Of Pandemics, Suffering and Civil Unrests, I too will die, but for now, I must live!!

 Welcome

Lets do a quick catch up, I still work in a dayjob, I am once, twice, three times an Aunt to the most amazing nieces ever. I write this from Abuja, Nigeria and (scratch head smiley) we are all caught up, I think. 

Believe it or not, this is a festive post as expected this time of the year. :-) but it also touches on the biggest and most consistent concern of the world today, which is still the Covid Pandemic. There is so many online chatter covering the words, 2020, coronavirus,  medication, isolation, vaccine Covid Pandemic. Look, the subject matter is so broad,there is just too much to discuss, to unpack, that cannot fit nicely in a single blogpost and, yes, I feel we havent seen the worst of it, nor the best of it, cynics are gonna cynic, hopeless romantics are gonna romance :P.

MILLIONS of people died, are dying as a direct result of being infected by the virus, while the rest of us are also dying from the ripple effect the pandemic has on the Global Economy.

I think  perspective is intriguing as well as necessary. Sometimes it helps to speak with friends that become like family, random strangers on social media that become like friends,  from around the world. Take for instance, my lovely friend, up there in the photo , who I will term a 'First Worlder', fw is very worried that there are many more food banks now, than there has ever been, to cater to people on benefits in the United Kingdom. She is concerned at the number of people lining up, hoping to have food to eat. She resides in the UK, where such things are a given. The word, 'no one should go to sleep hungry' is actually a true statement. Whereas I am in Abuja, and while the coronavirus didnt hit us here as deeply as it did the rest of the world, the rippling, devastating effects definitely got to us. There are no food banks here, no relief, no palliatives, a lot of uncertainty, rise in criminal activities, rise in white collar and blue collar crimes, chaos, riots, demonstrations, lawful and unlawful killings, Kidnapping and Fraud as a 'stable business', conspiracy theories and mob mentality. A lot of people lost their regular jobs, or their businesses. And even within that deep loss, there is still a class consisting of the terminally sick, the poorest of the poor, the internally displaced and the very vulnerable and so on. 

When I go out and about, I see eyes and body language that reads as hungry, sick, poor, desperate, and angry. I am more of an empath so I SEE the light of life being gradually dimmed in many faces. I do what I can but I dont delude myself as to how quickly I can fall into this very demographic as described. Yes, I too will die, sometimes it looks like the better option, but first I must live.

When people are hungry and angry, distrust authorities, have one voice and organised, there will be civil unrests. Civil unrests leading to more suffering, and suffering itself killing so many many many people. Their survivors seek refuge or vengeance, sometimes both. 



Here is another perspective from another 'First Worlder' in reaction to major events that rocked his world.

2020 is not uniquely bad. 2021 will be worse and so-on. There’s this thing called *cause and effect.* It’s literally how everything in our entire universe works.

The civil unrest is a byproduct of the failures of late-stage capitalism; the result, not the cause.

The weather events are a byproduct of climate change, which scientists have been warning us about since the 1870s, only to fall on the deaf ears of greedy opportunists.

Our treading deeper into fascism is the byproduct of electing a fascist in 2016, who was only elected as the result of decades of railroading and policy failure by both parties.

The police brutality is the byproduct of classism and systemic racism that has been around since this country’s inception.

The stupidity and ignorance is the byproduct of underfunding education for decades, and the refusal of television and social media companies to implement any major stopgaps for misinformation and misleading propaganda. Nefarious people benefit from a dumbed down and confused populace.

The paranoia about “socialism” is the byproduct of the aforementioned subversion of education and media literacy as well as post-9/11 xenophobia, and the lie about “the shining city on a hill.”

So it helps to remember that there are actual, real-world reasons these things are happening. Don’t lose your mind and/or spiral down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole to rationalize it all with false, nonsensical, convenient, feel-good solutions. Everything is happening for a reason, and I mean that in the most literal and least metaphysical way possible.

Stay focused, stay sane, maintain your principles, and be ready for things to get way worse, because they absolutely will. We are heading into the most dangerous years of our lives. There’s no time left to despair. Keep your head up. We will get through this if we all put in the effort."

Originally shared by Cheston Neilson; who is speaking as an American, copied and reposted a whole bunch of times by friends of friends till it got to this blog.

Looking at the first line of his paragraph, it appears as if my post here seems even more relevant in this time. I agree with his last line too.

Anyway, my name today is Mena, and this is a tough 'ask' but let us try, to bring peace to people on earth. If you will not give, at least dont humiliate, if you wont better the next person, at least dont hurt/harm them in anyway, if you are a psychopath, who derives pleasure from suffering, please suffer thine own self. If you are the 1% of the 1% who benefits from any global crisis and wars, life na turn by turn,you either use your power and influence to become a hero or live long enough to be the villain and treated exactly like a villain.

May the sick recuperate, May the dead rest in perfect peace.

Wishing one and all continuous good health, peace and fulfilment. May your wishes come true. And may you and yours have more merry Christmases and well rounded new year!