Late last
year, I took off from public living and social media, to focus on work and
other real time responsibilities.
A friend
kept bugging me about how soon I would be back. My response was always a casual
laugh, and a “No time soon… unless the
world is coming to an end”.
I had no
idea that 2020 was listening, and smugly responded with a “Hold my beer”.
…
Since the
onset of this year, there have been events in quick succession which had seemed
apocalyptic at the occurrence of each one.
First, in
a (quite unnecessary) show of brute force, laced with ego and pandering to a
predictable base, the USA unilaterally decided to bomb Iran. Thus inherently threatening
to drag allies into a war we had no knowledge of and/or no interest in.
It seemed
World War III was definitely upon us, with Russia, China and Iran on one hand,
and the NATO forces on the other.
(Dual
citizens began dusting up passports, in readiness to run back to home countries
least involved in this impending blow-up)
Then
Australia went up in what seemed like an unending inferno. What started as
‘casual’ bush fires, gradually escalated into months long events, chasing
animals out of their habitats, and claiming the lives of brave firemen.
While we
were still grappling with whether the wrong button had been pressed for 2020,
the world was hit with the heartbreaking death of Kobe Bryant and his daughter.
One may
argue that Kobe’s death is no world-ending event. But there is need to
understand, that for a lot of us - in the US and beyond - Kobe was the ultimate
larger-then-life figure. For folks like me who were part of varsity basket-ball
teams, Kobe – along with Shaquille, and MJ – symbolised play styles, and inspired
heights to aspire to.
Kobe’s
death definitely reverberated around the world, plunging continents into days
and weeks of mourning. If nothing else, the end of life – as we know it –
suddenly seemed like a moment away. Here one day with family and fans, gone the
next in a matter of seconds.
In the background
of all of this crazy, there had been reports filtering in through social and
regular media, of a weird illness growing in some part of China, where people
were (literally) beginning to drop dead (or in a faint) on the streets.
But it
seemed so far, far away. As at January.
(Laughs in dark humour. We had absolutely NO
idea)
I am not
sure exactly when the reality of this strange virus seriously began hitting the
world. Maybe it was about that time that the death toll jumped from about 97 people,
to 1000 or more people, within a space of hours.
As if
that was not scary enough, suddenly, people were becoming infected with this
ailment in Iran, and beginning to die.
(Wait… this virus could move across
continents *bawls in banshee howls*)
Fam, I
think that is when sh*t hit really hit the fan, and like a people out of a
trance, suddenly, the world snapped out of the indifference.
Global
concern began building, even as the virus developed stronger wings and built a
solid base in Italy. In no time, the world watched as infection and death rates
rapidly climbed up.
Then
France. And Spain. The United Kingdom. The USA. Even dearly beloved Canada.
Responses
by world leaders and citizens were uncoordinated.
Should we
be afraid? Not afraid? Should this be declared pandemic? Not pandemic? Was this
a human-engineered virus? Would the dead arise, in true Walking Dead fashion,
and eat the rest of us?
Was this
the end of this world, in readiness for purifying the earth for its next
inhabitants?? Would we be a part of some macabre history lesson eons later, on
how a previous world order was completely wiped off, in relatively quick
succession to the generation of dinosaurs?
While
countries like Canada saw their leaders beginning to grasp the reality of the
situation and address the people head-on on the need to begin to take
precaution, the once police-chief of the world – the USA – dilly-dallied in its
response. One minute “very soon, only
five people will be left infected… it will disappear like a miracle”. The
next minute “this thing will likely be
around, till about August… it has blindsided us”.
It did
not help that like every other important issue in the past couple of years, the
fast-spreading virus became another bickering point between its two major
parties, thereby stealing precious moments that would have been seized to
rising to the occasion.
(*hisses in African grandmother voice*)
Meanwhile,
somewhere in the most populous country in Africa, the Head of State has been
MIA on the virus, even as concerns and discovered cases are fast increasing.
While a fund has been hastily released, and the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control
releasing regular Twitter updates on activities being taken to contain the
virus, every other thing seemed to suggest that the default plan by the country
for the virus is = Na God Hand We Dey.
…
The world
watched in horror as the virus continued its inter-territorial reign of havoc, even
as scientists suddenly became obsessed with one nagging question:
How was
the Motherland not (yet) overflowing with infections and deaths from the Corona
virus?
(*Laughs again, in dark humour*)
I
understand the confusion. Africa has been touted as the poverty-central of the
world. Most of the pictures the western media propagates are often big-bellied,
rib-showing, hunger-stricken, HIV-ravaged children, raising their arms in
solicitation for alms, and one morsel of food away from death.
While a
lot of these stories and their accompanying pictures may be a tad bit
embellished, to assuage self-satisfying virtue-signalling, truth is that many
African nations cannot boast of half the medical facilities that their
counterparts in the Western world have. If these counterparts had rapidly
increasing deaths from this dastardly virus, how were the African nations
staying uninfected from the virus??
Many ascribed
this seeming ‘immunity’ of Africa to the virus to varying reasons, ranging from
the boiling climate temperatures of the region, to the blood of Jesus.
The
reality however is far less extraordinary than the Western World realises. It
is a First-World privilege to just wake up in the morning, pack a bag pack and
announce to family “I’m taking a trip to
Europe for a year. Tada”.
Asides
the fact that a lot of families in Africa live below poverty lines that can
barely enable daily survival, little less traipsing round the world, there are
visa restrictions on most African citizens, which ensure that Africans do not
have the ease or luxury of moving around from continent to continent, thereby,
constituting human carriers for the virus.
(Talk
about an ironical ‘blessing’ in disguise)
And true
enough, the cases of the virus which began to trickle into Africa at first were
either foreigners (or returnee citizens from foreign trips): an Italian in
Nigeria, a German in Egypt, a Japanese in Ethiopia.
While the
rates of infections and deaths in Africa have not exploded exponentially as the
rest of the world, the most of us have hands clasped in prayer, fully aware
that the continent truly does not have the facilities for this. If ever there
was a time, this is the time for all the competing gods and ancestors of the
continent to put superiority skirmishes aside, and pour blessings all over the
land. Slowly increasing cases are proving that if care is not taken, it is only
a matter of time before Africa joins the rest of the world in the pandemonium
facing it.
In the
meantime, and in a weird twist of fate, African countries have been at the
forefront of placing outright bans or mandatory quarantines on travelers coming
into the countries. Countries like Uganda are not smiling, and wasted no time
in deporting visitors, who refused to be quarantined for 14 days.
(The nerve!)
One may
view it as some smug sort of pay-back, for how the rest of the world ‘quietly’
ostracised Africa, in the wake of the Ebola virus. I see it as simple
common-sense.
Whether
or not this turns out to be truly effective in controlling the spread of virus
however, time will tell.
***
But you
know how it is often said that the worst of times show the true nature of
humans?
In the
midst of rising infections, people across the (Western?) world devolved into
the worst form of panic-buying ever. Shelves were cleared of food, baby
formula, even sanitary towels.
The one I
will NEVER comprehend however is the panic-buying of and rush for tissue rolls. Stores have
had to put notices, limiting the number of packs a customer can buy, in the
wake of people buying truckloads of tissue rolls.
Wait… are
these folks expecting to crap their way out of this pandemic? Errrmmm… has no one told them the
alternative of H2O, in the event tissue rolls suddenly stop being produced?
Meanwhile,
in the United States, a different kind of panic-buying is going on. People are
purchasing guns in droves. The surge for the purchase of guns have gone up by 68%.
I am not
sure if the people hope to shoot the virus to death, or turn on each other for
supplies. Suffice to say, I have never been happier to not be resident on the south
side of the border.
In all of
this, the greatest heroes remain the front-line war generals: the medical
personnel who cannot “work from home” like the rest of us, or stay isolated
behind the cover of a laptop. The ones who cannot afford to “stay six feet away from others”.
The doctors,
the nurses, the lab technicians, the nursing assistants, pharmacists, janitors,
cleaners, and every person somewhat involved in ensuring medical services
continue to be delivered, unhindered.
There are
also the cashiers at the grocery and retail stores, delivery drivers, folks who
mostly earn minimum wage. Yet, are daily exposed to possible exposure and are
at the frontline of this battle.
Not to
forget the scientists, staying awake and working away furiously even as I type,
conducting test after test after test, to find a viable vaccine, or cure (or
both) for this virus.
And then…
there is Trevor Noah.
If you
have been an ardent follower of this blog (which you should be), you know
Trevor is a huge muse to my writing. And he has not failed in this period.
Often striking just the right balance, between keeping us filled with enough
humour to reduce the tension from all the Corona news flying around, while
passing serious messages on the need for social distancing and other
precautions.
…
As a race,
we have survived the Spanish Flu, two World Wars, and multiple financial
crises. Corona Virus IS beatable.
A lot of
buck however lies at the table of the various leaders, to whom the people look
up. The greatest undoing will be half or non-truths. This is the time to be
absolutely honest with the masses on realities on ground, while providing
highest assurances and inspiring courage.
Lack of
sufficient information from China led to precious weeks lost in preparation, by
other countries. Lack of awareness may be cited as the singular difference
between South Korea and Italy.
To this
extent I say: wash your hands, frequently and vigorously. Stay away from
clusters of people, as much as is possible. Practice social distancing, all the
while using technology to achieve work goals and stay in touch with loved ones.
Practice social distancing as much as possible. If not for yourself, for the
more vulnerable among us: seniors and those with underlying ailments.
For those
self-isolating like me, keep up digital connections, as much as possible. Especially
if you live alone. So that you do not resort to conversations with the wall-gecko,
for want of human connection.
Being the
gnostic that I am, my favourite verse in the good book comes to mind at a time
like this:
This Too
Shall Pass.
Please
stay safe.
Paz,
Meg.
P.s: I know you would love to ask me:
Are you back now??
I don’t
know. Let’s watch and see.
Photo-Credits
3. www.abcnews.com
Photo-Credits
1. www.marketwatch.com (via Getty images)
2. www.gulfnews.com 3. www.abcnews.com
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