We have to do something
Staying desensitised to the worsening situation will only lead to more deaths.
LIVES are not numbers.
It’s hard to remember that sometimes.
At time of writing, the latest reported daily deaths was 318.
That’s 318 Malaysians we’ll never hear from again – 318 lives that have been snuffed out forever.
And 318 families that will never, ever be the same again.
Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, sons, daughters – all who have lost someone they will never get back.
All who have been scarred permanently.
I strongly believe that the vast majority of these 318 deaths were avoidable and preventable.
Maybe if our leaders made different decisions; maybe if more of us took a Covid-19 self-test; maybe if we chose to let our employees work from home – maybe things would have been different.
Many maybes, but 318 certainties.
But what are 318 deaths against our cumulative total of 11,691?
Many of us seeing those numbers think of them as drops in an ocean by this point.
No one is shocked, no one is angry – and why would they be? We’ve been seeing these numbers for days and weeks.
Maybe the only people upset are the ones who’ve actually lost someone.
The rest of us – taking the cue from those above us – are perhaps taking this all too “normally”.
But it’s not normal. And we shouldn’t act normal.
This weekend, there is a 24-yearold Malaysian who has been sitting at the end of Jalan Abdullah in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. He hasn’t eaten in days.
Not because he can’t afford to, but because he has chosen to feel what it is like to go without food; and because he doesn’t want to live his life normally amidst a highly abnormal situation.
His name is Teoh Jia Chern, and he relieved another courageous Malaysian (and personal hero of mine) named Gurpreet Singh, who was also observing an outdoor fast in Petaling Jaya for three straight days.
Too often we hear Malaysians uttering the words: “There’s nothing we can do.”
This insidious phrase encapsulates the sense of hopelessness and despair that has infected Malaysians possibly at a greater rate than the Covid-19 virus itself.
For this infection however, Jia Chern and Gurpreet are the perfect antibodies.
They are the living embodiments of that indomitable Malaysian spirit that never gives up, and that always believes that there is something that can be done.
They are bravely showing us that there is always a way to fight back against indifference, and against this normalisation of unnecessary, avoidable death.
They remind me of lines from Dylan Thomas:
“Do not go gentle into that good night.
“Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
With deaths spiralling out of control, there must be some rage within us. If not, we might as well be accomplices to future deaths.
They chose the path of Mahatma Gandhi, using non-violent actions that put no one at risk but themselves.
We don’t all have to go on hunger strikes or take to the streets. But we must do something.
For instance, one of the most basic things you can do is to take a Covid-19 self-test.
Public health experts have long been saying that one of the reasons Covid-19 is spreading as fast as it is is because people simply don’t know that they have it.
Many cases are asymptomatic, and even those who have been vaccinated can be carriers of the virus, infecting others unknowingly.
Experts have long been telling us: If enough of us self-test, and those who find themselves positive are sure to quarantine themselves, we can really slash infection rates.
The list of other things you can do remains long – not least of which is trying to ensure that people around you have all the basic necessities of life, especially food.
If the civil society Whatsapp groups are anything to go by, the requests for simple food aid and money for basic necessities have not gone down – if anything, they have increased.
I applaud the efforts of Malaysians who continue to help meet those needs, even amidst donor fatigue and their own exhaustion.
Indeed, even Jia Chern, who is not taking any solid foods, has decided to dedicate his fast to helping others. He stated his intention to keep fasting until everyone within a 500m radius of him is no longer hungry.
To this end, he has prepared flyers, and even set up an impromptu help desk at the site of his fast, offering to help people with food concerns and those who need legal assistance surrounding evictions.
He has taken things a step further by recruiting all those who visit him and commissioning them to give out flyers in nearby areas, to further ensure his work has a multiplier effect!
It must also be said that outdoor fasts and hunger strikes are not one-person operations. We are all eternally grateful to families especially, who work extremely hard to ensure that the people fasting get the liquid nutrients they need, and stay healthy. Trust me, it is no easy task.
The constant stream of friends and visitors are also a priceless blessing.
As long as Malaysians like these still walk the earth, our nation will yet endure.
You don’t have to fast outdoors in order to participate (but you can email me if you’d like to), but any action taken by members of the public to denormalise these increasing numbers of Malaysians dying will help to drive the call for meaningful change.
Some have already taken to practicing #Prayersandfasting at home, while many more are finding creative ways to remind one another that it is neither normal nor acceptable to sit idly by and watch the number of deaths go up.
Projek #Bangsamalaysia meanwhile has put out a call to members of the public who have lost loved ones (directly or indirectly) due to Covid-19.
Sometimes, we need to humanise these numbers, to help all of us remember that there are real lives and real families behind those numbers.
If you or anyone you know want to share what you/they have experienced in losing someone, feel free to upload a video and use the hashtag #Nyawabukannombor (more info available at bit.ly/ INFONBN).
The light is indeed dying, and if there aren’t enough of us to rage against it, the darkness will consume us all. Let us each light a candle and keep the flame of hope alive.