A new silence…
By Teresa Millich, (former intern)
There it is again, the harrowing reminder that we have not yet mastered our humanity. The pursuit of control, the illusion of superiority, in the end just distanced us from it further.
Humanity, our most essential, arguably most important characteristic. Buried under the flood of information, the loud rattling and groaning of automated everyday life, the mantra ringing in the ears, the treacherous anesthetic: always more, higher, faster…
Now it’s different. A new silence made prisoners of ourselves. In the time of Covid-19, you can no longer look away. You can’t get away from yourself, your house, your family. Everything shrinks into a small cosmos. On streets with only a handful of people, fearful eyes peaking over facemasks, no focus, the silence sometimes becomes unbearable. The silence is treacherous and tells us about failing structures and systems that we have created, systems that now surfaced, and became very visible.
My roommate and I bought houseplants, perhaps because we sometimes got the feeling of not being able to breathe anymore. Down the street, down at the retirement home, the pain of not being able to meet our loved ones anymore. Even when loosening of the lockdown rules is in sight, the numbers of newly infected and the deceased create further uncertainty and unrest. The university is closed, only virtual communication is taking place, the strong desire to be taken into someone’s arms, at a time when at least 1.50m distance needs to be in place is paining.
The sound of ventilators haunts you in your sleep. You hear of people who have survived the virus and who died. Fortunately, the survival rate is very high, this due to the health system having not collapsed yet. But still, somehow fear has entered many people’s lives.
For me, a young person, around 20, it is the duel between security and freedom. To save lives, restraint is preached on all channels. Sometimes you come across the limits of this restraint and you catch yourself leaning towards pointlessness.
And then looking forward. After this crisis, how can we ensure that we don’t forget that the virus has no nationality and does not make any distinctions. That it is not humanity against the virus, it is humanity against itself. My hope at this time remains that this crisis shows us that we are vulnerable human beings. And that we are primarily citizens of one world.
It’s good to give a smile to the cashier in the supermarket behind the glass separation, while getting groceries for your older neighbor, to encourage everyone from a safe distance and to know that you can play your positive part.