COMMUNITY RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC: THE CASE OF NYEGOL OF UPPER BENGOH

Abstract

Drawing on anthropological observations, this paper throws its focus on the Nyegol community in Upper Bengoh, Sarawak, to examine how and what the community did to negotiate and adapt to the disruptions as a result of COVID-19. In a world changed by COVID-19, the importance of understanding community resilience to health security has garnered the attention and interests of scholars, health practitioners, and policymakers worldwide. There are increasing attempts to understand, measure disaster preparedness, and examine the ability of communities to negotiate the spread of the disease itself as well as to adapt to the disruptive effects of the mechanisms put in place to halt the transmissions of the virus. Based on Chaskin et al. (2001), this paper elaborates on the four characteristics of a community in dealing with the pandemic, namely, a sense of community, commitment to the community, ability to solve problems, and having access to resources. The community has effectively mobilised mechanisms and resources, namely their social capital, and social organisation, located within the locality. With that this paper suggests that it is important to consider rural communities’ adaptive strategies and especially their own autonomy when designing policies that affect their livelihoods.