By Dr. Esther Muiruri
Like countless others, I was dismayed by a tweet sent out on 15th October 2022 by Dr. Ahmed Ogwell, the Acting Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control (“Africa CDC”)[1]. In his tweet, he alleged mistreatment by immigration personnel at Frankfurt Airport and cast doubt on his attendance at the World Health Summit 2022, which was to take place on 16th-18th October. Commiserations (and a few condemnations) followed, with many responses narrating their own misfortunes in various airports overseas. A reading of Dr. Ogwell’s tweets about his experience at Frankfurt Airport (and the responses thereto) shows that certain delegates' dignity (or lack thereof) at these meetings is of primary concern.
Concepts of Dignity
There are several conceptions in which dignity might be understood. These three concepts below potentially cover (broadly) the various shades of meaning that might be attributable to how dignity is perceived.
Firstly, as the quality of being “valuable and worthy of respect”[2].
Much has been written about the visa discrimination meted out to delegates from the ‘Global South’[3] seeking visas to attend conferences and meetings on global health largely held in countries in the ‘Global North.’[4] From denial of visas to delays in processing applications, high visa fees, numerous paperwork, and constantly having to answer a barrage of questions at every stage to prove that one legitimately ‘belongs’ there, persons from the Global South endure it all. The same standards of ‘rigour’ do not seem to be equally applied to participants from the Global North.
The mostly unspoken (but ably demonstrated) message is that certain persons are not quite truthful about their intentions on arrival, and their mounds of paperwork still need additional verification. Implicit in these actions is that one is not welcome and presents a ‘threat’ to the other. The dignity of the traveller, in the first sense of dignity, is thereby omitted.
After Dr. Ogwell’s complaint on Twitter, Frankfurt Airport responded in a series of tweets, apologizing for the incident, stating that it did not tolerate any form of discrimination and racism, and asked Dr. Ogwell to fill in a form on the incident, adding, that, “The form is in German, but you are welcome to complete it in English.”[5] While I have not had the opportunity to look at the form referred to, the expectation that a form written in German can be competently filled in English by one who might not know German is replete with several assumptions that might indicate that dignity (in the first sense) is missing. Firstly, this acknowledges that non-German speakers might also face challenges that require a written record while traveling, such as the loss of luggage, pursuit of a refund, or a complaint that needs resolution. Secondly, the language with which one is most comfortable will likely contribute to how (or if) one will express their concerns. If someone must seek out a translator to understand the question before lodging a complaint, one is likely to encounter the slow but certain chipping away of their dignity (in the first sense) – through feeling like a nuisance to others, and at the same time, somewhat helpless to proceed. Travelers are unlikely to be homogenous in language, which calls for consideration. Maintaining forms in the German language only – if indeed that is the case, is simply an extra barrier to the full recognition of certain persons’ sense of dignity (in the first sense).
The second conception of dignity is “a metaphysical property possessed by all and only human beings, and which serves as a foundation for moral philosophy and human rights.”[6]
This sense of dignity is evident in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in various constitutions worldwide, including in African countries like Kenya’s, which declares in Article 28, “Every person has inherent dignity and the right to have that dignity respected and protected.”[7]. The imperative is to treat others in a manner that acknowledges their humanity. Forms of conduct that unjustly favor some over others and unfairly discriminate against others, ought not to be tolerated or encouraged. Treating people from the Global South with suspicion or disdain fails to adhere to the principle in the Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that “Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world.”[8]
A third conception of dignity ascribes a form of dignity to social status[9]
This implies that certain people (such as presidents and monarchs) may have a form of dignity that might not be available to others who do not belong to that particular social category.
As an invited participant and conference speaker at the Summit, Dr. Ogwell would likely have had his conference paperwork in order[10]. He ought (at the very least) to have been afforded the same consideration extended to other Summit speakers who were attending physically. In his current position as the Acting Director of Africa CDC, his unique overview of the public health landscape in African countries and, particularly, the coordination of its pandemic response was relevant to the Summit. Lastly, a good number of people in African communities still retain a deference and welcoming attitude to visitors. It is possible that we still maintain a sense of hope that our treatment of visitors at home will be reciprocated in kind when we are abroad. Whether this expectation is reasonable or not will be left unexplored here.
As it happens, the German Federal Police, who handle immigration checks[11], returned with a rather stinging rejoinder to Dr. Ogwell’s complaint.[12] Among other things, the statement (translated by Google from its original German to English) notes that in this case, “The check lasted only four minutes, although the traveller initially did not cooperate with the legally required check, or only hesitantly. He was subsequently granted entry and continued his journey as planned.”
In the absence of a publicly available video recording of the incident, perhaps it can be surmised that both the Federal Police and Dr. Ogwell maintain their stated interpretation of the events of 15th October.
Conclusion
Dignity in any one of the three conceptions is personal, yet at the same time, collective.
Having one’s dignity slighted or diminished affects the individual at a very personal level, but at the same time, reflects on the state of society as a whole. That one’s dignity has been disregarded might not be persuasive to everyone, but the reality of it certainly ought not to be denied to the individual who suffers the indignity. There is a cost to the denial of dignity, which will ultimately be counted in the loss of health and well-being – not just for those whose dignity is denied, but for those who participate in disregarding the worth and respect that is due to others.
Is this not too high a price to pay?
Dr. Esther M. Muiruri is a Bioethicist and an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya.
She is a Visiting Course Facilitator at the Aga Khan University's Medical College, East Africa, and the Founding Director of TalkLABS Limited. She is currently the Co-Convenor of the Medico-Legal Committee of the Law Society of Kenya.
DISCLAIMER: "The views expressed in the article are my own and not those of any of the organizations I am affiliated with."
[1] Ogwell, A. (2022). [Twitter] 15 October. Available at: https://twitter.com/laktarr001/status/1581151718376894466 [Accessed 15 October 2022]. [2] ‘Dignity’ (2022), in Collins English Dictionary, HarperCollins Publishers, Glasgow. Available at: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/dignity [Accessed 21 October 2022]. [3] Though not the most preferred term, I use ‘Global South’ and ‘Global North’ rather than other terms like ‘Low- and Middle- Income Countries (LMICs), and ‘High-Income Countries’ (HICs) that are popular elsewhere. See Khan, T., Abimbola, S., Kyobutungi, C., and Pai, M. (2022). ‘How we classify countries and people – and why it matters’, BMJ Global Health 7:e009704. Available at: https://gh.bmj.com/content/7/6/e009704 [Accessed 21 October 2022]. [4] See, for instance, Pai, M. (2022). ‘Passport and Visa Privilege in Global Health’, Forbes, June 6. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/madhukarpai/2022/06/06/passport-and-visa-privileges-in-global-health/?sh=4774e2be4272 [Accessed 21 October 2022]. [5] Frankfurt Airport (2022). [Twitter] 15 October. Available at: https://twitter.com/Airport_FRA/status/1581170136199090176 [Accessed 21 October 2022]. [6] Ashcroft, R.E. (2005). ‘Making sense of dignity’, Journal of Medical Ethics, Vol. 31, pp. 679-682. Available at: https://jme.bmj.com/content/medethics/31/11/679.full.pdf [Accessed 20 October 2022]. [7] Kenya Law Reform Commission (2022). Constitution of Kenya: 28. Human Dignity. Available at: https://www.klrc.go.ke/index.php/constitution-of-kenya/112-chapter-four-the-bill-of-rights/part-2-rights-and-fundamental-freedoms/194-28-human-dignity [Accessed 21 October 2022]. [8] United Nations (2022). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Available at: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights [Accessed 21 October 2022]. [9] See, for instance, Bostrom, N. (2008). ‘Dignity and Enhancement’. [Human Dignity and Bioethics: Essays Commissioned by the President’s Council on Bioethics (2008): 173–207]. Available at: https://nickbostrom.com/ethics/dignity-enhancement.pdf; and Porro, C. (2022). ‘The Many Faces of Dignity: Review of Suzy Killmister, Contours of Dignity, Oxford University Press, 2020’, Res Publica, Vol. 28, pp. 407-412. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11158-021-09531-2 [Both Accessed 21 October 2022]. [10] World Health Summit together with WHO (2022). Program. (at pp. 81;137). Available at: https://www2.worldhealthsummit.org/fileadmin/user_upload/4_Documents/4.14_2022/WHS22_Program.pdf [Accessed 21 October 2022]. [11] Frankfurt Airport (2022). [Twitter] 15 October. Available at: https://twitter.com/Airport_FRA/status/1581169905897861120 [Accessed 22 October 2022]. [12] PressePortal (2022). BPOLD FRA: Correction of the Federal Police Directorate Airport Frankfurt am Main to false reports and misinformation circulating.’ 17 October. (Translated by Google from German to English). Available at: https://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/74262/5346856 [Accessed 22 October 2022].
コメント