Whew! So much has happened since I got back
from my annual Honduras mission, just as the novel Coronavirus was starting its
incursion into the US. Operation Smile surgeries must have been
suspended around the world since they require travel by volunteer doctors whose
expenses are paid by the organization. Could we ever have anticipated or
imagined a worldwide outbreak like this? I’ve never seen or even imagined anything
like it in my more than 80 years on the planet. So, where now to begin? At the
beginning, of course, following stream of consciousness. And a lot has happened
and continues to happen. So this posting is rambling and lengthy.
Suspect arrested
after shooting at Cuban Embassy
Someone opened fire using an assault rifle outside the Cuban Embassy in Washington early Thursday and was arrested, authorities
said.
Identifican
al presunto autor del tiroteo contra la embajada de Cuba en EE.UU. https://www.cubanet.org/destacados/identifican-al-presunto-autor-del-tiroteo-contra-embajada-de-cuba-en-estados-unidos/
Covid-19, a sometimes fatal illness never before
recognized, has seemingly come out of nowhere to engulf the whole world. It has
arisen and spread with lightning speed, often killing quickly. The US has the highest absolute numbers and proportional incidence of cases and the highest overall death rate, not a good record. It was not funny when Saturday Night Live had a Trump figure boasting about our country being #1 for the Virus. Humankind has not seen anything like it before. Its extreme contagiousness has been compared to measles, which does not kill so many anymore because of vaccinations. Measles is now mainly a childhood illness and people entering adulthood before vaccines usually had survived it and were immune. I was among them, having experienced measles as a child.
This new virus attacks people of all ages. Survivors are relatively few among us and we don’t know if they are immune. Even with a vaccine and effective treatment, the virus will probably never be eliminated 100%. Has the world even vanquished smallpox after all these years? We are now facing the 2008 economic crisis or even worse, along with a highly contagious sometimes fatal worldwide illness. And on re-opening the economy, it’s better to err on the side of caution, as opening too soon is riskier than waiting too long. What’s the use of a functioning economy if there is no around to benefit? Trump has urged some states to re-open, mostly in Democratic strongholds, but if they do that and there is a resurgence, it’s on the governors.
A Covid vaccine is a long way off, so the only protection now is to avoid contact with a carrier, who may not even feel sick or show any symptoms, unlike back when we had measles, with spots, fever, cough, and a warning notice posted in our front window. Probably all the “social distancing” in the world will not halt the spread of this new virus or reduce its incidence to zero, so when is the incidence sufficiently low to allow us as individuals, political entities, and business enterprises to “open up” the economy without undue risk? It’s a difficult gamble, as we have no experience, and the risk remains substantial until the development of an effective vaccine that leads to widespread vaccination. So our loved ones, friends, associates and ourselves are all in danger, something we will have to live with for some time.
We in the US and those around the world cannot afford 4 more years of “stable genius” Trump! He's much too dangerous. He’s not even very good at playing the role of president on TV. And his efforts to create an independent
“Fortress America’ failed spectacularly in keeping the virus out. The latest was his idea of injecting bleach to route the virus, something he walked back after an outcry, saying he really didn’t mean it. With so many followers hanging faithfully onto his every word, he would be only kidding about something so serious? Just when we think he’s gone as low as he can go, he goes even lower! Take away that man's mike! A new slogan is trending. “Biden or bleach!”
“Fortress America’ failed spectacularly in keeping the virus out. The latest was his idea of injecting bleach to route the virus, something he walked back after an outcry, saying he really didn’t mean it. With so many followers hanging faithfully onto his every word, he would be only kidding about something so serious? Just when we think he’s gone as low as he can go, he goes even lower! Take away that man's mike! A new slogan is trending. “Biden or bleach!”
Meanwhile, the following article gives insight into why the illness seems to suddenly turn fatal. A finger oximeter would seem to be useful device. -
In late March, after my return from Honduras, my son and I took a time-out from the virus-watch to celebrate our birthdays, only 2 days apart. He came from West Virginia to pick me up, though I usually travel to his town via a train that stops about 30 miles away. Almost no traffic on the road. His small town has had few, if any, virus cases, but everything was shut down there, with banks and McDonald’s on drive-through only, and I spoke with a friend of his outside, from the safe distance of 6 feet.
More W Va. scenes, immediately above, Potomac River where 3 states, Va,, Md., and W Va. come together.
More W Va, above--below redbud tree in my yard when I came back to DC.
Below, snail-themed pillow cover sent for my birthday by daughter Stephanie. along with homemade card
After West Va., where my son lives,
boasted about being the only state in the nation with no
Coronavirus cases, suddenly, a case showed up and, where there is one, others will
follow.
The virus surge has prompted me to look up people
I’ve lost track of, including an old boyfriend, and I do mean old,
because he’s older than I am. I found him, but decided not to try to make
contact, as he is living with his wife who might not appreciate it. Then again,
maybe I should say hello via e-mail before we are both gone from this earth.
Also, through Facebook, I sent a message to Gabriela,
a former Romanian orphan for whom I was the link to an adoptive family, as
mentioned in my Confessions book. She apparently is still using Spanish,
a language she learned in college, actually not so different from Romanian,
which she refused to speak once she arrived at her new home in the US.
Why are folks now hoarding toilet paper?—that
commodity doesn’t seem to link particularly to this virus. Toilet paper had
even vanished from W. Va. grocery shelves. Humans have lived without toilet
paper for millennia and many around the world still do. A local eatery offering
take-out has offered a free roll of toilet paper with each order.
The virus outbreak seems like a bad dream.
With all the surprise twists and turns of an actual dream, but one that we
don’t actually wake up from.
Plagues have decimated human populations for
centuries, including one in Italy lasting more than 2 years, from which
our word quarantine has come, denoting the 40 days that towns and their
residents were required to remain sequestered.
In an area with strict procedures and few
cases, does that mean restrictions should stay in place because they are working,
or that because there are few cases, the economy can now open up, as the risk
is now low? Until there is an effective vaccine, that’s a gamble and a judgment
call.
My daughter living in Honolulu (Oahu)
has been working from home like so many. She is the creator of the snail pillow case above, She also has been putting
her sewing skills to work furiously making face masks for associates and
hospitals. She made a nice one for me. Travel between islands is now forbidden,
so folks must stay put for now, including her husband who is a biologist like
her, but cannot travel to his projects on Maui, another Hawaiian island. The tourist
industry has been devastated.
My housemate and I “celebrated” Easter
at home. She made a dinner which we ate together, but sitting 6 feet apart.
The following weekend was Orthodox Easter, which is actually her own
holiday,when she wore a dress from her native Eritrea.
Senior living complexes and nursing homes
have proven magnets for virus fatalities, not only because their older residents
are closer to death and confronting so many health issues already, but because
so many live there in such close quarters. I called a former neighbor who had
moved to such place, learning that they are being confined to their apartments,
with food being delivered to their door. Now such facilities are not accepting
new residents, but the demand is likely to plummet even after the virus has
abated.
The new Coronavirus has certainly proven
to be a highly contagious illness, even quickly lethal for some people. It’s apparently
contagious before someone is symptomatic and maybe even after they
recover, making it especially dangerous. However, if reports out of China are
reliable, then drastic measures have successfully curbed its increase there in
just a few months, so that holds promise for the rest of the world. But the
virus has been spreading very fast, reaching even Eritrea, where my current
visitor was born, as well as little El Triunfo, my first Peace Corps site,
where I went on my recent Honduras visit. Among the supplies I left there were
face masks and disposable gloves, which they will need, but wish I had kept a
few for myself. Operation Smile in the capital of Tegucigalpa
finished just as the virus began spreading there. I left Honduras in the nick
of time with my most risky exposure occurring on flights and in airports. My
flight from Miami to DC was eerily empty. But so far, so good, as I have not
fallen ill.
Here in DC, it has been interesting to see
others giving us wide berth out on the street and notice store and bank clerks
wearing disposable gloves and face masks. My local bank branch is closed
indefinitely. I’ve found a notice for Trumpcare in my e-mail
inox. Is that a bad joke or what?
Trump has proved himself to be typically inept and
confused at handling the virus crisis. When the economy was doing well, his
constant missteps and misstatements were less important, but now they are
matters of life and death. The man himself has been panicking that the virus’s
spread may dampen his reelection chances, which were already pretty damp. He
doesn’t seem to worry much about the people actually getting sick and dying, or
even losing their jobs, especially if they are Democrats. A national leader so
devoid of basic empathy, even fake empathy, has never been seen before. In
addition to his desire simply to remain as president, he is concerned about his
image and about what financial disclosures might reveal when he is no longer
protected by his office After being so
miserly and punitive toward the poor and minorities, bad-mouthing Obamacare and
cutting food stamps, housing subsidies, and other support, he and his administration
now want to give free money to almost everyone. The status quo is being shaken
up and income redistributed, which is positive. So is the provision of Covid
care to everyone who falls sick. Maybe the economic and medical systems will be
shaken up to make them more equitable
But reaching out beyond his base may make Trump
seem more presidential and may risk increasing his re-election chances in our
skewed Electoral College system.His press conferences on radio and TV
have been giving him free publicity. He had been bragging about the ratings and
extended each “virus” briefing with self-praise and remarks on other issues. He
is also offering citizens help after job losses, even to the point of wanting his
name on relief checks. His briefings have aspects of a campaign rally and have vindictively
cut off networks not showing the whole thing. From his basement home studio. Joe
Biden has had a hard time competing for public attention. And the
accusation of long-ago inappropriate behavior by a female accuser is troubling,
though her account has inconsistencies. It’s very hard for Biden to prove a
negative, so the taint against Biden lingers, as does the suspicion that Trump
supporters may have been the catalyst. By comparison, Mr. Trump has weathered
much worse in terms of women’s accusations. And now, with his sensitive feelings
hurt by criticism of his bleach remark, he may quit press briefings altogether,
giving the press less copy.
As usual, we are confronted with the lesser
of evils, namely a “good enough” candidate versus a demonstrably terrible one. I
do fault those people who could not bring themselves to vote for Hillary Clinton
due to her perceived flaws, her so-called “un-likeability” mostly concocted and
exaggerated by her opponents and related to her gender. Because of those voters’
purity, we now have Mr. Trump. Would he be considered “likeable?”
My sister, who refuses to connect with
the internet, nonetheless watches Mr. Trump regularly on TV, since he appears there
so frequently. She observes, “He is obviously a very unhappy, insecure man way
out of his depth.” Trump has said he has “total control.” Does he also want to
take total blame? Biden leads Trump in the polls, but not by very much. It’s
amazing how many Americans still support and trust Trump, who must have had a
terrible childhood to become the troubled man he is today, too late for
therapy.
While economic relief is undeniably welcome
and urgent, further augmenting the already skyrocketing national debt
to combat the virus is like printing money, making the almighty dollar riskier
and less valuable and reliable. If many more dollars are circulating, representing
only a finite number of goods and services, some payable only in the distant
future by our grandchildren, then each dollar used today would be worth less,
right? I’m obviously not an economist, but that would be my take on the ever-ballooning
national debt. What measurement comes after trillions? Quadrillions?
Trump is still focused on his reelection, but his defeat would be one good
thing to come out of this virus crisis. This virus has been one problem that he
has been unable to dismiss as “fake news,” though he tried at first.
So, on the plus side now, in addition to
greater citizenship solidarity and political bipartisanship. there is better income
redistribution-- if you will, a “flattening of the economic curve” And
home-bound folks do have access to on-line video conferencing and virtual
meetings, as well as TV and radio. My great grandson is doing school
work remotely.
My granddaughter, his mother, was
expecting a layoff as her Florida company makes non-essential items, namely not
tub covers, but then it included hospital face masks in the mix, which allows the whole
company to continue. So she still has her hourly-wage job, but must go into
work daily.
I am reminded right now of the polio epidemic
of my childhood, back on the 1950’s, when we avoided other people,
especially other kids, and didn’t go swimming during the long, hot summer when
we had no A/C.
In
the days not only before a vaccine for polio, but for other childhood
illnesses. (Despite having survived such illnesses as a child, later in the
Peace Corps, I had to endure shots for them anyway,) Measles is apparently as
contagious as Covid and far more deadly, also striking young kids more
frequently, but people are not paying attention to that or taking their kids to
be vaccinated. As indicated, I have actually had measles, German measles, mumps,
and chickenpox--that whole gamut-- back in the day before vaccinations. My sister had whooping
cough. We just posted a notice on our front window to warn others.
As
Latinos lose jobs, remittances to their relatives in Latin America dry up, https://www.yahoo.com/news/latinos-lose-jobs-remittances-relatives-143801019.html
Someone who still has a job these days is Betío, a former Honduran environmental advocate and father of 11, now entering his 60's, whom I once helped obtain asylum in the US (when that was easier) and bring his family here. I even convinced Amnesty Int’l to give him a check for $1,000. Now he is far from his current home near Houston, working on a federal construction project that requires workers to be US citizens or legal residents, which he is, thanks to having won his asylum case years ago. Only a few of the kids are still at home. We need more people here from Central America like him right now. Able to become legal residents.
We rarely can predict the exact moment of our own death, though we know we all will die and that it could happen at any time, even today. We could be struck by lightening or hit by a car.The virus has made us more acutely aware of that inevitability now.
In Honduras, I was asked to bring a child-size wheelchair next time Researching on-line, I find they do exist, but are double the price of a standard wheelchair, perhaps because fewer are made? Will I even be able to return to Honduras next year?
It’s been pretty amazing to me in my recent
travels, that Americans I meet simply don’t realize that we in the District
of Columbia don’t hold primaries because we don’t have any
voting delegates in Congress. My friends living in Vermont, which
has a congressman and 2 senators, one a prominent presidential candidate, are
surprised that with a larger population than their own state, we have no similar
representation. If Democrats can make sufficient gains in November, despite a
system rigged against them/us, let’s hope that we citizens of the nation’s
capital can finally get the same voting rights as other Americans.
Why did Wisconsin Republicans press
forward on holding the state’s primaries in the midst of the pandemic? Perhaps
partly simply to oppose the Democratic governor, but also partly to ensure low
voter turnout, which is thought to favor Republicans. Let’s hope the health of
Wisconsin voters was not unduly jeopardized. This was a departure from the
increased bipartisanship that seems to have resulted from confronting
the epidemic.
While a world with zero cases of
this new highly contagious Coronavirus is unlikely to ever be achieved, it’s
uncertain what would be a sufficiently low incidence to put us out of danger.
That’s the challenge that governors and leaders around the world face, trying
to balance the risks all around. Until there is an effective vaccine, the
danger persists.
When I was in the Peace Corps in Honduras
for 3 ½ years, I took chloroquine regularly as a malaria
preventative, though it did not work completely, as I still got malaria, and it
gave me vivid dreams. We volunteers also wondered if it was making our hair
fall out. I still have some tablets.
This sounds promising re the development of a Coronavirus
drug. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/18/japanese-flu-drug-clearly-effective-in-treating-coronavirus-says-china
I do know virus skeptics who like
to gamble with their lives. They’d defiantly eat out at restaurants that remained
open, also taking their kids to public parks and boldly shaking hands or giving
deliberate pecks on cheeks. Viruses are invisible enemies that cannot be seen,
smelled, or felt. Trump and Boris Johnson initially downplayed their force and
existence. If “social distancing” actually slows the virus’s spread, will we be
able to give credit to these distancing tactics? Or will we just side with the
skeptics? The president of Mexico has been an outspoken virus skeptic, not
practicing or advocating social distancing, at least before the illness has
made inroads into his country. Brazil’s president has been another virus
denier. Mr. Trump was in that category too before the numbers overwhelmed him.
The word from Honduras is about a
growing number of cases there, some originating with deportees, and a national
curfew, with pharmacies closed, no movement in and out of major cities, and
airports shut down. Costa Rica has at least a growing number of reported
cases. Latin America and Africa are ill-prepared to meet this challenge, as
health services are inadequate even in the best of times. El Salvador and
Guatemala have barred deportation flights, which have already brought in
infected people. In Cuba, 186 cases appeared early on and 6 deaths,
increasing from there. The tourist industry is a two-edged sword there.
US Women’s football team stuck in Honduras [But the US
government sent a plane to get them out.]
Haiti reports its first coronavirus death, https://www.yahoo.com/news/haiti-reports-first-coronavirus-death-170819535.html
Cuba will send medical team to Honduras to fight the
coronavirus: health minister, https://www.yahoo.com/news/cuba-send-medical-team-honduras-0204 (So
far, Honduras has not had big outbreak.)
US using coronavirus pandemic to unlawfully expel asylum
seekers, says UN www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/17/us-asylum-seekers-coronavirus-law-un [Meanwhile Central American countries are blocking
deportations because deportees are bringing in the virus.]
South Sudan has 1st virus case, is
51st country Africa https://www.yahoo.com/news/south-sudan-1st-virus-case-115647681.ht
My
special concern for South Sudan stems from my 2006 mission there.
Apparently, this case was of a UN worker coming from the Netherlands.
Fortunately, many people live in isolated villages in South Sudan and do not
interact much. Transportation is very difficult, which is a plus in this case.
Cuba, as an island, seems
to have had relatively few virus cases, having blocked visitors and exercising
control over the population.
Taiwan is said to have had
success in curbing the spread of the virus but no one dares mention Taiwan for
fear of angering China.
Some
folks have wondered what a pangolin looks like, the small wild
creature whose slaughter in the Hunan market is rumored to have triggered the
pandemic. Bats are also thought to have been the original virus vestor, but
how the virus went from bats to pangolins and then to humans, if that’s what
happened, is uncertain. Pangolins are killed live in the Hunan market, but apparently
not bats. In any case, here, again, is a mother and her baby, along with a
captive in its market cage. On You-Tube, National Geographic has
videos of live pangolins out in nature and those for sale at the Wuhan market.
Above, pangolin mother and baby, below another sort of caged pangolin awaiting execution at the Wuhan wet market
SARS is also thought to have originated from live killings at China’s
wild animal markets, known as “wet markets, where captured animals are killed
on the spot. Ebola also stemmed from wild animal killing in Africa.
Unfortunately,
many Chinese believe that pangolin scales have medicinal value, thinking
the same about rhino horns and elephant tusks, when all such beliefs are completely
bogus and lead to the senseless slaughter of innocent creatures, threatening
their extinction. The Chinese government exercises such strict controls over
its citizens, even decreeing how many children a couple may have, what people
may say, write, and read, but seems unable (or unwilling?) to eradicate live
animal markets. If shy and gentle pangolins were indeed the source of the
virus outbreak, they are now getting their revenge on humans.
The World Wildlife
Fund is now calling for “urgent
action to close high-risk [wild animal] markets and end illegal and unregulated
wildlife trade that threatens human health and impacts biodiversity.”
As
observed in Yahoo
Finance: [D]espite global outrage, China’s markets are
likely to keep selling bats, pangolins, civets, snakes, hawks, turtles and
hundreds of other species, either legally or illicitly. While repulsive to many
westerners, wildlife is a staple of both Chinese diets and Chinese medicine,
with some traditions dating back centuries. Efforts to ban China’s wildlife
trade would only push trafficking into gray or black markets, leaving the viral
threat intact.
“It is striking that a country so good at control hasn’t
been able to do a better job of this,” Orville Schell of the Asia Society tells
Yahoo Finance. “As tightly controlled as China is, there are parts of
its societal structure that are very decentralized. It’s very hard to control
what goes on in the markets.”
Chinese
authorities had a warning a few years ago with SARS, another virus thought to
have come from slaughters at the wild animal markets (which also exist in
other parts of SE Asia). but SARS was not nearly as contagious as Covid. It's
true that the Chinese government controls what people can say and write, whom
they can meet, what they can see and hear, how they worship, and how many
children they may have, so even though these markets are traditional, the
Chinese government could shut them down. , another virus
thought to have come from slaughters at the wild animal markets (which
also exist in other parts of SE Asia). but SARS was not nearly as contagious as
Covid. It's true that the Chinese government controls what people can say and
write, whom they can meet, what they can see and hear, how they worship, and
how many children they may have, so even though these markets are traditional,
the Chinese government could shut them down.
If
viruses can pass from animals to humans, they can probably also pass from
humans to animals. That seems to have happened to Nadia, a coughing tiger
at the Bronx zoo that has tested positive for the Coronavirus.
My older daughter was not able to get her dog spayed because it was
deemed non-essential surgery, either because of risk to the dog or to
the vet staff?
Now
Trump aides are floating a rumor that the virus may have escaped or been
released from a lab in Wuhan, something hard to disprove since no one, so far,
has identified the actual source.
I
am perhaps an outlier in seeing no problem with calling the pandemic source
“the Chinese virus,” as the Chinese government and unregulated
Chinese wildlofe slaughter in Wuhan (and elsewhere) gave rise to the worldwide
emergency that has resulted in so much human suffering, death, and economic
disruption. That certainly does not justify acts against Chinese or other Asians
or their descendants living in the US (some in my own family) or elsewhere who have
had absolutely had no involvement. Nor are Chinatown conclaves in US cities to
blame, as Trump has indicated.
The
current virus pandemic and my Peace Corps experience in rural and small-town
Honduras where I witnessed animal slaughter, have brought me closer to ovo-lacto
vegetarianism once again, that is, to a diet including eggs and milk.
something I practiced for a time in the Peace Corps. I might now make
exceptions for certain seafoods, like shrimp and mussels, but not go much beyond
that. During Peace Corps, I also sampled crunchy fried insects and don’t
feel any moral hesitation about consuming them. It’s been years since I’ve
eaten beef, lamb, or pork. But in South Sudan in 2006, I did sample goat
meat on a stick, offered to me as a special treat for a visitor.
Hondurans are usually very parsimonious about using electricity,
favoring dim lightbulbs and running computers on battery as long as possible
before recharging (does that actually save electricity?). But
TV can be left going continually. One of the common US imports to Honduras,
apparently so popular around the world that it merited dubbing into other
languages, is The Big Bang Theory, with its canned laughter at
every turn. Adolescent-style adult men, interested in sexy women in low-cut
tops, get into slapstick situations. Is that the best that American TV can
offer other countries? According to WikiPedia, the show mercifully stopped in
2019, so I must have been seeing re=runs in Honduras.
Got another call—sounded like the same guy as
before--“Hello Grandma Barbara, it’s your grandson.” I do have a 17-year-old grandson whose mother
cut off all contact years ago, so I don’t know his voice. “What’s your name?” I
asked. “Grandma, you know my name.” When I insisted, “Tell me your name,” he
hung up.
Fake grandchildren are not the only ones
taking advantage of the current disruption in ordinary life. Nigerian
scammers are out in force, offering to sell hand sanitizer, masks, and
gloves that never arrive.
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