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Unmasking the Essential Realities of COVID ‐19: The Pasifika Community in the Salt Lake Valley
Author(s) -
Vaughn Kēhaulani,
Fitisemanu Jacob,
Hafoka Inoke,
Folau Kehaulani
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
oceania
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.356
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 1834-4461
pISSN - 0029-8077
DOI - 10.1002/ocea.5267
Subject(s) - pacific islanders , samoan , honour , population , diaspora , pandemic , sociology , political science , covid-19 , gender studies , law , medicine , demography , linguistics , philosophy , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Pacific Islanders in diaspora are disproportionately contracting COVID‐19, experience hospitalization and develop complications. In Utah, Pacific Islanders have the highest contraction rate in the state. Pacific Islanders constitute only 2% of the state's population, but represent 4% of the those infected with COVID‐19, begging the question how we might explain the high rates of contraction? As community engaged scholars and practitioners, we offer discussion, insight, and commentary on the COVID‐19 pandemic affecting Pacific Islanders in Utah. Grounding this discussion is a history of the Pacific Islander community as an essential workforce that dates back to the 1850s, before statehood. We argue that historical discrimination against these early Pacific Islanders shaped the way this group is racialized as essential laborers today. The authors offer this assertion along with practices and protocols that honour cultural norms of socialization, which we see is the pathway to provide safe measures that are relevant to the Utah Pasifika community.