I only truly ever understood the value of each breath I took when I remained underwater for the first time; how each breath felt like a blessing after I had surfaced again, and how lonely it felt in the moments when I felt as though anything could have gone wrong beneath the surface of an unforgiving ocean. That is the biggest fear we all harbour when it comes to drowning. But what do we do when we are faced with the terrifying threat of drowning in open air?
Covid-19 is a tragedy still unfolding.
This time last year, we were all engrossed in messaging our loved ones across the globe wondering how on earth we had gotten here, and when we would ever be let out of the prisons we called our homes. “Be patient” they said. “It will be over soon,” they said.
The latter statement may have stood true if we as a collective people had done what is now seeming like an increasingly foreign concept: listened. But we were dying to socialise, dying to party, dying to see people and dying to belittle the threat of something we could not physically see. Well, we are seeing it now.
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Kumbh Mela 2021[/caption]
India saw the recent celebration of the Kumbh Mela and Holi festivals, as well as the rallies and election campaigning which took place in many parts of Bengal. Sri Lanka just witnessed toll plazas on highways collecting record breaking amounts of money when thousands went outstation to celebrate Avurudu. Pakistanis went ahead and shopped for Ramadan, danced at weddings and mingled at malls. And this incessant need to ignore SOPs and continued warnings after the US and Europe had already dealt with unthinkable destruction to human life earlier last year only screamed of one predominant emotion: indifference.
One personal account and story that a friend of mine shared with me was of a wedding which took place recently (one of several thousand to go ahead in recent times, despite a raging pandemic), where the bride sat in a glass box in the middle of one of her functions, because she had contracted Covid-19, but wanted to dress up and enjoy the festivities anyway. You might think that I am making this up. You might also think that I am flat out lying when I say that India decided to go ahead with the Bengal elections a few days ago, despite the country being beaten to a pulp by this plague, yet I assure you, I am not. It seems equally ridiculous to suggest that Sri Lankan night spots are continuing with their open-mic nights and “buy one get one free” drink deals at pubs and clubs, but again, this is not fiction, and instead, unfortunately fact. What everyone does not realise is that it isn’t just Covid-19 which has spread rampantly around the globe; it is also ‘apathy’.
“If it isn’t happening to you, then it isn’t happening at all” – this seems to be the general sentiment that most people around us are holding onto. Why does tragedy have to become so personal before we take stock of how serious a particular situation has gotten? Must we wait for global mourning to turn into personal catastrophe before we wear that mask, or stay at home, or get vaccinated, or don’t meet people who are at far higher risk than us?
This year of unbelievable shock and disaster has truly put things into perspective for some of us. Nations around the world waste so many resources on war and building up their defense fleets when the same budgets should have been allocated to building up the hospitals which are now struggling to cope. Healthcare is without a doubt more of a necessity than the need to flex national muscles when it comes to potential warfare…right?
Wrong.
Human beings are now slowly beginning to understand that their need to establish power and influence within regions through means of military strength or economic dominance means very little in the face of illness; the coronavirus has not spared the rich or powerful. In fact, it does not discriminate at all, despite the governments of our countries wasting ample time doing just that. Stirring communal hatred and supporting violence means very little when in the next minute, you might just be in a position to have to ask your neighbour to help you find oxygen or a hospital bed. So why is it that it’s still taking us so much time to develop empathy and kindness?
A prime example of this is a recent statement made by Bill Gates about why vaccine production cannot simply be increased within India. Apparently, they simply “do not have the expertise” to do so. Big businesses and pharmaceutical giants and their recent actions have led to absolute and complete destruction within our part of the world. The West seems to think it has a monopoly on intelligence and capability, when in reality, most of the world’s vaccines are produced in India anyway. Despite this fact, Indian author Arundhati Roy has gone as far as to say that what is happening in India itself could be categorised as a “crime against humanity”. Modi has refuted help from Pakistan in recent days, even though it could greatly help his people, due to the geographical convenience of its neighbour being willing to send immediate and urgent supplies over. Modi’s arrogance has also led him to say “no, thank you” to the United Nations and their offers for immediate aid as well.
Why is it that when families are cremating their loved ones in the streets of India, and human beings are choking on their last breaths outside the gates of hospitals, that we are still only made to sit here and burn in anger at the absolute shambles that is unfolding in one of the world’s largest so-called democracies?
This is not over for anyone unless it is over for everyone.
And more than anything else right now, we must be introspective and enhance our own resources and capacity building skills within the health sector before we too are witnessing a horror which the world won’t be walking away from anytime soon. The best way to do this? Start caring about it. Start talking about it. Start spreading information which helps those suffering from it. And don’t pretend like distracting yourself from the reality of the world being on fire outside your homes will save you from the inevitable moment when you too will be faced with a situation where someone you love is also dying to breathe. God forbid.
In the one hour that it took to complete this article, approximately 115 people died in India. 60 minutes, roughly 115 lives. The most tragic aspect of this developing and devastating fact is this: they are dying to breathe.