Safely situated in Benin, I realized in the very early stages of the Coronavirus epidemic that I had been afforded a strange luxury. Tucked away in my unlikely safe haven, without the constant fear of imminent infection, I could look past the immediate impact of the new Coronavirus. Instead, thanks to the emotional distance afforded by my physical location far away from the major epicenters, I was able to place my focus beyond the here and now, and found myself increasingly reflective, ruminating more broadly about the path we had taken to get to where we were today. I wondered how did this microscopic entity bring the world’s biggest health care systems and economies to their knees in the blink of an eye?
Stunned as life came to a grinding halt in European and American cities where I had visited and lived before, I began looking for answers beyond the deadly nature of the Coronavirus itself, focusing instead on the lives we had created for ourselves long before its arrival. Lives defined by constant consumption. Lives that had often sought validation on social media, through incessant irresponsible travel and a need to attend mega money-pumping sporting and cultural events. I realized that the Corona crisis was compelling me to look more closely at the world. In doing so it had awakened a critical consciousness, which revealed the destructive nature of many of the mainstays of our modern times.
As a new reality has settled in many cities around the world – defined by masked faces and indefinite isolation – I’ve been witnessing from my perch abroad, that with the passage of time, many others have also been readjusting their focus. People are becoming more cognizant and critical of the fault lines in their societies, laid bare by COVID-19. In addition to forcing us to hunker down and cover up, the virus is simultaneously uncovering – for the more discerning among us to see – our most inane and pernicious practices as human beings. If one were to try to find a silver lining in the dark destructive cloud that is COVID 19, this would be it. Thanks to the physical isolation that has become our new norm, the Coronavirus has ushered in a much-needed period of collective reflection and introspection. Stuck in our homes, with our distractions dwindling, it seems we are finally starting to look more closely at the world in which we live- its failings becoming more obvious and less acceptable.
Above all else, the world’s new microscopic menace seems to have magnified the chasm between the haves and the have nots. People are taking note as well-off families have been fleeing urban hot-pots, heading to more spacious secondary homes while the majority of poor city dwellers are going stir-crazy in cramped living quarters. People are also realizing the injustice of characterizing COVID-19 as “the great-equalizer”. While anyone may become infected, it is the most disenfranchised among us who will suffer disproportionately from its effects on their well-being and wallets. Many unsalaried workers around the world, if they have not already been laid off, are being forced to make tough choices wealthier families won’t have to – go out to work and risk infection or stay home without pay. They don’t have the luxury of working from home, with a guaranteed salary day after day as the pandemic drags on. Their children, already on the wrong side of the digital divide, are now being left further behind as classes move online.
People are also finally waking up to see the stupidity behind the praise and adoration we’ve been doling out to self-serving celebrities. The virus has exposed many unconscionable egomaniacs in their ranks, who have sought and received testing far more rapidly than average citizens and health care workers who are more urgently in need. The virus has also unmasked the hypocrisy and idiocy of this lot. Offering rallying cries for solidarity, they’ve revealed from the comfort of their luxurious homes, how disconnected they’ve become from the rest of us, and how undeserving they are of the vast wealthy they have accumulated, which few have put to good use during the pandemic.
In West Africa, while we have remained relatively untouched by the pandemic, the virus has also made some poignant though unsurprising revelations. Recently, revealing the perpetuation of paternalistic perceptions about Africa, two French scientists blithely suggested that the continent serve as a testing ground for a possible Coronavirus vaccine. Describing the entire continent using trite colonial tropes, the scientists portrayed a landscape completely bereft of the medical equipment needed to combat the virus, and drew a parallel to AIDS studies, previously conducted on prostitutes, “who do not protect themselves”. The fallout from their comments came fast and with great fury. As the video of their discussion began making the rounds on social media, incensed Africans reminded the scientists that they were not guinea pigs and the continent was not Europe’s testing grounds. I was equally troubled by the scientists’ blanket statements, which demonstrated an ignorance of the reality on the ground in different African countries.
Africa remains the continent the least affected by the new Coronavirus. Nevertheless, in anticipation of a worst-case scenario here, governments in the region have been mobilizing the resources at their disposal to stymie the spread of the virus as best as they can, drawing on lessons from the Ebola outbreak in 2014 . In Benin, people have been heeding instructions issued by the health authorities to wash their hands rigorously and wear masks in public spaces. In my recent outings around Cotonou, I was comforted in seeing people making regular use of hand washing stations set up in local business around the city. This past weekend, I was immediately offered hand sanitizer upon my arrival at the local supermarket, where decals had been placed on the floor designating the recommended distance to be observed between shoppers. Recently, in an effort to stem the spread of the virus, the government has put in place a cordon sanitaire strategy, to isolate Benin’s major cities from the rest of the country.
When I began writing this post, there had been only two cases in Benin, and life had yet to be severely curtailed by the extreme preventive measures that had been put in place in other parts of the world. This week, as the number of infections has grown to twenty-six, stricter measures have been put in place. Most recently there has been a mandatory prescription for the wearing of masks in public spaces. Still, while the virus has ravaged elsewhere, life here, has for the most part, remained untouched by the Coronavirus blight. Yet, in the first days of the pandemic, as news arrived of the worsening situation in Europe and North America, many of my expat friends in the country were making the irrational decision to pack up and ship out, prematurely abandoning development missions to improve the socio-economic situation in this least developed country. In what could become a time of great need for the country, they chose to leave. Fleeing the country, they preferred to take the risk of exposing themselves to possible infection during transit, heading back to home countries where the virus continues to claim an increasing number of lives. I was surprised to learn that our neighbors of four years, who had worked with one of the biggest development agencies in the country, had left abruptly without even saying good bye. One of the first amongst our group of friends to return to Europe was the head of a large European NGO, whose area of focus is in global health. Had they gotten wind of a possible impending doom? The concerns of the potentially deadly impact the virus could have here in West Africa, where health care systems struggle to provide adequate services to citizens in normal times, are valid. Yet, I’m inclined to believe that the abrupt departure of my friends, in the face of facts that indicate staying put would be the more rational choice, points to an embarrassing truth about the nature of development work – when the going gets tough, many “dedicated do-gooders” simply get going.
The panic that has washed over Europe and North America has not yet reached our shores, in part because the local population here does not have the privilege to panic. The majority of the country’s workforce is in the informal sector. Theirs was a reality already defined by the uncertainty that comes with hand to mouth living. In this regard, their lives have remained unchanged. And so, displaying a steely resolve, they’ve continued their daily activities, virtually uninterrupted, because they have no choice. There won’t be any big economic rescue package coming from the government to boost the economy and supplement their daily earnings. If they are forced into isolation their families will face starvation.
While many of us have been rightly enraged by these revelations, many others, understandably overwhelmed by the impact the virus is having on their daily lives, have not come to confront the societal ills the virus has unveiled in its wake. It would be naive to anticipate a radical restructuring of the world when the pandemic finally peters outs. Still, one can only hope that the collective critical consciousness that the Coronavirus has awakened, will persist in the post-pandemic world.
