Corona

The corona virus shows us how arrogant we human beings really are. In spite of our enormous technical progress, we are not able to beat a microscopic virus which holds us all hostage. We think we can beat this by an almost world-wide quarantine. But are we any more able to beat this than we could beat the pest ravaging countries in the dark Middle Ages? We know a lot more about hygiene, viruses, bacteria and other ailments which attack and affect us. We can perform very intricate operations, technically we have come a long way. But we are still baffled when it comes to auto immune diseases and viruses. This outbreak and the ensuing fear show that we can’t control our lives, although we think we can. It also shows that we have become far too dependent on eastern countries for a lot of our products. Countries with cheap labour, for we have become very greedy. Money is everything. We – the Dutch – have converted good arable land into golf courses, because that is far more profitable than farming. We have closed well-working hospitals with an excellent reputation out of financial motives. We underpay nurses, healthcare workers, teachers. All we want is making money. Hospitals, schools, universities don’t make money, they are an investment for the future. They are there to keep the population in good health, to educate people, so that as adults they can contribute to the community. In order to achieve that, we have to spend money, but it is an excellent investment. With this health scare which by now has become pandemic, we have not got enough hospital beds, health care workers, nurses and doctors to cope with such an vast calamity. Under normal circumstances we already have long waiting lists in the hospitals which are left us.  It is rumoured that not every patient may get the treatment which is needed. Choices have to be made. Whether that is true or not, we have let our social system corrode.

Why is the government so concerned about the spread of this virus? Is it the loss of lives? But the mortality may mainly be amongst the elderly. So, do they care? Or is it the economic disaster? The value of stocks and shares has plummeted overnight. It scares the powerful financial organisations, the banking world.

Corona is a real threat, no doubt about it. The number of patients is rising every day, and for the elderly it is a killer virus. Still there are many things I do not understand. So many people die of starvation every day! I bet that number is much higher than the number of fatalities due to Corona. And what about the many refugees, for years living under unmentionable and inhuman circumstances, without regular medical aid, normal hygiene, and without hope. They are not mentioned at all. Are we not all humans? As a child I did not understand the concept of borders. The world was there for all of us. How could a country forbid people to live in it? Who decided on borders and why? Nomadic peoples have always roamed the planet. It seems a natural way of life. How can we forbid people to live where they want to because they are seeking a better life for their children? How can we let them rot in no-man’s-land, prisoners between two borders? How can we ignore them? I do not know an easy solution, but sending people back to a country where they are sure to be killed or die of starvation and hardship, isn’t one of them. We should be utterly ashamed of ourselves. I haven’t heard about corona being rampant in the refugee camps. Are they corona free, or do we simply not care? I wonder.