Overcoming #Covid19 Chain Break

 In the year 2020, we were all excited, we saw a year of many opportunities sprouting before us, and everything looked good and great. We knew it was going to be a blast. The New Year ushering messages were enthusiastic and opportunistic; it was ‘tweny tweny’ as everyone exclaimed. We rocked 2020.

 

Then early in the year, disturbing news started trekking in about a strange disease in China. People were dying in droves and the spread was quick and contagious. Mighty China was in panic and we watched at the distance the scenarios playing before our eyes. New words started appearing in our lay vocabulary #COVID19, Corona Virus, quarantine, social distance, wearing a mask and sanitising. A lot of rumour spiced the discussions; the strange disease was a result of bizarre food habits, biological chemical weapons, among others. Still, we stayed put trying to comprehend China’s problem which was a distant problem that would not need our worry yet we sympathised with humanity.

Soon Europe was badly hit with the same strange disease and yet our news were filled with new cases, massive death from this strange disease, burial sites, frontline workers trying to explain the bizarre disease and politicians trying to confuse us further with scientific ideologies that we could hardly understand. World health organisation declared #Covid19 a pandemic. By then the spread and death was rolling, from continent to another, from country to another, countries went into lockdown but it was too late and boom it reached our doorstep.

Now panic mode, fear and trembling became real, busy life came to a standstill, The country closed, schools closed, the business closed, transport closed, religious institutions closed, whatever was deemed non-essential closed,  the world seemed to cave in as everybody stayed home. I mean forced #stayhome, for the ‘busy busy’ human being in us we started feeling the pressure as we stayed home watching, listening and reading #Covid19 news from sunset to sunset and of course the unending directives after directives.

We even started learning new terms, like #essential workers, #frontline workers, #lockdown, #socialdistance. #curfew, among others, we became bystanders in a new world as we watched afar as #nonessential workers. We then appreciated #marketvendors, #shopkeepers, #police and #defenceforces, #healthworkers, #truckdrivers, #deliveryworkers #media people among others as they became the cornerstone of our living society by supplying provisions for our livelihood, protection against criminals and most needed health care and information. Life is indeed funny, when you feel important as a #CEO, #Covid19 humbles you to realise that the #shopkeeper next door is an essential worker. Ummmm. It teaches us to respect and appreciate the co-dependency of humanity. Life is never about you, it’s about the US collectively as people, society, organisation, and as a nation.

Strange times indeed, we started being nice and friendly to our neighbours in a more coherent and intentional manner. Now that we had time, the children were shocked to see mother and father staying home, their excitement grew into apprehension as they realised they were under a watchful eye of parents who were getting agitated by the status quo of being #stayhome parents and to some domestic violence set in, stress, and anger.

Amidst the anxiety the economic reality started hitting hard, savings were served on the dinner table and diminishing fast, some started eating saved capital while others lived on loans and hand-outs while expenses daily increased. #Covid19 stopped being a disease and became a social-economic issue. Panic attacks became real as politicians made worse the situation by creating directives that were unmatched.

Through it, all hearts learnt to live with and amidst #Covid19 times. It no longer was strange, we stopped listening to Covid news, cases, death and we again looked unto life instead of fear and death. Again death was defeated. The hidden hope arose again to replace fear and anxiety and we embraced the #newnormal with a renewed vigour and energy to start again. Humanity again realised that they can overcome the works of evil one.

The veil of darkness that had enveloped the world was subdued by the zeal, determination and will of humanity to overcome adversity and evil. And as we come closer to the end of “tweny tweny’ we resolve even more that we are stronger than the chains of #Covid19 and other calamities that are and will hit the earth. #embrace life #embrace new normal.

Allen K. Baguma