Page 35 - Resurrection Magazine

HELLO CORONA !

n Bhavya R Sukumaran
few years ago, my sister posed a question: If humans
A evolved from apes, why do apes and monkeys still exist?
She is not an evolution denier - she was simply being curious. The
question stemmed from the assumption that if something superior
arrives, the outdated must surely leave the scene. I remembered my
sister’s question again when I realized how strongly it is related to the
annoying Instagram and Whatsapp posts of the past months that talk of how a
primitive coronavirus has brought the mighty human race to its knees.

In biological discourse, ‘primitive’ is a word generally prefixed to organisms that
evolved millennium before the macro organisms are familiar with it. So many peoples
lead lives with a sense of their superiority over all other organisms. Now this confidence
has been challenged.

OSCAR WILDE States that “Experience is one thing you cannot get for nothing.” It
has been a while since the world has changed since COVID-19 and for some of us, it has
meant a season of ignorance and fear while for others for it has meant a season of seeking and
understanding.
Personally, this season has been an experience for my heart to wake up and to be exposed to some
realities. It has been a season where certain weaknesses and areas in my heart have been revealed but it
has also been a season of learning and accepting the truth.
But when looking at the world outside home, the plight of migrant labourers saddens me and
brings me to face another kind of reality a tragedy they are facing on a day to day basis.

Our state has drawn on its experience with the Nipa virus in 2018 to use extensive testing,
contact tracing, and community mobilization to contain the virus and maintain a very low
mortality rate. As in the same manner other states are also doing the strategies that we
used.
All of this describes me of another dark time in history - the Holocaust and
another 16-year-old girl Anne Frank. She was mostly cut out from the rest of
world and only one radio to listen to, one room or space to escape, all to
protect her life and the lives of those around her. She had the radio to
listen to only sometimes and a small window to peer out into the world.
She was cut off from the rest of the world.
We live in such uncertain times right now. Yet, we have so
much more control over our fates than Anne Frank did. We
can stay home. Wash our hands. Cover our mouth and
noses. These are little things, especially compared with
what Anne and so many others like her lived through.

RESURRECTION 35