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Racism row as French doctors suggest virus vaccine test in Africa

Zweizer

Zweizer

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,107
Two French doctors have been accused of racism for suggesting that a potential vaccine for coronavirus should first be tested on people in Africa.

The comments were made on the French television channel, LCI, during a discussion on Wednesday about COVID-19 trials set to be launched in Europe and Australia to see if the BCG tuberculosis vaccine could be used to treat the virus.

"It may be provocative. Should we not do this study in Africa where there are no masks, no treatment or intensive care, a little bit like it's been done for certain AIDS studies, where among prostitutes, we try things, because we know that they are highly exposed and don't protect themselves?" said Jean-Paul Mira, head of the intensive care unit at the Cochin Hospital in Paris.

Camille Locht, research director at France's national health institute, Inserm, agreed: "You are right. And by the way, we are thinking of in parallel about a study in Africa using this same approach."
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It did not take long for the backlash to begin on social media.

"Africa isn't a testing lab," Ivorian professional football player Didier Drogba, who used to play for Chelsea, wrote on Twitter. "I would like to vividly denounce those demeaning, false and most of all deeply racist words."

Olivier Faure, of France's Socialist Party, said the marks were hardly a provocation. "It's not provocation, it's just racism," he wrote on Twitter. "Africa is not the laboratory of Europe. Africans are not rats!"

The anti-racism group SOS Racisme called on France's media regulator, the Conseil Supérieur de L'Audiovisuel (CSA), to formally condemn the remarks.

The group issued a statement saying, "No, Africans aren't guinea pigs", adding that comparison with AIDS and prostitutes was "problematic" and "unwelcome".
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www.aljazeera.com

Racism row as French doctors suggest virus vaccine test in Africa

Two doctors spark criticism for discussing in a TV show the idea of testing a vaccine for the coronavirus in Africa.
www.aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com

www.bbc.com

Coronavirus: France racism row over doctors' Africa testing comments

Two French doctors spark anger by suggesting coronavirus vaccines be trialled in Africa.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com

Absolutely disgusting.
 
Tounsi_Tag

Tounsi_Tag

Member
Oct 29, 2017
492
I was pissed at this when I saw it. We're not the trash can for neo-colonialists as much as their mentality might lead them to believe so.
 
nekkid

nekkid

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
21,823
I hate this saying, but right now I can't think of anything more fitting.

Yikes.
 
Palette Swap

Palette Swap

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
11,201
Yeah, that was awful.

As an aside, it's depressing how much these French news channels try to be the next Fox News, competing in the racist shithead olympics.
Bless France24.
 
EMT0

EMT0

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,104
Daily reminder that France never stopped treating West Africa like a colony
 
samoyed

samoyed

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
15,191
COVID-19 showing us just how much of modern social "progress" has been a ruse/illusion.
 
Shy

Shy

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
18,520
c1aprG9.png
 
LQX

LQX

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,871
You would think the suggestions would be Italy or Spain where the most cases currently are.
 
Nikus

Nikus

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
10,362
From what I see in the articles, they're talking about tests in parrallel to those who are about to take place in Europe and Australia. At no point were they suggesting testing on africans only, or testing in Africa before anywhere else. The wording was absolutely awful and deserve backlash though, no question about that.
fwiw, the apologies and contextualisation, taken from the aljazeera article (because I know no one clicks the links):
On Twitter, Inserm, Locht's employer, posted a statement accompanied by the hashtag #FakeNews, writing that the remarks were taken out of context.
"A distorted video, taken from an interview on LCI with one of our researchers about a study on the potential use of the BCG vaccine against COVID-19, is now the subject of erroneous interpretation," the statement said.

It added that Africa "shouldn't be forgotten or excluded from this research because the pandemic is global".
Mira later apologised in a statement published by his employer.

"I want to present all my apologies to those who were hurt, shocked and felt insulted by the remarks that I clumsily expressed on LCI this week," he said.

In an interview with the Huffington Post, Mira further clarified: "Africa could be even more exposed to serious forms of harm because there will be so few masks and little confinement because of societal structure."
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I'll admit I don't have much goodwill towards people on french news channels, even "experts" who are just guests. The titles seem a bit misleading though.
But there was an instance of awful and disgusting racism on another channel earlier today, something that no amount of backpedaling will make right.
While they were showing ceremonies for all the deaths in China, you could hear one of the journalists who didn't realize his mic was on say to his colleagues, "they're buriying Pokémons".
So huh, in any case, fuck news channels and racism in media.
 
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olag

olag

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
2,106
...... Sure let's test it on those Africans before we let the real people have it.My fucking lord😑
 
Orioto

Orioto

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Oct 26, 2017
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Paris
User Banned (2 Weeks): Dismissive Drive-By Posting
Era will always be era of course. In a thread blaming racism of 2 person on tv, we already see posts about "France" being this or that lol. Never change.
 
Stay Up Be Easy

Stay Up Be Easy

Member
Dec 31, 2017
1,724
This is where conspiracy theories and distrust in government and medicine are born.

There is a long and recent history of using African countries (and black communities in the US) as experiments.

Medical, scientific, austerity, social.

Fuck off with this nonsense.
 

HyperDimension

Member
Mar 18, 2019
627
France once again proving it's one of the most racist, bigoted and colonialist countries in the Western world.
 
Soliloquy of a Dogge

Soliloquy of a Dogge

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,975
We've always been seen and still are seen as nothing but worthless niggers to em.

But hey, anti-black racism doesn't exist outside of America to the degree it does inside of it I've been told over and over again.

Fucking gross. The amount of racism in places like France and Spain is widespread and explicit but is swept under the rug more often than not.
 
Ryu

Ryu

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,316
HyperDimension said:
France once again proving it's one of the most racist, bigoted and colonialist countries in the Western world.
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This and the "we are not transporting the masks for Italy and Spain"-thread really proved some stuff sadly... France is by far not as liberal as they wish they would be. In times of crisis, brother/sister France is surely not the first thing you should call or trust. Just wtf is up really.
 
Mammoth Jones

Mammoth Jones

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,301
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Bremsstrahlung said:
There was that poll someone posted in the UK imperialism thread that showed like only 14% of the French people polled viewed imperialism as something to be ashamed of. Second only to the Netherlands' 6%.
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Plenty of Europeans still believe the imperialism of their ancestors was for the betterment and greater good of all those that suffered under it. It's a way to recognize the past without actually confronting it.
 
Slayven

Slayven

Never read a comic in his life
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
93,051
Bremsstrahlung said:
There was that poll someone posted in the UK imperialism thread that showed like only 14% of the French people polled viewed imperialism as something to be ashamed of. Second only to the Netherlands' 6%.
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Mammoth Jones said:
Plenty of Europeans still believe the imperialism of their ancestors was for the betterment and greater good of all those that suffered under it. It's a way to recognize the past without actually confronting it.
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*googles netherlands royal carriage*
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krazen

krazen

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,123
Gentrified Brooklyn
Orioto said:
Era will always be era of course. In a thread blaming racism of 2 person on tv, we already see posts about "France" being this or that lol. Never change.
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Because France has done a shitty job of confronting it's racism because 'We are all french!'. At least the US admits its a piece of shit SOMETIMES. Meanwhile in France...

*Says fucked up racist joke, passes it off as you have no humor*

As a Haitian, I have a particular disdain towards their cognitive dissonance in how shitty they raped (figutively and literally) their colonies.
 
Nepenthe

Nepenthe

When the music hits, you feel no pain.
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Oct 25, 2017
20,680
That's a blinding amount of caucasity right there.
 
pretzel

pretzel

Alt Account
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Nov 9, 2019
159
Germany
Orioto said:
Era will always be era of course. In a thread blaming racism of 2 person on tv, we already see posts about "France" being this or that lol. Never change.
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Are you familiar with the terms neo-colonialism and Françafrique?
Maybe it's time for you to educate yourself what the French government is actually doing in Africa?
Here is a good video for starters...
 
Evodelu

Evodelu

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Banned
Dec 19, 2019
558
White supremacy and colonialism. Can't wait for Euro-hegemony to end.
 
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bionic77

bionic77

Member
Oct 25, 2017
30,888
To call that racism really undersells just how absolutely horrible it is.

Inhuman might be more accurate.
 

HyperDimension

Member
Mar 18, 2019
627
Ryu said:
This and the "we are not transporting the masks for Italy and Spain"-thread really proved some stuff sadly... France is by far not as liberal as they wish they would be. In times of crisis, brother/sister France is surely not the first thing you should call or trust. Just wtf is up really.
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France is basically one of those "I don't see race" kind of racists. Their "we don't see race" bullshit is a convenient excuse to mask the racial inequality in France and to covertly maintain the status quo, which discriminates against minorities, while at the same time denying any recognition to minorities and their struggles.
 
DragonSJG

DragonSJG

Banned
Mar 4, 2019
14,338
Yeah, seems Europe has a long way to go before acknowledging that imperialism was f*cked up. Most of them are indifferent.

This is getting condemned by the media right?
 
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