Globally, these are the unprecedented times. Unimagined.Unthought of. The deadly virus around is forcing people all over the world tomake unexpected and drastic shifts in their way of life to keep themselvessafe. The vital one is staying indoors, a self-quarantine measure.
For us, people in Kashmir, this measure is quite familiarand tested, rather a tired-out practice. Though it may be an odd-seemingconjunction, but the reality is that we are adapted to extended lockdowns sincelast few decades. We are used to closures. Everything. Anytime. Our homes haveturned into solitary shelters of survival. Our roads are prone to desolation.Our shops and schools are habitual to shutting down. Post August 5 is therecent history of our months-long quarantine: Inert and Incommunicado.
Amid COVID-19 brouhaha, it is a kind of awful déjà vu comingtrue for anyone looking at globe from here. At present, as per UNESCO, morethan half a billion children and youth are unable to go to school because ofthe coronavirus pandemic. More than 56 countries have shut down schoolsnationwide with a further 17 implementing localized closures. What observersnow call as ‘Education Disruption’ is a phenomenon which children/youth inKashmir have been wrestling with since 1990s.
Is Kashmir getting replayed worldwide? Pray, it is transitory! For we can betterempathize with situations like this, when lethal viruses loom large over aparticular population lastingly, throwing its life out of gear over and overagain.
Our story is a case of distant suffering for the rest ofmedia-saturated world which seeks to validate any suffering as ‘globallysignificant’ by the degree of mass impact that transforms audiences intowitnesses. In the middle of such patterns of subjectivity, Kashmir today formsa miniscule of mass suffering and ‘global compassion’ in the wake ofcoronavirus outbreak.
Having said that, we should resist politics of pity, andconnect and personalize to the strange and familiar in proximate anddistant places. There is a dire need to stop scare-mongering and start”care-mongering” by connecting people who need help with people who can provideit. This pandemic is knocking down others out there, and us here as well. Ithas debunked many modern mantras of invincible technology, scientificsuperpower and growth models. This catastrophe could generate a long-termglobal relapse in many strongly held notions about ‘development’— and by now ithas set in.
Of late, an American editor wrote, “The coronavirus, inaddition to being terrifyingly contagious, acts as an unusually mercilessmagnifying glass, showing the flaws in our politics, our healthcare system, oursocial safety net. And in our media.” It holds seriously more exact forunder-developed places like ours. So far, the handling of this outbreak hasbeen full of failings. People are also ignoring its grave consequences. Despiteadvisories from different quarters, there have been constant violations around.
Bottomline: We haveseen some of the worst the life can throw at us. Even in these disquietingmoments, we can still find reasons for hope. Kashmiri people have a tremendousstaying power to stay put—Self Quarantine. Simple as that. We have stayedindoors in the nastiest of pandemonium. With God on our side, let’s stay inwhile staying healthy and hopeful!