Remember last year and the whole saga of Covid-19 that came upon us like a bolt out of the blue? How could we possibly forget! Those were the days when we, the inhabitants of planet earth, arrogantly assumed that we were in full control of our destinies.
An assumption that was unceremoniously thrown out by the Coronavirus when it took over the entire world and dealt a bitter blow to the supposed custodians of our planet who are often spurred on only by the myth of their own grandeur and omnipotence.
This small, circular element of nature with a crownlike (hence the name Corona) halo of spikes has caused fear, death, and tragedy in every country across the world. Life has thrown us a curve that we cannot flatten, no matter how hard we try. And here in Malta, the surge in new cases announced daily by the health authorities remains stubbornly high in triple digits.
The Coronavirus knows no boundaries. Therefore, each and every person, starting from our head of state down to the ordinary man in the street and even the refugee, has been exposed to the risk of contagion. When policy decisions regarding the pandemic are taken by our political leaders for our health and safety the least that we, their citizens, expect is for them to consult with the medical experts. Instead, they turn to populist nationalism and use empty rhetoric just to boost their image.
This is not about the notorious waves in the sea. Neither is it about raising high hopes of a local economic bonanza only to have them dashed by the persistently high coronavirus infections. The frightening statistics speak for themselves, and behind these figures lie real human tragedies. Besides, a nation divided by populist rhetoric will only get weaker and fail.
More importantly, the Coronavirus nightmare serves as a timely reminder that Malta would have been completely left out of the EU vaccine roll-out programme had its citizens not risen above petty partisan politics and voted with a resounding yes to EU membership way back in 2003. It was one of those defining moments of history when the whole fate and future of this nation was categorically decided by a national referendum.
Arguably the pandemic has changed our lives beyond recognition and nowadays, we are often confronted by the basic questions of life. A life too precious to squander away in wasted opportunities by engaging in lengthy battles for wealth, power, and status, thereby pitting family members and colleagues against each other. Rather, we should be questioning what we have done with our lives, if anything at all, and what would we do differently in post Covid-19 times.
The extraordinary number of deaths in all ages flowing from this global tragedy warns us that our lives could be in danger of being cut short prematurely. In the meantime, we cannot afford to drop our guard. Indeed, we only live once, and we should be striving to give a deeper meaning to our lives.
Ideally, we could start by doing some serious soul-searching and asking ourselves why we have spent so little time in pursuit of what really matters for us to achieve true happiness. Perhaps we are still undecided about putting our priorities in order. For example, have we placed our health and mental well-being at the top of the list?
The Coronavirus also brought us face to face with the vulnerability of human life and we shun any physical contact with friends and relatives, even though we yearn for it, lest it leads to illness. And whoever underestimated the value of freedom will have had a change of heart by now, especially if like many others, they too have been forced into mandatory quarantine.
Despite the anti Covid-19 vaccine roll-out, millions of people across the world are still in lockdown. They are unable to visit their loved ones. Neither are they able to go to work, nor get together with all their friends, not even in public places, and what’s more, their children cannot attend school. One year on, Covid-19 still looms large like an ominous threat.
The elderly are still struggling in care homes and in the hospitals' intensive care, cruelly separated from their families and left to die alone. But having said that, we will be forever indebted to many people in our society whose roles are often taken for granted, like for example, our doctors and nurses for their unfailing dedication and who step in to comfort our dying relatives in their final moments.
Like, for example other hospital staff who are responsible for the non-medical care of patients and the maintenance of order and cleanliness. Like all those who work in our supermarkets, stacking shelves and freezers with foodstuffs, as well as those sitting at the cashpoint checkout. Like delivery persons bringing take-out dinners straight to our door. Like all our teachers who place their students’ progress and welfare before their own. Like our men and women in blue who soldier on without fear or favour. And like so many unacknowledged volunteers offering daily assistance to our vulnerable citizens.
If I were to draw a parallel between the coronavirus pandemic and the times we are living in, I would say that it is essentially about care and respect. All people are created in the image of God and, therefore, worthy of care and respect. The untimely loss of human life during the pandemic caused much grief and sorrow to our world. But it has responded with unprecedented benevolence in many of our communities. Ordinary men and women whose courage and endurance often go unrecognised and who selflessly serve to safeguard our way of life.
One day, we shall awake in the post Covid-19 world, but we must remember to take all these countless acts of kindness with us. Like a chain passed on from one person to another that will remain unbroken as long as people just keep doing it. Compassion and a show of humanity is not weakness. Rather, it inspires solidarity and encourages the basic goodness in our midst, offering hope for a better future.