Corona-random notes

The sting of the virus has united humanity in their woe. And the only way out of its grasp is to be united in our efforts, for so long as it afflicts even one, none is safe – Pic by Shehan Gunasekara

All is suspended, if not already cancelled. 

And what plans and schemes we had!  At national, community as well as personal level all those hopeful ambitions are now scuppered, thrown out, made meaningless by an invisible, little-understood, virus. 

Right across the world, mice, men and kings are halted; hopes dashed, theories challenged, sentiments denied, work stopped, lives lost, the disaster is all-encompassing.

For a moment we did not imagine that in our lifetime a potential Malthusian disaster, would stare us in the face. The dominant mind-set speciously assumes an endlessly bounteous world, specifically made to order, for us humans. We could go on feeding our infinite wants, eating our way through the earth’s diversity, until kingdom come. 

Thomas Robert Malthus, the 18 Century British economist, (1776-1834) thought that the human population would eventually outpace its food supply until natural disasters and disease restore the balance.

History didn’t evolve that way, rapid advances in science and technology since transformed the human potential. New continents opened up with millions of virgin acreage going under the plough. 

In the old countries, modern agriculture methods allow for much more produce, in less land. Medical advances and improving life standards now ensure longer and healthier lives; today we have human numbers scarcely believable in the times of Malthus, we produce so much food, that much is wasted. 

But ingenuity without ethics, initiative without conscience, can be taken too far. We are now genetically modifying our staple foods to obtain a greater yield, we are tormenting farm animals to increase their bulk, we are taking the butcher’s knife to unusual and exotic creatures, great and small.  

Yet, a small voice speaks, is this right, can this go on?

COVID-19 imposed lockdown

The COVID-19 imposed lockdown has drastically curtailed many of our bread and butter activities, necessarily minimising long-cherished liberties. In nearly every country in the world today, people are confined to their houses, afraid to talk to their neighbour, suspicious of the delivery boy; counting their money, rationing their food; there is no work, no production, no income. 

It is widely accepted that the best method of containing the coronavirus is by minimising contact, by lock-downs and curfews. For our own good, we are all confined to our homes; determinedly dialling telephone numbers of unresponsive ‘suppliers’ all day. 

Despite the crisis, these supermarkets are not ignoring the all- important profit motive. A friend of mine who lives in a housing estate in suburban Athurugiriya had ordered a basket of household necessities online. He was told by the supermarket that his area will only be covered in two days’ time, when his order would be delivered. 

On the given day, late afternoon, the goods were delivered in a three-wheeler, with an extra charge of Rs. 300 for delivery. This was alright with him; it was part of the package. He learnt later that the same three-wheeler had, with him, delivered similar baskets to about 20 other houses in the estate, charging Rs. 300 from each.

At institutions such as prisons and reformatories inmates are given their regular meals by their jailors. These meals, basic, unvarying and limited, are served at fixed times (the last meal for the prisoners, I read somewhere, is served late afternoon, before sunset, when the lights go off). 

There is no selection, eat the indifferently-prepared food or leave it, is the distressing choice for the prisoner. For the brave or foolhardy there is perhaps an existential choice, you can boycott the meal, the authorities are perhaps empowered to force-feed, if necessary.

There was a humorous poser going around in the now seemingly untroubled days before the coronavirus: “Why is it that inevitably in every house, it is the woman who has to do the cooking?” 

The answer followed: “Because under the Geneva Convention you have to feed your prisoners!” Obviously, the Geneva Convention referred to are the humanitarian rules applicable to armed conflicts.

Considering their individual situation, countries have adopted different policies to overcome the overwhelming challenge posed by the virus: to save lives, control its spread, provide essentials to the confined population, to sustain their morale, maintain a semblance of normalcy and to keep the basic structure of their economy in place. A policy which does not take into account all such essential factors of a given society, could win the battle, only to lose the war.

Corona writing

One of the positives in this dire situation is the emergence of a new genera of literature, corona writing. With little else to stimulate their minds or feed their imagination, many active minds have taken to writing short corona-themed articles to the newspapers, also victims of the virus, being limited to only an e-version presently (without the advertisements, in any event, there are no commercial activities to advertise!).

This is history being written through the eyes of, technocrats, economists, scientists, threatened by a deadly pandemic; recording events, making suggestions, expressing hopes. These writers are invariably white collar workers, perhaps from the managerial class, with shared interests, a particular perspective and outlook. To keep the economy going, there are things to be done: working from home, social distancing, internet banking, among the ideas eagerly suggested. 

However, the vast majority locked down in their homes today are unlike; living more communally, dependent on their extended family and the social network for economic support, they are the most disadvantaged by the confinement. Many of them are casual workers, statistically in the lower income group, living on daily labour. Understandably, they are now running out of money, unsure whether there is a job to go to when the curfew is eventually lifted. Their story is unspoken of, writing is not one of their skills.

Corona is no respecter of persons 

Corona is no respecter of persons. It will give pain to the rich and the poor, the powerful and the humble, the false and the genuine, in equal measure, without discrimination. The world has been shaken up, its centres have shifted, powerful America is as hurt as unknown Djibouti in the East coast of Africa, the mighty one, suffering even more.

The sting of the virus has united humanity in their woe. And the only way out of its grasp is to be united in our efforts, for so long as it afflicts even one, none is safe. Corona’s sinister reach has shown that no man is an island, never before has John Dunne (1572-1631) rung as true:

“No man is an island,

entire of itself;

every man is a piece of the 

continent,

a part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by 

the sea,

Europe is the less,

as well as if a promontory were.

as well as if a manor of 

thy friend’s

or of thine own were.

Any man’s death diminishes me,

Because I am involved in 

mankind;

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;

It tolls for thee”