New rhythms in life ... outlook
SOMETIMES I wake up in the middle of the night and wonder if it was just a nightmare, but I then realize this is happening for real unfortunately.
We are stuck at home since weeks. Our children’s schools have been closed for a month now and will not reopen until September. However, we are the lucky ones, considering we are with our families during this terrible period, and we have food and good health (touchwood!).
We are thankful to the country that is hosting us for the precautionary measures and the dedicated professionalism aimed at preserving our health.
The rhythms of our lives changed completely in less than one month. We wake up, we try to do some physical activities with the children, we follow them with some homework, we also try to work, we prepare lunch together, we relax in front of the television for some time and then we do some homework again in the afternoon. After that we do some chatting with our parents or friends abroad via video calls, and then it is time for dinner. Every day is now similar to the previous day; there is no Friday or Monday. Every day is a day filled with hope for our safety and the safety of our friends and our relatives until someone can find a cure for this terrible virus.
In Italy, the situation is extremely difficult. Thousands of people are infected, hundreds have died, and the entire nation is locked inside their homes, praying and trying to survive. It seems like they are experiencing a scenario of war, a terrible one.
My sister and my mother are staying in their homes which are just 200 meters apart from each other but they have not seen each other for two months. Two weeks ago, my sister’s son suffered from high temperature and they called the emergency hotline number. An ambulance arrived after five minutes and my nephew was taken to the hospital but the doctors said it was just a normal flu.
This virus is democratic in nature; it affects rich and poor, young and old, the elderly and children. It does not differentiate based on religion, nationality or gender. We all could be affected; nobody is safe. The only safe thing to do is stay home, avoid getting infected or spreading, and pray.
We have friends who work here in Kuwait but are stuck indoors in Dubai and the United Kingdom just because they were outside the country when the lockdown was implemented. They had to rent flats or hotel rooms, and are waiting, not knowing when they can come back and enter their homes in Kuwait.
The members of Kuwaiti-Italian Business Council — namely Maria Capello, Herminio Passalacqua, Simona Cipollina, David Malamuth, Giovanni DeGennaro, Carlo Pellico, Roberta Colaiacovo, and Alberto Bitossi — are normally busy organizing networking events but due to the current emergency situation, they immediately started a fundraising campaign to help Italy. They have been collecting money to donate to the Italian Protezione Civile (the Civil Protection Department) which has been dealing with the current emergency in Italy. We need everybody to open their hearts and support our Italian brothers in this emergency period. If possible, please donate through this link — https://gogetfunding.com/italianemergency-for-coronavirus
More than ever, we feel we are all in this together and we are all brothers fighting this invisible enemy who can destroy a life within one second.
I am certain that the entire world, after our successful fight against this virus, will think and act differently, giving life the importance that it deserves.