Gulf Times

Coronaviru­s: A lesson learnt!

- By Hala Bader al-Humaidhi The author is a consultant in Public Relations and Personalit­y Types. Instagram: @Tipsbyhala­hill

The coronaviru­s pandemic is affecting people globally and interrupti­ng their daily lives. We are in great shock as usual businesses have all come to a grinding halt as some people have become victims of this highly contagious virus. The pandemic has created fear in human lives that we won’t forget it and it will stay in our heart and minds for a very long time. We are living in a more complicate­d world and the coronaviru­s crisis might not be the last pandemic we are experienci­ng. The lessons learnt from this crisis will be part of us and this will change our perception of how we view the world and the people around us. The first lesson learnt from it is that assigning blames can’t help and it’s a waste of time and effort. Dealing with crisis requires joint effort and we need to come together as a single human community to deal with the threat that affects national boundaries. Most people are still in isolation and when it’s over, we will be willing to treasure and build that community that we have ignored for a long time. Another lesson learnt from the crisis is to always be ready because it is clear that in the future, we might experience worse conditions than this. The disease has not chosen the poor, old, young or the rich, it has affected everyone across the world. Though the rich can afford better medical facilities still there are no ventilator­s. This means that working as an individual is not enough and we need each other despite our social status. We need our state, nation, community and global institutio­ns to survive. The importance of the family is another important lesson learnt from the pandemic. When the government restricted social gathering by imposing social distancing rules, many people had no choice but to stay at home. This stay has just made some realise how important family is during this time. Honest and credible leadership that can make courageous and good judgements during these hard times is what we all need. Great leaders have been at the helm of the fight and such leaders can be seen by the measures they are putting in place to fight the virus. This is something all leaders should emulate. The need for proper health facility arises a major lesson learnt from the corona crisis. When the pandemic attacked most countries, it was clear that there were not enough health facilities to accommodat­e the affected patients, especially in developing countries. The pandemic has brought with it a major economic and financial crisis that is now affecting countries worldwide. Facing these challenges has become a major problem to national government­s and individual­s. The spread of the virus has crushed the financial market worldwide. Many people have been affected by the economic impact especially the poor. This is the time we need each other and try to fix this problem locally. We need to reach out to those people who are in hunger stricken zones to give them food and emotional support. We should take solace in the courage and the compassion we see throughout our community.

Working from home should be optional for many people. Some people have remote jobs that can be done from home and if they managed to work from home during the pandemic, they can equally work from home after the pandemic. It is difficult to stay alone because of the exhaustion and loneliness it comes with. Social distancing has helped people discover more about themselves and think outside the box. Many people will be able to start their own businesses and become selfemploy­ed and this of course will create an employment opportunit­y for other people.

New values you should have: The coronaviru­s crisis will eventually change our morals in different ways.

1. There will be changes in priorities as the communal values of cooperatio­n, caring and considerat­ion will come first and the individual­istic, power, popularity and prestige will reduce.

2. Empathy and model humanity will be developed and people who have sacrificed their self-interest for the common good of the community to ensure that we combat this pandemic like the doctors will be celebrated.

3. You should be kind because a simple act of kindness will be appreciate­d and admired as fame and riches are diminished. The coronaviru­s crisis changes who we are, and it affects the diverse facets of our psychology. It is still early to say when the pandemic will end but the crisis has created fear globally. Many airports are closed, and transporta­tion cancelled in and out of all countries. A lot of lessons have to be learnt as we all join hands to fight this pandemic!

 ??  ??
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Qatar