Usually, I would wake up at 5:30
AM to get prepared for work; I prefer leaving much earlier to beat the traffic
which gets heavy as parents are dropping their kids to different schools. I
would catch a minibus where we would be packed like bags of Maize; traffic
police would stop each minibus because there is always a higher probability
that the bus has exceeded its carrying capacity. This did not bother me at all;
my concern is getting to my working place in time.
As soon as the first case of
COVID-19 was confirmed I could feel the panic and the fear all around me, people
started paying more attention to anyone who would cough or sneeze. The
government responded with a number of measures including instructing public
transport operators to reduce their carrying capacity by half. This measure was
met with outcry as the minibus operators’ responded saying that the measure
will be a financial burden on their part. Almost everyone agreed that this
measure is financially unsustainable. The government then responded by reducing
the price of fuel, petrol price dropped from MK930 to MK690.50.
When I saw the report by Malawi's
Institute of Public Opinion and Research (Ipor) about Malawians not afraid of
Corona virus I was not shocked rather I started reflecting on how all the
preventive measures are being followed by the public, including me. My COVID
routine starts at 7:30 AM waking up, then a little bit of just staying in bed
thinking of what to do till 8:30 AM. Then I remember of my errands for that day.
After the morning check in with my supervisor I will usually check emails and
any online activities I can accomplish at home, then I get ready to go to town.
From my house to the bus depot I use a bike taxi, with the operator not wearing
a mask and that makes me take out mine to avoid feeling out of place the whole
way. I get in the minibus the driver charges me 50% more than what I used to
pay, ‘these corona days we take half the carrying capacity’ the driver would
say to justify the increase of the bus fare. After a short distance the drive
will stop picking up more people and I usually argue against it, making the
rest of the trip noisy and boring.
When I get to town I have to wash
hands before I enter any and every shop. If I have to get money from the bank I
first have to stand on a line outside the bank to wash my hand, then another
line when I get inside. After I get some money I call a friend to meet up for a
drink or two. At this point I am not in a mood of going home. Two beers end up
being more then the next day I wake up very lazy, feeling less productive.
COVID-19 has reduced the purpose of life, when will this end? What will happen
if cases continue to increase? What is happening in the world? I ask myself
these questions feeling helpless.
This story is based on
experiences of Hezrone Tung’ande, compiled by Elias Gaveta through a project supported
by an Open Society Foundations grant managed by the Centre for Applied Human
Rights - University of York (UK) [Art + Activism Against Repression During the
Covid-19 Crisis
Conservation Arts Malawi presents
‘What is this?’ (Chikuchitika ndi chani?) poems composed and performed by Zinja
and Ed
https://www.malawi-music.com/C/2892-conservation-music-malawi/8527-what-is-it
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