When “super VIP” (VVIP) customers entered the Krystal Exclusive Club, young women wearing crowns and angel wings quickly rushed out to greet them. These customers are taken to the VVIP room, which is filled with luxurious furniture. Krystal’s customers are rich people, Thai officials or business owners. For this class, the COVID-19 prevention restrictions seem to make no sense. But earlier this year, Krystal and another nightclub in the vicinity, Emerald, became the largest and deadliest outbreak in Thailand, according to Health Ministry officials. Many people related to these two nightclubs have contracted the disease, including those from the upper class. The health authority said that while the majority of Thais strictly adhere to the regulation of wearing masks and restricting gatherings, the privilege of being granted to the elites has caused the COVID-19 epidemic to re-emerge in Bangkok. . The nightclub cluster also highlights class distinctions in one of the countries with the largest wealth gap between major economies. Thailand is one of the countries with a huge gap between rich and poor. In the photo, the Khlong Toey slum is located below the tall buildings. Photo: Bangkok Post Thailand has gone many months without a case in the community. But now, the disease has spread from luxury nightclubs, which cater to powerful and wealthy men, to the slums adjacent to highways and railways in Bangkok. In these cramped areas, keeping your distance is nearly impossible. The wave of the disease has also spread to prisons, construction sites and factories. Sittichat Angkhasittisiri, head of a community in the capital’s largest slum – Khlong Toey, said bitterly: “The rich party, and the poor suffer the consequences.” There is no way the epidemic wave has penetrated Khlong Toey yet. But according to Mr. Sittichat, a man living in Khlong Toey met a friend who had attended a party at the Krystal outbreak. After feeling unwell, the man quarantined himself in his car because he had nowhere else to go. But he was able to infect three other people, causing the disease to spread in the slums where thousands of people lived. “Officials say quarantine is necessary, but that is with the rich. Our house is too small to be isolated,” Sittichat said. A boy in Khlong Toey carries a backpack to an ambulance. Photo: Bangkok Post Before November 2020, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Thailand was less than 5,000. But by the end of May 2021, Thailand recorded more than 5,800 new cases of COVID-19 in just one day. The total number of cases currently in Thailand is about 175,000 cases. “Gone are the days when the World Health Organization (WHO) praised Thailand for its campaign against COVID-19,” the newspaper said. Bangkok Post write. The resurgence of COVID-19 in Thailand is part of an epidemic wave sweeping through Southeast Asia. Thailand mainly relies on locally produced AstraZeneca vaccines. The company that makes AstraZeneca has never made a vaccine before. The “phuyai”, known as the “elite” in Thailand, can travel abroad to get vaccinated. The Russian vaccine tour costing 220,000 baht (equivalent to nearly 150 million VND) in Thailand has been fully booked until July. Meanwhile, poorer people are struggling with the epidemic. Many people have to wait to be treated in government makeshift hospitals. Mutita Thongsopa, a dairy company employee who came to Bangkok to support her family, said: “Society is very, very unequal. The phuyai destroyed the anti-COVID-19 campaign, and we, the little ones, we can’t live.” On April 27, Mutita’s older sister, Supatra Thongsopa, a 40-year-old grocery worker, arrived at the government testing center at 3am to line up. Supatra waited that whole day, then two more days later. While waiting, Supatra texted her sister complaining of fatigue and stomach problems. On May 1, Supatra was tested. The result was positive, and she died five days later. Supatra’s boyfriend, who also has COVID-19, is still being treated in the hospital. “They die like autumn leaves,” says Mutita. Although a Bangkok court sentenced the managers of two nightclubs Krystal and Emerald to two months in prison for violating epidemic prevention regulations, so far no one else has been held responsible for the epidemic. outbreak again in Thailand. Although considered poor, the people of Khlong Toey slum are an important labor force in Bangkok. They are delivery people, delivering food. Their motorbikes crept past the Mercedes lined up on the road. They are construction workers of luxury apartment buildings and commercial centers. Their market provides Bangkok with fresh vegetables, fruits and seafood. Unemployment, already high due to Thailand’s border closure, has skyrocketed in Khlong Toey. To survive, some families have had to sell vaccination cards they received as residents of high-risk areas. Some wealthy Bangkok residents have bragged on social media about buying vaccination cards from the city’s most desperate residents. Thailand today, June 7, started an expanded vaccination campaign Less than 2% of the country’s population has been vaccinated with two doses.

Not only 4 levels 4 India is a country of diversity in all aspects: culture, religion, race, language… Hinduism is the largest religion in India (currently 966 million followers) and is the The world’s third largest religion (1.03 billion adherents) played a key role in shaping India’s social fabric. From this religion arose the caste system in Indian society, and it dominates, has a profound, lasting impact with many consequences in society to this day. Dharavi slum in Mumbai. Dharavi is one of the most densely populated places in the world. The blue roofs are actually plastic cloth to keep out the rain. Photo: Daily Mail The structure of Indian society according to writer and cultural researcher Geetesh Sharma is “a collection of irregular elements, but strangely, it is arranged into a clear layer system”. Looking from the outside in, the overlapping Indian society is caste, class, religion, language, region… But if the caste system is positioned as the backbone of the whole Indian social structure, all things will become orderly and clear. This system was formed thousands of years ago, and to this day, it remains the root cause of social unrest. Most Indian and Western scholars agree that the caste system is a feature of Hinduism. However, along with the birth and introduction of other religions, the caste system also had a certain influence on Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Jainism. The English word caste is caste, which is not a single Indian word. According to the Oxford dictionary, caste is derived from the Portuguese word casta, meaning “race, lineage, breed” and primitive meaning “pure and unadulterated”. There is no concept in the Indian language that fully represents the word, but only two approximate terms, varna and jati. Varna means color, and was the first framework of social demarcation in the Vedic period. The four castes in the varna are the Brahmins (the priestly caste, also known as the Brahmin castes), the Kshatriyas (also known as the Rajanyas, the castes of noble princes and warriors), the Vaishyas (the craftsmen) , merchants, farmers) and Shudras (class of slaves, people who did the hard work). However, there is still a fifth caste in the varna system that is not officially recognized in the scriptures, the Dalit (untouchable) caste. People of this caste are considered “outside of society” and have to do jobs that are considered despicable such as dumping feces, picking up trash, etc. Whereas, jati means birth, origin. This concept is less mentioned in the scriptures than in varna. There are thousands of jati, and currently there is no exact definition for this concept. Where is the origin? From the West’s pro-racist theory… There are many explanations from anthropologists, archaeologists and both Indian and world historians as to the origin of this particular caste system over the past century. However, it is possible to temporarily group the hypotheses of Indian caste origin into three large theoretical groups: racial theory, contingency theory, and genetic proofs. Race theory started from a debate between two British researchers and managers in India JC Nesfield and HH Risley. According to Risley, the caste system was formed from racial clash. He suggested that the “light-skinned” Aryans had entered the Indian subcontinent from the northwest and conquered the native “black” Dravidian race. Risley’s explanation is that the Aryans, after conquest, conquered the weaker race, captured women according to their needs and created hybrid offspring, thereby becoming a higher caste. Meanwhile, Nesfield commented that “the issue of caste origin is not only about race, but also about culture”. The racial theory of caste formation encouraged racist ideas, which were originally developed to enhance the status of Europeans in the subcontinent. A family in the slums of Mumbai on April 3. Photo: AP To the objection of the Indian scholar himself học Indian scholars have countered Risley’s racial theory. Researcher Ketkar argues that castes are more a result of tribal conflicts than between Aryans and Dravidians. Ketkar’s view was that all Indians, with limited exceptions from the east, belonged to a single race, and expressed concern that racial theories could cause division in society. The reactions of the Indian scientific community led to the creation of the so-called random theory. In this view, caste regimes are the product of specific historical events, which may be limited to a particular time and place. This theory has an important contribution Dr. Ambedkar (who comes from the Dalit caste, and also drafted the Constitution of India). Ambedkar rejected the racial theory and attacked those who had “used biology to protect the caste system”. He emphasized on Nesfield’s research with the conclusion that there is no racial difference between different castes in the same area, and at the same time concluded that “the caste system is the distinction in society between different castes”. people of the same race”. End of the hundred year debate In the mid-1990s, scientists began to use genetics as a tool to examine the origin of caste systems as well as the extent to which castes were related. Since then, a series of genetic studies on the caste system have been produced. The first genetic studies reached conclusions consistent with the randomization theory. Accordingly, there is no corresponding relationship between genetic relationships and socio-cultural structure. Subsequent studies, however, yielded very mixed results, with some supporting the race theory. To date, studies using genetics to understand the origin of the caste system continue to be carried out. Liberate class, liberate people Although the debate has not yet led to a final result, it has at least contributed much differently, from the rejection of the “divine” about the origin of the castes, when the Rig-Veda (Vedas) that castes were born from different parts of the primitive man, in which the upper caste was born from the upper body, and the lowest caste was born from the heart. This is extremely important, because it will lead to the destruction of the concept of “class is inherently natural, is immutable”. This was the premise to liberate the lower castes from the strict caste system, and was an important step towards human liberation. Medical staff check people’s health in a slum in Mumbai. Photo: Guardian Second, studies have shown that caste originates from socio-political factors rather than from religion. And without exception, the caste system is a tool created by rulers to establish a stable, orderly and favorable social structure for them to easily rule. The current caste system is a huge barrier affecting India’s development. Recent surveys show that caste discrimination still shows no signs of abating, but on the contrary, tends to be more serious. The 2014 census shows that the percentage of people from the lower castes, especially those belonging to the Dalit caste, are facing severe discrimination with the lowest percentage in the following criteria: access to education, health care, employment… Social injustices related to the lower castes persist, whether in urban or rural areas, demonstrating the tension in modern Indian society. Although the Indian government has constitutionally prohibited the practice of any discrimination against the lower castes, the fact that there are separate laws on “reservation” for the lower castes shows that The situation is not optimistic. Specifically, India has compiled a list of vulnerable castes, and calls it “Nominal Castes”. Accordingly, all state agencies (including the National Assembly), universities, military, police… must reserve a certain percentage of their “seats” for these identified classes. This, while having a positive effect on the lower castes, clearly demonstrates India’s inability to prevent discriminatory practices. Luu Duy Tran (Doctoral student at Jeonbuk National University, Korea)

In the slums more than 10 kilometers from Bucharest, Roman families specialize in making a living by burning rubbish for metal. The ingredients for burning are varied, from broken computers to electric cables. “I will sell them (after burning product) to metal buyers. We have to work one to two weeks to get a kilo of metal, ”said Mihai Bratu, a Roma person in the village of Sintesti, a suburb of Bucharest. Like many Roman communities across Romania, the slums of Sintesti have long been neglected by the authorities. This place now consists of temporary houses, spontaneous wire grids and trash. Octavian Berceanu, head of the Romanian Environmental Protection Agency, the pollution from the relentless burning scrap sites is becoming excessively serious. He began frequent raids in Roman living areas. He said that residents here can be considered “modern slaves” are under pressure of a mafia-style system. “This is a kind of slavery, because people here don’t have the opportunity to go to school, find jobs in the city, don’t have the basic infrastructure conditions like the official electricity network, clean water or roads. Sipunculus. This ruined their lives, ”said Octavian Berceanu. Mr. Berceanu repeatedly raided the Roman slums to stop burning rubbish for metal. It is illegal to burn garbage in spontaneous landfills. It has also resulted in heavy air pollution for the Bucharest metropolitan area. Police officers prevented a woman from entering an area where people used to burn trash. Romanian riot police are deployed in these raids to support environmental forces. A piece of computer components was seized by Romanian environmental forces in the raid. The doll’s head lies on the ground after a mid-April raid by Romanian environmental forces in Vidra. Romans, also known as Digans, are scattered in many European countries, especially in Eastern and Southern Europe. The poverty rate in this community is much higher than the general average. According to the Borgen Project, 90% of Romans in Romania live at or below the poverty line. Only one in five Roma children attend school. A Roma child playing with scrap copper pieces. “Everywhere in the world, the extremely poor have to rely on meager resources for their livelihoods. This has negative consequences: They have little education, poor facilities and development level is low, “Gelu Duminica, director of a non-governmental organization dedicated to helping the Romans, said. Duminica argues that the government’s targeting of Romans, rather than the large industries or more than a million cars in the capital, Bucharest, shows them as “sacrifices” as part of their marketing campaign Politicians.

Illustration. One of the most isolated places in the world is the Vale do Javari region in the Amazon forest area. It is home to 14 Amazon tribes and they do not have any contact with the outside world. The area covers an area of ​​86,000 square kilometers, which is about the size of Austria. According to The Guardian, in March 2019, an expedition was organized by the agency for indigenous Brazilians, with the aim of easing tensions between two rival indigenous groups in the Vale do Javari region. The slums Looking at a map of a city, you will see clearly indicated streets, parks, highways, and buildings. However, in some cities, there are areas that do not appear on the map. According to BBC Future, in cities like Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Lagos in Nigeria, the slums are not depicted on the map because these areas are not the top priority here. In fact, many of the largest cities in the world have large communities with impoverished populations that live there and never appear on maps. Cenotes Yucatán Cenotes, Mexico According to photographer Klaus Thymann, this underwater cave system is located in the Yucatán peninsula of Mexico. This cave system is thousands of kilometers long and has not been explored since the Mayan period; and it doesn’t exist on any map. Klaus Thymann begins the exploration of the Yucatán Cenotes cave system and takes pictures of it, with a desire to raise awareness about this unique cave preservation. Rivers flow through caves and form the aquifer of Yucatán and support about 11 different ecosystems. Gangkhar Puensum Mountain, Bhutan This is probably the tallest mountain in the world that has not been conquered yet, it is estimated its height is about 3,000 meters. This mountain has not been mapped and unlike others, it has yet to be explored for spiritual reasons. For the locals, some areas on the mountain have been refugees for Buddhist saints for centuries and the mountains themselves have been home to gods and goddesses. Patagonia, Argentina and Chile regions According to Geospatial World, Patagonia region stretches almost as far as Antarctica. It is littered with tropical forests, glaciers, so remote and inhospitable that it is almost impossible to map. Mapping this area is a difficult and dangerous task, as the ice fields here are comparable to those of the polar ice. Northern mountain forest complex, Myanmar The US economic sanctions against Myanmar for many years have helped the country successfully protect most of its primary forests from the effects of economic development. But this seems to be changing, the area of ​​primary forest is disappearing and with it many vulnerable species. However, it is very difficult to assess the damage because there are almost no roads in the forest and very few people can come in to assess the situation. This means primeval forests are likely to disappear before it has been fully mapped. Cape Melville Cape, Australia Cape Melville is a cape off the coast of Queensland. And a surrounding wall made of granite has separated this headland from human exploration. Although the habitat inside the rainforest in the headland is effectively protected, it also means that the area is virtually unmapped. North Sentinel Island, India North Sentinel Island is part of the Andaman Islands between India and Myanmar. Due to the local population’s hostility towards outsiders (who are not Sentinel residents), this place has not been explored and mapped. In 2006, a boat carrying two fishermen drifted into the farmland of North Sentinel Island and they were killed there. Since then, there have been other reports of tribes firing arrows at passing helicopters. Ocean bottom The vast ocean floor and the bottom of the five oceans cover up to 71% of the earth’s surface. Even though we have mapped the ocean floor, according to The Conversation of Australia, the map is clearly low resolution. In fact, our map of the ocean floor is less detailed than our map of Mars, Moon and Venus. That is because the water flow has blocked the mapping tools. But oceanographers are still researching and conducting more perfect, detailed ocean floor mapping. Sandy Island, South Pacific Some locations that actually exist are not mapped, while areas that do not exist are shown on the map. One example is Sandy Island located in the south of the Pacific Ocean. This island appears on marine maps, world maps as well as on Google Earth and Google Maps. But when the scientists began to study this supposedly located halfway between Australia and New Caledonia, they discovered it didn’t exist there and probably never existed. Even so, the island has been on the map for many years and it is thought that it was just a mistake.