Covid-19 outbreak awakening human within us
Blog by Noor-ul-Ain Siddiqui
Today’s world reminds us Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s lines from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” where in, a sailor on a becalmed ship, is surrounded by salt water that he cannot drink says: Water water every where, but not a drop to drink. So the world is grappling the Covid-19 every where, no place to hide.
Covid-19, never heard of it before, but it became talk of the town and fear of everyone. A global hot issue, parhaps biggest challenge for the world in this century.
Since then the world has changed, went into a fight with an invisible enemy that has threatened to kill millions. Despite having modern technology, digital weapons and advancement in science, we still appear to have failed infront of this deadly enemy of us.
The world has been turned upside down with the loss of many innocent lives. This somehow has shaken our minds, jolted our hearts and struck our senses. We happened to see the reality of our fragility, how weak we are and what life itself is, nothing but an unpredictable moment.
Pakistan’s love of humanity and fraternity
is also blossomed
Living in this despairing Globe now, where you find death wandering in the corners, so many lifes at stake, we see a ray of hope among this chaos that is finding the human within us, who was deliberately in a deep slumber for a long time.
To environmentalists spread of Corona virus globally is nature’s repeating calls to awaken human beings
Humanity has awaken within mankind, after encountering so much distress and torment, we discover such great examples of humanity to restore our belief in love, friendship and fraternity.
Our neighbouring country India is badly hit by this pandemic, where medical system has failed. It is in dire need of help. Plenty of help coming to aid them from within and across the country, while keeping the several differences aside, people are helping each other without any persona interest and putting their religion, race, conflicts at the bay; they are working through their hearts and keeping humanity at the very first to be witnessed.
Media reported and video clips shared showed a lot of incidents that shall move our hearts all around the world, the gestures of love and respect. However we are not going far for this just to find some beautiful gestures of affection and care across the border, we are divided by the borders but united by hearts, we can feel the pain of our brothers there.
Such a great display of humanity is experienced at Bhopal, India, where two Muslim men cremate sixty covid Hindu victims as their families could not perform their funerals in the fear of getting infectd. Two muslim brothers, Danish Siddiqui and Saddam Qureshi from Bhopal, arranged the funeral and performed the last rites of the deceased covid patients without caring for their own lives.
Recently, a video went viral on social media, where an Indian police officer is asking Muslims to pray, he asks them to pray for the country as he believes the month of Ramadan to be the month of blessings. While having the prolonged tension between these two states, such acts warm the hearts of many.
One more incident is worth mentioning, where a resident of Malad, India, Shahnawaz Shaikh saved the lives of many covid patients by providing them oxygen cylinders for free. For this purpose he had to sell his precious Suv. He provided oxygen cylinders to more than 250 covid-infected families. We need people like Shahnawaz in our society who care for others and work for mankind.
Now at our side, Pakistan’s love of humanity and fraternity is also blossomed. Pakistanis stand in solidarity with India in the time of need. Edhi Foundation of Pakistan, a great example of humanitarian organization in the world, also stepped forward to help its neighbours.
The chairman of Edhi Foundation, Faisal Edhi wrote a letter to the prime minister of India Narendra Modi and requested a permission to open the border to enter the country with aid, team of volunteers and 50 ambulances to work with the pandemic management to curb the situation.
Not only officials were showing concern over the serious health condition of India but from celebarities to the common citizens of Pakistan are also feeling the pain of their neighbours, Pakistan social media is filled with urgent calls for aid, oxygen and ventilators for India, twitter users urge PM Imran Khan to help India as it struggles with the emergency situation.
#PakistanstandswithIndia and #Indianeedsoxygen remained top trends in Pakistan as of recently.
This pandemic has taught us a lesson of being human, which we might have forgotten blinded by hatred, war and bloodshed. However this disease had done such a thing to help remove the blinds from our eyes, that we must see ourselves as a human first and foremost.
Blog writer is student of Media and Communication Department, University of Sindh
Also read Edhi Foundation offers helping hand to India to fight virus
