‘ Balcony music cheered people up’
The megacity of 25 million residents has been making efforts to combat the virus and people’s sentiments have fluctuated depending on the COVID- 19 epidemic situation. Hungarian Steven Back, who has been living in Shanghai for about 18 years, also felt the same as his community was put under closed- loop management.
Like many residents living in the city, Back felt surprised in the beginning when the city was put under a citywide “static management.” Living in a nice compound with about 5,000 people, Back was quite familiar with some neighbors and became a volunteer two days later after his compound was put under lockdown on April 1.
Holding a loudspeaker, he encourages residents to come down and queue up for tests. Even while having to stand for periods of six to nine hours a day in hot weather wearing a protective suit, he still considers it fun. “It was very natural for me to do it,” Back told the Global Times, noting that he wanted to help his neighbors to relax
He was also warned by his volunteer peers that some people might not cooperate.“However, I’ve never had this situation and everybody is very friendly.”
Back was also quite proud that his daughter would paint on his “Da Bai” clothes ( protective suit) every night with Chinese and Hungarian flags to cheer them up. “It’s very showy,” he said, believing that it might also be fun for others.
As infections rose, some residents began to believe that taking a nucleic test might increase their chances of getting infected and would refuse to cooperate. Despite this, Back would still try his best to cheer his neighbors up and encourage them to be positive and happy.
Together with about 40 other neighbors, they held a successful balcony concert to help people relax and elevate their moods. When seeing peop dancing, singing, and using ele torches to make a light show, B felt the great comradery alive an well in his community. “Everyb was having a very good time,” B said, noting that all the work th have done has been well worth
Through the dynamic zero- C policy, “China has been very su ful at saving lives and maintain relatively high productivity com to other countries,” Back said. H also mentioned that in his coun many people chose to receive C made COVID- 19 vaccines.
Back has made an appointm with his new friends he had me ing his volunteer work to go ou drink once the restrictions are l “We plan to go out and celebrat
At a residential community in Shanghai’s Hongqiao Town, Korean resident Park Chang- joo, who created three WeChat groups for some 1,200 Korean neighbors in early 2020 at the beginning of the COVID- 19 outbreak, was busy communicating the latest local anti- epidemic policies, answering questions, and offering helps to Korean residents on WeChat all day amid the current city lockdown.
A Putonghua- speaking entrepreneur who has been running a business in Shanghai for decades, Park now serves as an anti- epidemic volunteer in his community, where more than 30 percent of the residents are Korean. Since residents were asked to self- quarantine at home from April 1, each day, Park receives WeChat messages from 30- 50 of his Korean neighbors asking for help.
“How to get a new QR code for a nucleic acid test; how to buy daily necessities at home; what rules to be followed during at- home quarantine... For their questions or requests, I either directly answer or send them to the Chinese community staffers,” Park told the Global Times.
The unexpected weeks of quarantine may have worried expatriates in Shanghai. To help Korean residents of his
‘ Shanghai has become my second hometown’
community relax and cheer up, Park shares with them pleasant music or funny videos via WeChat, and explains to them Shanghai’s anti- epidemic policies and goals in detail.
“I told them that the policies are for all of our safety and health,” said Park, noting that some Korean residents in Shanghai have experienced some pressure during the lockdown, but most of them understand and respect the city’s efforts in fighting against the virus.
Park is the head of a 60- member Korean volunteer team serving several residential communities. As a bridge linking Korean residents and the Chinese, the team assists community staff
ers in organizing nucleic acid tests and delivering daily supplies to the homes of Korean residents.
“Last week, we helped a Korean food enterprise in Shanghai send free tofu products to all the residents,” Park recalled. “It’s so glad to see our neighbors, who later shared the dishes they made with the tofu and expressed their thanks on social media.”
“Shanghai has become my second hometown,” he said. “I want to try my best to help the people in need here.”