2nd of May
Monday
During the 5pm lecture, my lecturer presented us with a short video that had captured the harsh reality of life in a third world country like that. The details were far too horrifying, and I cannot bring myself to type out every bit of knowledge I acquired from the eye-opening video.
But I can tell you this. There were 5 times the number of fatalities in Zimbabwe itself compared to the global statistics. Although the epidemic arose in August, its seriousness was recognized only FOUR months later. Here lies a fact that cannot be denied: this disease is definitely not under control. Why, approximately 180 new cases were reported by the end of March this year.
Yeah we all probably know about the country's economic crisis since over a decade ago. We are aware about the dreadfully poor water sanitation. We have seen clips of families collecting contaminated water wherever they can, each person with rusty metal cans in hand being thrusted into random rivers, lifted with water filled to the brim and transferred into a large container; to be filled and to be stored, to be consumed to meet their body requirements daily. I'm sorry did I say requirements? Could dying from dehydration cause less physical suffering? Yeah, a short interview led by a health care organization representative exposed a conversation that went something like this:
Why do you take this type of water? Do you know it is bad?
We need water. Yes, I know.
What about your children? Aren't you afraid for their wellbeing?
Yes I am, but we have no choice.
Do you know about cholera?
Of course, I am very aware.
Aren't you afraid you or your family members will contract cholera?
I am very afraid, I constantly worry for us, for them. It is hard.
Then how do you bring yourself to consume this water?
There is no option, what other options do we have? What else can we do?
My tear ducts were doing their thing again. A few people around me in the lecture theatre had their heads bowed down. Those confused, pained faces. What good would education do to them, they may understand all the health issues but they have no power to fight them. The only power they possess is to sit behind the stage and watch the government flop around with no sense of urgency. Wait for illness to suck their lives out, wait to be discarded like trash. And I meant the last bit, the scenes were sickening by the way. A number of deaths from cholera have not been reported; and health care providers have fled from fear or surrendered to the insufficient products or resources to even give their professions a go. Hence victims were left to struggle on their own, and to endure the pain until they've gone (or to have not been able to endure the pain and hence, have gone).
How much is the UN contributing? How many lies have people with positions told? Yes, many movements have been successful but many have not been too. Can balance for every single person on Earth be achieved one glorious day? Is it even logical to think of such an achievement?
I won't be able to sleep tonight.
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