I started buying a bit of extra food in mid February, when Covid what not even a possibility in people’s minds. A week before governments addressed the issue, I dared to speak about the problem and was called an alarmist. Now I am about to do the same, and I’m not happy about it, but I always was able to look 5 steps ahead, and here is what I see now.
We are in the middle of a lock down, and personally the idea of not being able to move terrifies me. I always felt that with the threat of sea levels rising, if we were in a dystopian story, there would have to be inability for the population to migrate and here we are, within a week, all airports shut down. And on one hand I agree, it was the right thing to do and it was done too late, but on the other hand, the idea of being trapped somewhere with a threat looming and making progress, is very uncomfortable.
People are already angry and impatient, they think that within 2 weeks, this will start to end, there will be slow down of the curve and hopefully, their lives will resume fast.
Some people go on vacation, generating waves of hatred from those that are confined and many people are being attacked for being Asian, or medical staff.
I fear that once the 2 weeks pass and things get worse ( and they will because there is a delay in results, and for now, most countries have not seen the total outbreak in their region), there will be frustration, fear, anger and I fear for episodes and violence in the cities. There are always people thriving in chaos, and I fear they will find the opportunity to lash out.
For me that scenario is terrifying. I am an “immigrant” in a foreign country, and I already have clashes in my home. My daughter finds me irrational, does not want to talk about the virus anymore, and she only thinks about meeting with her friends. I oppose to it and of course the atmosphere in the home is strained. As I understand it many parents have the same problems.
I would have flown back home if I could, and stay confined in my mother’s summer home, but since my daughter would refuse to follow, I stayed. For the past few days I had a fever, I coughed one night, had some gastrointestinal issues, headaches. I am in the high risk population. I may be sick, or I may just have a cold and my usual migraines.
I called the hotline in the country I live in, and the operators told me my daughter could go to work- even if I am sick- if she shows no symptoms. Excuse me? What is the point to have a lock-down if contagion is happening only when symptomatic? I dug and asked to speak to 3 more people, one being the supervisor and the answer was that it was the briefing and directive of the health ministry. I called the Health ministry and again the answers were not clear. I do not know why this is happening, or what is the truth at this point but I do know two things. You cannot have it both ways. You are either contagious when asymptomatic and therefor has to stay home, or you are contagious only when symptomatic, therefor the lock down is not necessary. And two, people go out if they believe the latter.
I fear for us, because it has been clear that no country is equipped to deal with that and that governments do not want losses in population- of course- due to the economy, but on an individual level, we are left to fence for ourselves and our children.
Working in a supermarket? No medical training, no protection, and you have to show up, or you will lose your job. Are you homeless? who will care about a non productive member of society? Are you a freelancer? An artist? A masseuse? A hairdresser? Are you someone without a college degree that shields you in an office?
I fear this virus will alter life as we know it forever. For one, a whole generation will die, and maybe more. Generations that remembered what property meant. Either to own music, or land. And that is very important, for the culture and the way we perceive dignity.
It will also change completely the working landscape. The dating landscape. It will isolated us more, make us fearful of the “outside”, and “others”. Suspicion, fear, lack of touch, hugs, love.
I don't know if it was created and unleashed on purpose or by mistake from a Wuhan laboratory where a Harvard professor in bio chemistry had ties to. I don't know if the melting of the ice brought it to the surface. I don't know if there was a plan to depopulate and microchip us or if it was just plain dumb and out of luck, and our taxes didn’t come back to help us, since they allegedly went to some politicians instead of medical facilities. I don’t dwell in things I can’t prove or even understand. I stick to the facts, and the facts are that this thing is here to stay, and it has just begun a transformational change that will alter the way we interact, see each other and live. If the travel bans do not lift, we have just upped slavery in the list of things we left our children to live with.
On the up side, confinement has created wonders for nature, in just one week animals came back, pollution cleared, and it gave us a first hand look at what can happen if we stop using the earth the way we do. If we disappear, would it be in the whole, the worst thing this planet has seen? Or the best?
It’s not too late to change. Better do it willingly, than forcibly, because change has started.
