By Khatija Lunat
The reality of COVID-19 affected us as a family in December 2019, when knowledge of it first broke out in China. My eldest son is teaching at a school in Shanghai. The scale of the problem only became apparent at the end of January during the Chinese New Year holiday. We had many conversations over the phone, desperately trying to convince him to just come home. It was the first time he had traveled abroad on his own.
We looked for guidance from his organization and from the UK embassy. It seemed that no one really knew how the virus was going to spread or the devastating impact that lay ahead. He stayed in Shanghai throughout the pandemic and alleviated our worries somewhat when he explained the strict measures adopted by the country whilst continuing to work with his students remotely.
As a parent, you never stop worrying for your children no matter how old they are, and we knew COVID-19 didn’t discriminate against anyone. We stayed in regular contact with him throughout and he seemed to be coping well with the strict rules put into place there. Finally, after three months, things seem to be returning back to some normality in China with businesses and parks partially reopening, and restrictions being lifted slowly throughout the country, with some social distancing rules still in place.
Over the past few weeks, the focus has now shifted from China and the new epicenter of the outbreak is now Europe, with mounting concerns about the scale of infection in the United States and parts of the Middle East. It almost seemed surreal that at the end of February I was now going through the same worries again for my second son working out in Spain. Two weeks into the pandemic and the UK embassy seemed to be quicker with their advice this time. Advising all UK nationals working out in Spain to return home as soon as possible. He came home the weekend the schools closed within the UK. The relief I felt as a mother when he came home safely is almost unexplainable.
The effects of COVID-19 hit home hard within my community of Batley and Spen recently. Two weeks into the lockdown and we had 8 deaths over the period of a few days. Once a patient enters the hospital, there is no possibility of anyone being able to visit. Family members are not able to be with their loved ones in their last precious moments. A limited number of people are permitted to go to the funeral due to the safe distancing rules which is devastating for the family as they don’t get the closure they need.
Family and friends are not able to comfort or console one another, some of whom had to go into isolation themselves due to displaying symptoms. Each day I grew apprehensive, afraid to read the messages on my phone and hear further saddening news of someone else passing away. As within all religions, we as a Muslim community have certain religious and cultural rituals and customs that take place when we say our final goodbyes to our loved ones. Due to the understandable rules in place families consoled themselves without having a chance to say their goodbyes or being able to comfort each other. They stayed within their own homes and thankfully technology continues to play a great part in checking in on each other’s wellbeing.
It’s important that people adhere to the government lockdown rules. By following them we can stop the virus from spreading and lives. The sooner this happens, we can come out of lockdown and return to normality. It has been heart-warming to see so many keyworkers continuing to work and risk their own lives and the numerous volunteers and charitable organisations continuing to work, come together to support the vulnerable people in our community. During this uncertain time, I feel there is an overwhelming feeling of resilience and goodwill, both inside and outside of the community to overcome Covid-19. To help one another and to come out the other side much stronger and more grateful for the everyday things in life that we take for granted.