My Yr 9s had a cool debate in class today - we are studying 'I Am Legend' as a film study and during the film the whole of Manhattan (part of New York City) gets quarantined to stop a deadly virus spreading across the world. The whole thing reminded me of HK's SARS outbreak - so we debated whether it is right to force people into quarantine.
Is it a necessary step to protect the needs of the many? Or is it against human rights ever to imprison people that haven't done anything wrong?
Are you for or against the forced quarantine of virus sufferers in the event of an epidemic?
I'll post two 'witness statements' as a comment (they are fictional but the information contained in them is accurate) from people on both sides of the debate, and then feel free to add your thoughts to this discussion!
p.s. in class, the 'against quarantine' side definitely won... :)
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Tony Chan, HK Government Health Official
ReplyDeleteThe HK Government has established quarantine camps in order to separate SARS sufferers from the rest of society. There is one camp in the New Territories and one in a rural part of Hong Kong Island. These measures are necessary to prevent the spread of the disease and to protect the population as a whole. If SARS victims are left in mainstream society, this deadly airborne disease could kill a huge number of people. Ordinarily it would not be desirable to force citizens into isolation, but these are exceptional circumstances. It is worth the sacrifice of forcing a small number of people away from their homes because the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
Ivan Cheung, Resident of Amoy Gardens Block E
Why am I being treated like a criminal? Why am I being separated from my family, my home and my whole existence? What have I done wrong?
Every day I am supervised by policemen – everyday, I am trapped by them as they stand guard outside the camp. Surely it is never right to deny someone their right to live where they please? Surely it is never right to imprison an innocent civilian? The law that allowed the government to do this is an old law that dates back to WWII. How can the government be allowed simply to resurrect this irrelevant, colonial law when they feel like it?
Those of us in the camps are not able to go to hospital, or even to see our family and friends – there is medical care here, but it could never be as effective as in one of the main HK hospitals. After all, which doctors would wish to come here and risk their lives? This is a denial of my rights as a human being, and human rights should be preserved above all else – no-one has the right to trap or incarcerate another human being, and it seems like the whole of HK has forgotten that at this time of crisis. They’re just interested in saving themselves.