A circumstance incidental to learning from mistakes by many people regrettably entails
repercussions in due course. Such situation has far reaching and indirect harmful consequences on the erring party.
Negligence, in adequately calculating the outcome of our everyday activities, costs us tremendously, even our precious life irretrievably. Failure to take proper care or lack of precaution is what should be avoided by all in every situation. Our mind is given to us to make the best use of it during a trying time such as the current pandemic.
The question forwarded by our conscience, related to our actions, must be answered at once without procrastination. We need not to delay or keep on putting off what should be done at the right time straight away. Laziness is our worst enemy that encroaches upon our wellbeing at every turn of life. We need to stand up to it boldly to avoid the on-coming disaster that cannot be surmounted by regret. It will be too late to express feelings of loss to the thing carelessly handled. A premeditated act in everything we do, its reward, inestimable and its price so much so, and its value, too high to be measured.
Our world, at this intensive moment, is in dire crisis. It is in turning point in life, history, and illness of an unknown origin. Everything within human scientific and financial capacity is being brought forth to quell the devastation that is intent on wiping out human race from the face of the earth. Virus, the poisonous element that causes the spread of infectious disease is let loose on our planet without any form of check. No superpower or advanced weapon or military strategy is able to stand up to it at all. The latest, twenty first century medical sophistication, stands nowhere close to its might. It defies every rule the highest scientific inventions have enacted or decreed. No rule of law, at all, subdues it and it is at large. No place on the globe is safe. It is utterly impossible for people to flee to seek asylum elsewhere. This element, by the name of Novel Corona Virus (CNVID -19), triumphantly imposes its oppressive rule, the rule of terror on humanity. Because of this, to a great extent, we still are at the mercy of nature (if at all Corona Virus has anything to do with natural disaster), as anyone who reads the newspapers or watches nightly news broadcasts can attest.
Corona Virus Pandemic continues to exact a heavy toll in sufferings and death, especially in the highly developed countries like Italy, Spain and the United States, to mention a few, despite their considerable scientific knowledge of the working of the physical world.
Science has offered little protection fromthe consequences of Corona Virus disaster Perhaps that’s because it’s scale and power of natural disaster forces us, individuals, to confront our relatively insignificant place in the physical world and reminds us of the fragility and transience of our lives.
Perhaps it’s because we can imagine ourselves being in the midst of dire circumstances and wonder how we would respond. Perhaps it’s because disasters seem to bring out the best and the worst instincts of humanity: cowardice and courage, generosity and greed, altruism and selfishness. The instincts possess contrasting qualities. Evidently, we daily witness the opposite reactions of people to the crisis. Thus, while some, despite the widespread of unfounded information, defy the restrictions of fear, rise to the severe attacks of the virus by designing various combating strategies to make a stop to it. Their moves are based on the directives proposed by the government. The others, on the opposite pole, do not react to what is happening and they are rather oblivious of the development around them. Indifferent to the fast spreading of the virus, they lead their life as if nothing has happened and at the same time turning deaf ears to the precautionary instructions by the government.
They live in their own dreamland expecting solutions to the problem miraculously happen. They do not play active role in the activities related to the pandemic but sit back and watch while the vigilant groups (God bless them) struggle to cope with the infectious attack of the virus. True cowardice is nothing other than this.
There are others who own nobility and greatness of mind; they exhibit high character and qualities. They do not desire for more than what is right or reasonable as the greedy ones do. Humans vary in the way they react to trying situations like now. Some consider the well-being and happiness of others first and theirs next. They put themselves first in the face of the uncertainty of life, especially at this time of crisis of the contagion that is intent on destroying lives; they opt for self-denial or sacrificing their advantages for the sake of others. As we read in the newspapers and daily watch television, many kind-hearted citizens coming forth to show their love for their country by donating money, buildings, vehicles and the like to stand by the government in the fight against the Corona Virus infection. There are those who cannot follow the example of the kind people; they chiefly think of and are interested in one’s own need and welfare without caring for others no matter what; they act from virtually selfish motives. Selflessly allowing fellow citizens to have good health and comfort literally means nothing to such people.
Even the situation in our country, where the number of the infected people appears considerably low, still the gradual surge of the infected is the kind that should not be handled carelessly. Corona virus is an indomitable enemy that cannot be reckoned with. As far as the present situation is concerned, it is unlikely to subdue it even with modern advanced medical treatment. Science seems to have lagged behind in the race with the contagion. No earthly measure, so far, has been able to deter it from killing people. Its present condition indicates that it is an uninvited guest all over. In fact, it is a burglar in character. Yet it does not choose the time when to break into the victims’ health. Normally, burglars break into a house at night for fear that they will be caught.
Corona is never selective of what it does and where it goes. It is ever ready, to impose its vicious acts, in broad daylight filling the people with forlorn hope. There is no formality with it; no strict attention to rules, forms and conventions. The virus is such a rude element that it has no respect for elders, celebrities and dignitaries; thus, it has shamelessly ventured into the British Prime Minister’s office unchecked. Even the grandeur of Buckingham Palace has little deterring effect on it and allowed it to infect the highly placed prince in the United Kingdom and the world at large. On the other hand, the squalor of the slums and the ghettos means nothing to it, it finds home everywhere on this planet. Corona Virus is never grateful to the hospitality accorded it through hand washing, personal distancing, use of masks, sanitary facility arrangements, staying home and all the rest. Yet, it is virtually intent on victimizing more and more people. To quell the destruction of this pestilence, tens of hundreds of brave medical workers and volunteers are on the frontline.
The magnitude of harms the pandemic cause to the world is inestimable and it does not stop there; the chain of actions and reactions is weakening the economy of the world. Various economic sectors such as the airlines, tourist industries, manufacturing industries, flower industries are hard hit. Unless God reveals the appropriate wisdom and inspire the scientists to come up with drastic solution, to wipe out this cruelest enemy of the human race from the face of the earth once and for all, the fatality of the virus will linger about for unlimited period of time to cause more human loss.
Drastic measures are taking place in Ethiopia to contain the contagion of the virus; kind-hearted wealthy citizens, on top of the donation of a huge amount of money, further donate buildings for the hospitalization of the victims in line with the problem-alleviation program of the government. There are also some who donated their vehicles for the same cause. We all stand head-and-shoulder above our enemy, COVID- 19. The united we stand, the divided we fall. Unite peoples of the world!!
The Ethiopia Herald May 8,2020
BY JOSEPH SOBOKA
