Transcending pandemic
Letter from Kenya’s Ambassador to China: Our concerns were given priority and utmost care during COVID-19
The holding of the two sessions, China’s most important political events, after a two-month delay due to COVID-19, underscores the very important fact that China has completely managed to contain the epidemic and its ravages. These events are a loud statement on the excellent handling of the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic.
Kenya salutes China for successful engagement through these top governance organs – the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) – and the milestones achieved in period under review. From the report, it is quite clear that China has remained focused on the overall development agenda of the country’s achievement of the overall socioeconomic development amid the turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic. I was most impressed that, even amid the coronavirus scourge, China has kept eyes on the ball – on course to eradicating absolute poverty as per target by the end of 220.
Since the official announcement and report to the World Health Organization (WHO) of discovery of novel coronavirus on December 31, 2019, China’s management and control of the spread of the virus has been outstanding. Five months down the line, the near-complete eradication of the virus is evident. The flattening of the curve happened within a month and complete control of deaths in two months, a feat unparalleled in this unprecedented scourge that has ravaged the world.
The handling of information and communication around COVID-19 by concerned departments in China – keeping all the stakeholders in the loop, including the diplomatic community – has been exceptional. We have learnt, by example, the management and control of COVID-19, lockdown of most affected areas, contact tracing, mobilizing of communities to check the spread, speedy response to suspected/reported cases, testing and hospitalisation, and the use of technology to give real time updates on the status of the population and their movements.
When I took up my position in Beijing as the Ambassador of the Republic of Kenya 15 months ago, there were all indications that it was a busy station and rolling the sleeves was the next natural thing to do. Nothing prepared me however on what was to unfold. What has transpired until now in my tour of duty has been much more, beyond my wildest imagination.
Kenya and China enjoy a relationship that is growing exponentially by the day. In the last one year, we have engaged bilaterally in business and trade, exchange of high-level visits and top joint mutual multilateral assignments. All these diplomatic endeavours were on a high-octane level and when December of 2019 came, I wouldn’t wait to be away and take what I was certain was a well-deserved rest.
My holiday was however cut short when just before the Spring Festival and Chinese New Year, novel coronavirus was said to be spreading at an alarming rate and a complete lockdown of Wuhan had been done including many other partial lockdowns across the country. Kenya had about 100 students caught up in Wuhan’s lockdown. As I followed these developments from my countryside home in Kenya, it became apparent that as the Ambassador I needed to be back in my duty station.
I flew back at a time when the world was starting to feel the heat of COVID-19. There were numerous cancellations of flights and the usual hustle and bustle at airports was missing. My immediate task was to engage the Chinese authorities on how best to proceed to manage the fast-evolving scenario while safeguarding the interests of Kenyans. This is when I came face-to-face with Chinese generosity and the human face of the government. Amidst the thousand cases of students in Wuhan, the authorities gave our concerns and those of other foreign nationals, priority and utmost care. The students were provided with food, all necessities and those needed medical attention were catered for. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Hubei Foreign Affairs Office and the Chinese Embassy in Nairobi all came through to help the students in an outstanding show of care and concern.
The pressure on what to do with the students got heightened when countries started flying out their nationals from Wuhan and advising their nationals to leave China altogether. The fear of evacuation was the exposure of the students to the virus and possible export to motherland which at the time was not prepared to handle the pandemic.
There was a good level of assurance, however, from how Chinese authorities were handling the issue. The students on the other hand, were reaching their wits end because of the lockdown but talking to them on a constant basis allowed them to vent out emotions. It was indeed a tough time but together we surmounted it.
The final hurdle was facilitation of Kenyan diaspora whose stay in China because of the consequences of COVID-19 had become untenable. The host government played an outstanding role, both at the national and the provincial levels. Kenyans who expressed desire to travel back home were facilitated to safely make their way to Guangzhou where the Kenyan government had facilitated the national carrier to ferry them home. The Chinese government, once again, extended its generosity and unconditionally facilitated those who had overstayed their visas. At the end of it all, 165 Kenyans were happily reunited with their families in Kenya.
These five months of unprecedented ravaging of the world by the coronavirus pandemic has certainly exposed the good underbelly of China as a friend worth keeping and that President Xi Jinping’s promoted concept of “a community with a shared future for mankind” is an ably demonstrable sagacity seen in the actions of the People’s Government of China during the whole period of the pandemic. The humanness of the Chinese authorities has been beautifully demonstrated. Kenya looks forward to post-COVID-19 for a stronger mutually beneficial friendship with a shared future!