Politics – June 2020
We are from the Polyclinic Leipzig and are happy to be here today. About a year ago, we gave a very similar speech at the indivisible demonstration in Dresden, because what is particularly visible right now has been a problem for a long time!
Rarely has there been so much and broad talk about health and solidarity as in recent months.
Rarely have these two terms been used in such a blurred and unspecific way.
Almost all of the policies and decisions made in the Corona pandemic were made under the label of health. The health of all would now come first - or so they say. But the health of all has never been first.
When politicians and the public talk about health, it is often only about the absence of disease and our individual behavior. In recent weeks, being healthy has primarily meant "not being sick with Covid-19." But this alone is not enough.
WHO defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."
We know that sport, a balanced diet and certain current rules of conduct keep us healthy, and that tobacco, alcohol or fast food are unhealthy.
However, little is said about the fact that the social conditions in which we live also determine whether we become ill or die early.
Yet studies show that poor people die up to 10 years earlier than rich people.
Evidence shows that people who are exposed to poor or insecure housing and work conditions, or who experience racism, are more likely to develop chronic diseases, for example, and often suffer more severe disease progression.
This also becomes more important in the current situation!
Just as we know that smoking kills, it should be clear to us that poverty kills.
Not only lack of exercise or an unhealthy diet make people ill, but above all stress with the boss or the job center makes people ill!
Rising rents despite mold in the apartment make people ill!
And the exploitation of women and queers in domestic and care work makes people ill!
Everyday racism makes people ill!
And not only that, it also kills, as we recently had to experience again.
These so-called social determinants of health show that health is a political and social issue. Health policy and health care must be more than the treatment of individual diseases. It must aim to fundamentally change social conditions. For example, through: an equal distribution of wealth, fair housing and working conditions, sustainable environmental policies, the fight against racism and equality for women.
Real health equality of opportunity, can only be realized through a fundamental change, towards a solidary and equal society!
In the recent crisis, a lot of solidarity became visible, be it through shopping assistance for e.g. the elderly and risk groups, help for the homeless or donation campaigns for those affected by the economic crisis. In many cities, small solidarity networks, mostly voluntary, have been established and have shown that solidarity can work in practice.
These beginnings must now be consolidated and expanded, because the economic and social crisis is far from over.
In the shadow of Corona, social grievances are continuing to grow and problems are becoming more acute. On the one hand, the restrictions on exit and contact have had and continue to have a major impact on the psychological well-being of many people. Tendencies of isolation were intensified and for many "Stay at Home" also meant having to remain in an insecure environment.
The own apartment is the most frequent scene of domestic violence against children, women & queers. Due to the closure of daycare centers, schools and counseling centers, social early warning systems have also collapsed - emergency hotlines for victims of domestic violence reported a rapid increase in the number of victims.
For many, a "stay at home" and/or compliance with hygiene measures was simply not possible, for example for homeless people and refugees.
In the course of the crisis, unemployment figures are rising, short-time work is on the increase, self-employed people, especially in the arts and culture sector, are facing the end of their careers, mini-jobs are disappearing and many people are suffering from existential fears.
But the majority of state aid is flowing into large companies, mostly in outdated and climate-damaging sectors of the economy. In companies that still want to pay out big dividends while taking government aid, and employees have had to continue working under poor working conditions and increased risk of infection.
Moreover, much of the unpaid care work in this crisis has been done by women.
The measures from the latest economic stimulus package of the federal government are far from sufficient.
Not much is left of the great solidarity except for clapping and a ridiculous, one-time bonus.
Many of the so-called system-relevant professions hardly receive any support.
Especially for employees in the social & health sector, this is pure farce.
Crises went, as also in the financial crisis 2008, always at the expense of precarious and marginalized groups!
We say that can not be the answer to the crisis again! What is needed now is a strong community that stands together in solidarity and opposes this together.
Now it is up to us to give an answer to this social question and to say:
This is how health works! This is how solidarity works!
We demand:
A solidary and need-oriented health system for all!
For a solidary society without exploitation and discrimination!
Because there is no healthy life in the sick system!
