National school of sciences (NSS)

News article exploring the impact of Covid-19

A project work submitted to the department of English in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the internal evaluation of grade XI

Submitted by : Submitted to :
Name :samir Khakurel Name : Binita kandel
Roll.no : 291 Department of english
Sec : D12

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 Table of contents

Topic page no .
1. Background 3
2. Domestic violence4
3.Migrants 5
4.Conflict 6
5.Conclusion 7
6. Work cited 8

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 Background

Covid-19 is a virus which was first observed in China.On 31 December 2019 ,

World Health Organization (WHO)was informed of cases of pneumonia of
unknown cause in Wuhan city,China.A Nobel coronavirus was indentified as the
cause by Chinese authorites on 7 January 2020 and was temporarily named as
"2019-nCoV".According to WHO this virus is transmitted from person to person.
On Jan 13, 2020, a 32-year old man, a Nepaleasestudent at Wuhan University of
Technology, Wuhan, China, with no history of comorbidities, returned to Nepal.
He presented at the outpatient department of sukaraj tropical and Infectious
Disease Hospital, Kathmandu, with acough.He had become ill on Jan 3, 6 days
before he flew to Nepal. He indicated no exposure to the so-called wet market in
Wuhan. Throat swabs obtained from the patient tested positive for 2019-nCoV on
real-time RT-PCR assays at the WHO laboratory in Hong Kong. On admission to
hospital in Kathmandu, his temperature was 37·2°C (99°F), with throat
congestion, but with no other relevant signs or symptoms. He was isolated and
treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics and supportive therapies. Chest
radiographs obtained on admission showed an infiltrate in the upper lobe of the
left lung . On Jan 14, his temperature rose to 38·9°C (102°F) and the next day he
had breathing difficulties while in the supine position, with crepitations in the
right lower lung field.

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Domestic violence
Introduction
Domestic violence (also named domestic abuse or family violence)is violence or
other abuse in a domestic settings, such as in marriage orcohabitation.The victims of
domestic violence are overwhelmingly women, and women tend to experience more
severe forms of violence.They are also likelier than men to use intimate partner violence
in self-defense.
Main opinion
COVID 19 has forced governments across the world to implement measures to restrict
public movement. Women and young girls might struggle to seek help in such
conditions. The compromised support system further poses an increased risk of
worsening the violence directed towards them.A nationwide complete lockdown was
imposed in Nepal from March 24 to June 14 after which partial restrictions were in
place. A total of 885 complaints of domestic violence were received in 24-h toll-free
helpline operated by National Women Commission from April to June 2020. This was
over twice the number of complaints received within the same period before lockdown
Dec, 2019- Feb,2020. The COVID-19 pandemic is equally threatening for young girls in
the country. School closure as a result of lockdown can increase the risk of girls to
witnessing violence at home and facing exploitation, violence, and abuse. As per
anecdotal records, there have been 48 complaints of child sexual assaults in the first six
weeks of lockdown, which is alarming compared to a total of 211 cases in the last Nepali
fiscal year (2018/2019).
support
This is the bar graph of violence which took place during the lockdown.

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Migrants
Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of human life, including the world of work, and
has further exacerbated the impact of financial crisis brought about by agrarian crisis , job crisis,
rise in oil prices and trade renegotiations. The crisis has intensified and expanded its global
reach, and the full and partial lockdown imposed in response to the crisis, along with other
restrictions, is already affecting almost 2.2 billion workers, representing approximately 68% of
the world’s workforce. Migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to the impact of the COVID-
19 pandemic, which has constrained both their ability to access their places of work in the
countries of destination as well as their ability to return to their countries of origin .

Main opinion
Out of 2.6 million internal migrants in Nepal, more than 700,000 migrate for work, among
which 94,000 i.e. 13 per cent were women.Most of the people looses their jobs which was the
only way for their livelihood .theyloose their jobs because of covid and to fulfil their needs they
migrated to foreign country for employment. In the absence of sustainable wages, job
guarantee, insurance and inclusion in other social security and protection mechanisms, daily
wages labourers and informal sector workers have been rendered most vulnerable to the socio-
economic impact of the lockdown. Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA) on 10 April 2020, 22
April 2020 and 23 April 2020 discussions were geared towards getting a situational update of
Nepali migrant workers, the key challenges that exist and recommendation for way forward.
Nepali workers working outside Nepal have endured reduced work hours, non-payments of
wages or made to work in exchange of food, have been forced to take unpaid leave with
inadequate access to basic necessities such as health care and food24 and in some cases have
experienced job-loss.
Support : Migrants of Nepal after Covid

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 Conflict
Introduction
Conflict is serious disagreement and argument about something important . If two
people or groups are in conflict, they have had a serious disagreement or argument and
have not yet reached an agreement.The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon us, there is
a lack of sincere effort to include our community in the list of citizens, who need special
attention in relief and facilities. Most of the victims are living with the fear of COVID-19 and face
severe financial crises.

Main opinion
I am surprised to see the government chanting the slogan ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy
Nepali’while continually ignoring the victims’ reasonable demands for truth, justice
andreparation.Immovable properties of hundreds are still under captivity, despite the
government’s repeated commitments to return them. There are legal hurdles for the families of
enforced disappeared victims to even sell their property,” read a joint press release issued by
40 organisations, including Conflict Victims Common Platform, Conflict Victims National
Alliance, Conflict Victim Women National Network and National Network of Disabled Conflict
Victims.A series of judgments by the Supreme Court have kept our hopes alive. However, the
apex court’s orders are not being implemented, nor will they likely be, any time soon. The
National Human Rights Commission has repeatedly made recommendations to the government
regarding transitional justice. Our demands have been repeatedly raised before the
international bodies. But we are still deprived of the right to know what happened to our
relatives during the conflict.

Support

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Conclusion
The problems of child maltreatment, domestic violence, and elder abuse have
generated hundreds of separate interventions in social service, health, and
law enforcement settings. This array of interventions has been driven by the
urgency of the different types of family violence, client needs, and the
responses of service providers, advocates, and communities. The
interventions now constitute a broad range of institutional services that focus
on the identification, treatment, prevention, and deterrence of family
violence.The pandemic has given us a graphic description of how, by not
celebrating one of the most industrious and hardworking class and by
compromising their dignity, and life, we have failed as a society. The
resentment and sense of humiliation of migrant workers, will work as a huge
impediment to resume the economy. Hence, we need to start including the
migrants in our mainstream society rather than maintaining their status as a
secondary citizen. The pandemic has also highlighted long-standing problems in
government service delivery. Even during normal times, the public healthcare
system is understaffed and under-resourced. Often, rural Nepalis have tot
ravel hours or even days to see a trained doctor. Government medical personnel
who are assigned to work in remote areas often abandon their posts and work in
cities instead, leaving many essential functions to a rural corps of female
community health volunteers .
Nepal is the fifth -most remittance-dependent economy in the world, with millions of
Nepalis working in India, the Middle East, Malaysia, and elsewhere. Migrant workers
are often cheated by manpower companies and employers abroad, with the worst
instances of mistreatment such as the story ofworld cup "slaves" in Qatar — making
international headlines. Other quotidian abuses take place daily. Meanwhile, the
government is often criticized for doing too little to ensure migrant workers’ safety.

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Refrences

Background :http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-
6736(20)30183-5

Domestic
violence :https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-
library/publications/2020/04/policy-brief-the-
impact-of-covid-19-on-women

Migrants
:https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/227
7436X20968984

Conflict:
https://thediplomat.com/2020/06/covid-19-nepal-in-
crisis/
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Some pictures related to the topic

 Domestic violence

Migrants

Conflict
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