Is this pandemic a blessing in disguise? Has this non-partisan, democratic, unwanted, uninvited global trotting global citizen, who doesn’t hold a valid passport or visa, the one who doesn’t distinguish between the rich or poor, caste, creed, religion, colour of skin, or nationality brought us together? Yes, indeed it has.
Just containing the virus or developing vaccines are not good enough. You need a long-term plan to combat this menace. Remember, thousands of viruses in slumber can wake up when the conditions are right. If the current scenario is to be taken as a yardstick, the world is not ready to face such a holocaust.
It’s the time to think pragmatically, without any bias. We all know that this virus originated in China, but we cannot hold them responsible as viruses can grow and spread from anywhere; they wait for the right time and environment to spread. Today, it could be China; tomorrow, it could be Europe, Africa or the Americas. We have seen it in the past, and SARS, MERS, and Ebola are the best examples, as these viruses were first identified in China, Saudi Arabia, and Africa.
Are we prepared for this? We were all left flabbergasted by the destructive capability of the virus. We never learn from our past mistakes; the spread of the Ebola virus in Africa is the most significant testimony. However, it was contained successfully; we never took any proactive steps after that. We forgot such a thing had happened as most of us considered this as Africa-centric.
Access to knowledge is a fundamental human right. Let us share our knowledge and experience to fight such epidemics by sharing information, vaccines, medical equipment and other essentials. The greediness and selfishness of multinational pharmaceuticals should stop. They should be selfless and have the mindset to help mankind and stay united during these testing times.
Resources and expertise should be shared selflessly, and people should take this opportunity to serve mankind in the best possible way that each one can, and it could be things like staying at home, social distancing or donating money to organisations taking care of the affected people. The existence of mankind is at risk, and this is not the time to think commercially. Just imagine what we will do with the trillions of dollars we generate when mankind will not be there to enjoy the fruits of his labor.
Being an optimist, I am sure that this pandemic will bring the peoples of this world together, and this world will be a better place to live. The chasm between the haves and have-nots will decrease considerably as rich nations will be sharing resources selflessly for the first time in history. No child will go hungry or die of malnutrition. During this crisis, most of the rich nations have unlocked trillions of dollars into the system to overcome the situation.
Even after this crisis, nations will be ready to pump in resources to share with other poorer countries. Humankind will realise the futility of war as this small virus has taught us a lesson; even with thousands of nuclear warheads enough to destroy this universe a hundred times over, we have not found even a single weapon (read vaccines/medicines), which shows how human we are. We will overcome this crisis soon with the present control measures in place. This is not a utopian dream; it is reality, and I hope the world leaders will realise the importance of living in peace with each other for the sustenance of Mother Earth and humanity.
