Treating the ‘other’ as disease : Ħal Far Open Centre as a zone of contagion

Abstract

The armed presence along the perimeter of Ħal Far—essentially, the border between ‘us’ and ‘them’—was a display of state power and a pretense of care for its loyal citizens. At once, it disciplined the diseased ‘other’ and fenced the rest off from it. “We are all in this together,” the Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres declared in one of his speeches. It may be a comforting thought to suppose that, at the very least, our basic sense of helplessness in the face of the pandemic is shared. After all, we are alike in our vulnerability to the virus. However, the assumptions of togetherness, shared vulnerability and helplessness that have become so commonplace are regularly contradicted by facts. As some authors have observed, the current crisis is rather exacerbating the inequalities in our society, proving that we are, indeed, “not all in it together”. ‘Solidarity’ is an empty word, if not based on efforts to ensure more equitable conditions which would enable a truly collective response.