OPINION PIECE - The lockdown cabin fever has now been replaced by a constant emotional to and fro between panic and “it is what it is”. I’m no longer talking about the boredom and aimless loitering around the house anymore; it is the immense economic impact this virus is having on all of us. We are fighting two battles: surviving the virus and surviving the financial infection of this lockdown.
The boat we are all in together is sinking fast and our proverbial ship isn't coming in.
The sitrep is no longer how we are keeping our children or ourselves busy, but trying to find ways of easing the financial stress to keep food on the table. The problem with this is, is that most options involve stacking up the responsibilities or just shifting the piles to the not-so-distant future.
Some periods in the day, especially after president Cyril Ramaphosa extended the lockdown by a further two weeks, I am stricken with panic until a wave of “I can’t do anything about it, so worrying is useless” washes over, and so the cycle continues.
I’m trying to look at the lessons we can learn from this, to keep sane. One thing we are probably all getting a glimpse of is how it feels to be part of the majority South Africans who live below the breadline every day of their lives. While I hope this is a temporary situation, many citizens are dealing with this day in and day out.
It really hit me like a ton of bricks while doing an interview with someone the other day for a story on a feeding initiative for those who have nothing. I completely sobbed like a baby for most of the conversation after the woman told me about the immense joy two little siblings showed when they received a litre of milk. It is no extraordinary milk, or flavoured milk – it was a plain old carton of milk which would expire the next day. Children of that age should be happy about a surprise treat or a new toy, not about receiving something as simple and necessary as milk. My heart broke and I felt ashamed for complaining about our current situation.
So while our ship is sinking, let us not forget that others’ have gone down a long time ago and they are now unable to keep head above water.
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