MY TAKE
DO YOU KNOW A REAL-LIFE HERO?
Image credit: STREETWINDY BUI from Pexels.
By SHAGORIKA EASWAR
A young couple was walking down the street. A baby in a stroller, a toddler running along and a large dog, walking sedately beside the group.
As there was no way all of them were going to be able to fall into a single line as people approaching each other on a walkway tend to do, my husband and I stepped on to the road to let them pass.
“Hello, social-distancing neighbours!” called out the man with a cheery wave. “Thank you for giving us our four metres!”
And just like that, the fact that a new expression has become part of our vocabulary was brought home. 9/11 gave us “new normal”. COVID- 19 has given us social distancing.
But is social distancing in Canada the same as social distancing in, say, India? All newcomers to Canada are astonished at the (wasted!) space between people in line-ups. A normal line-up here would be extreme social distancing in India.
But then many things are relative. We’ve all heard that Canada has an ageing population. Yet, recently, a friend’s daughter who lived, studied and worked in Canada and now lives in Italy had this to say: “Italy has an older population, so it’s more at risk. Canada is young, it’s safer.”
My mother had the habit of tapping her head and saying, “Touch wood!” when counting the family’s blessings or congratulating anyone on exceptional good fortune. “I’m not superstitious,” she’d claim, “but why take the chance?”
Back home safely from a trip to India to visit family and friends, I find myself doing the same, thinking about nazar (evil eye) and wondering if I’ll jinx us in some way with all the “thank goodness we squeaked in and out by a whisker” that I am doing. But really, if a niece’s wedding had been in early March instead of February, things could have panned out so differently. When we landed in Delhi, they were just screening passengers from a few countries including China, Iran and Italy. Soon after, they started mandatory screening of all passengers on all flights from all countries. Then they cancelled all tourist visas and now they’re saying anyone showing symptoms has to be in official quarantine in a facility, not self-isolation.
I worry that I sound selfish, celebrating our safe return when there are so many caught in such dire straits. But it’s only when one has a narrow escape that the meaning of “there but for the grace of god go I” truly resonates.
During his first press conference on March 16, prime minister Trudeau looked the cameras in the eye and said, “If you’re abroad, it’s time to come home”. One might have asked, how, with airlines cutting back or cancelling flights, leaving passengers scrambling for options.
They’ve closed schools and daycare centres, for several weeks, maybe longer, as I write this. Some people can work from home, some can recruit family and friends as emergency baby-sitters, but what about those who can’t do that? What about the frontline responders who have to go to work to keep others safe? Who is looking after their kids?
I couldn’t help but notice that at the press conference held by ministers just after the prime minister’s remarks, they weren’t sitting the recommended three feet apart. Not quibbling here, but that same social distancing is shutting down businesses left, right and centre, causing unimaginable hardships to business owners and all whom they hire.
Unless they run a grocery store or are in the business of hoarding and selling hand wipes (and shame on those who did that), people are going to be in trouble.
My friend Pankaj Mehra sent me a link to an article, 9 Things Canadian Governments Can Do to Avoid a “Social Distancing" Economic Tragedy. In it, Jon Shell, Managing Director and Partner at Social Capital Partners, writes that across the economy, temporary and part-time staff are being laid off. Freelance work is being postponed. This means no income at all for a significant number of people – more than a third of Canada’s workforce is in something other than a full-time job. For many of them, EI won’t be helpful; few people who are self-employed or freelancers are even eligible for employment insurance. Meanwhile, their expenses haven’t changed. Rent, debt payments, utilities – all of that continues to be due.
Yes, the government has promised financial relief, but how far will the 80-plus billion dollars take us when a large chunk of the population needs help?
Canada is applying lessons learnt from the SARS crisis of 2003 to the current one. It is taking a nuanced approach, which is to be welcomed. But the unanswered questions only grow in numbers as we hope that this, too, shall pass.
As South African futurist Greame Codrington says in a video that Dr Vicki Bismilla shared with me, we are only as protected and safe as the most vulnerable among us. We are in this together. And so, as economist and Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee said in a recent interview on an Indian television channel, this is the time to roll out help for those that need it the most, we can leave the forensics (my add-on) about who really needs it and who was selfish enough to scam the system for later.
We have to be grateful for the good samaritans among us – and that they exist in much larger numbers than the hoarders and the price gougers. People offering to do grocery runs or walk dogs for older neighbours. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association launched a nationwide Neighbourhood Helper campaign to help those who need assistance with picking up groceries, filling prescriptions and providing overall moral support.
“It is crucial for Canadians to come together and support each other during these difficult and uncertain times,” said Zubair Afzal, national president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association Canada.
Meanwhile, a video clip of Naveed Shazad, the deputy commissioner of Hafizabad in Pakistan, earnestly belting out Daro na daro na (Don’t panic) to the tune of the Shah Rukh Khan hit Suno na suna na, is going viral. If only there was a hero waiting in the wings to rescue us all.
Canadians who require assistance are encouraged to call 1-855-HELP-811 or sign up on www.helpingneighbours.com.
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