M. (2011). CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM RELATIONS IN GHANA: A MODEL FOR WORLD DIALOGUE AND PEACE. . Ilorin Journal of Religious Studies. , Vol. 1, Issue 1. Retrieved from https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ijrs/article/view/90912 on 25.07.19 at 10:52PM.

Brown, L. (2020, 01 29). Evangelical pastor claims coronavirus is God’s ‘death angel’ to ‘purge a lot of sin’. Retrieved from nypost.com: https://nypost.com

Citi-news. (2020). N/R: COVID-19 patient who escaped still not found – Regional Minister. Government and Politics, Coronavirus., Retrieved from https://mynewsghana.net/n-r-covid-19-patient-who-escaped-still-not-found-regional-minister/ on 02.04.2020 at 10:03AM.

Classfmonline.com. (2019, May 6). General News Wed, 5 Jun 2019: Preserve Ghana’s religious tolerance culture – Akufo-Addo. General News, Retrieved on 31.07.19 at 1:14AM from https://mobile.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Preserve-Ghana-s-religious-tolerance-culture-Akufo-Addo-752331.

Dapaah, E. (2020). Four persons nearly lynched after entering Eastern Region from Accra to escape lockdown. General., Retrieved on 04.04.2020 around 8:16PM from https://citinewsroom.com/2020/04/four-persons-nearly-lynched-after-entering-eastern-region-from-accra-to-escape-lockdown/amp/.

Graphic, D. (2020). COVID-19: Fear Grips Residents In Volta Region As Lockdown Escapees Troop In. . Local News., Retrieved on 03.04.2020 around 1:17PM from https://www.peacefmonline.com/pages/local/news/202004/404464.php.

GTV. (2019, June 5). President Akufo-Addo's Speech on Religious Tolerance During the 2019 Eid-ul Fitri Prayer at Black Star Square. . A Live Television Broadcast. . Accra, West Africa. , Ghana : Retrieved from GTV Live Broadcast of Eid-ul Fitri Program on 5th June 2019 at 10:45AM.

Gyamfi, A. A. (2020). COVID-19: "You Are Heroes Saving Ghanaians" - Ghana Psychological Association Lauds Isolated Patients. . General News., Retrieved from https://www.peacefmonline.com/pages/local/news/202004/404593.php on 03.04.2020 at 6:54PM.

Kindzeda, M. E. (2020). Cameroonian Muslims Defy Coronavirus Prayer Restrictions. Coronavirus Outbreak., Retrieved on 30.03.2020 around 5:59PM from https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.voanews.com/science-health/coronavirus-outbreak/cameroonian-muslims-defy-coronavirus-prayer-restrictions%3famp.

KJV. (Matthew 22:34-39). The Holy Bible, King James Version (KJV). . London. : Cambridge University Press.

Mawutor, F. (2020). Court charges Ghanaian pastor who went against Prez Nana Addo's order to hold a 'Coronavirus' church service. General News., Retrieved from https://www.celebritiesbuzz.com.gh/court-charges-ghanaian-pastor-who-went-against-prez-nana-addos-order-to-hold-a-coronavirus-church-service/?amp on 23.03.2020 at 7:27PM.

Opera.com. (2020). Pastor and church members arrested for having an Easter service on this lockdown. . Opera News Hub., Retrieved on 12.04.2020 at 9:50AM from https://news-af.feednews.com/news/detail/59514ad7031cb9bee0da25a0109ba4a3?client=news.

Zoure, S. (2020). Fear and panic hit Walewale after Coronavirus kills teenager. . New, Health., Retrieved from https://www.mynewsgh.com/fear-and-panic-hit-walewale-after-coronavirus-kills-teenager/amp/ on 12.04.2020 at 9:43AM.