This lonely, elitist corona

Almost two months on enhanced community quarantine, being forced to stay home does something to you. You are bombarded with news and social media in an attempt to keep connected to the world that is just outside but you cannot step into. You are here, but you cannot be outside.

Some people have commented on how the virus does not choose: race, age, gender, economic status, etc. Though everyone is indeed affected, as our global equality, diversity and inclusion lead said, we are affected and isolating all at the same time, yes. But we are doing it in different rooms looking at it from different balconies. Or something like that.

The virus had to strike during summer here in the Philippines. For people living in the slum areas in urban Manila, that is the worse time to be stuck at home. 

There was a news story where the mayor of Manila had to put a barangay in lockdown because people just defied the stay-at-home government order. People trooped outside and watched a boxing match on the streets. 

The mayor grudgingly admitted, having lived in that area, that the living conditions there were far from ideal. Houses are like boxes that you can’t move and family sizes are way bigger than what the boxes can accommodate. 'Like a can of sardines' is a favorite figure of speech. Because poor people cannot afford anything except a can of sardines, and because of how the fish is packed in the can.

  

People will flock to the streets for any excuse. Would the mayor do the same had the situation and conditions been reversed? Would he or other authorities be able to bear the oven-like heat inside the corrugated iron roof that barely shelters a family of five? seven? more? Would those who were arrested still watch the match if they were quarantined in the big houses where people in authority reside, most probably with air conditioning and where one can actually walk around? 

Groceries remain open but no public transportation. So who can go to get their food without walking – also being discouraged - under the sun? Those with their own vehicles.

Some cities are doing well, like Pasig where the local government put up satellite markets in each barangay so it is easier and nearer for people to access food. My colleague from there said they already have that roving bank – a mobile ATM machine going around the municipality for people’s banking needs. But not all areas have outstanding leaders who would think of their constituents first.

And who would be okay to work from home? People with desk jobs, access to a computer and the internet. At best, these would be managers who probably have their own houses by now and need not worry about monthly rent. Maybe just a monthly loan but that’s okay because they are still working and receiving their salaries so they can pay their loans. 

But how about the daily wage earners? Those working under ‘no work, no pay’ conditions? They would be the ones renting. Where will they get their food, much less their rent? The government dole-out is neither enough nor sustainable.

And in the crowded city where the order is to stand two meters apart, and wear a face shield or mask where only your eyes betray your emotions, you try to abide by the rules or stay home.

Then what if home is not the safest place to be? What about the people who had the outside as a reprieve from the crushing weight of dread and danger of violence? Forcing them to stay home all this time locked up with their perpetrators brings more harm than going outside to confront the virus. It is also as deadly.

For some who are living alone with only their plants, pets, phones or computers to talk to, it can be lonely.

I have always preferred to stay home than go out. But I want to have that choice rather than being forced to stay home. 

The balcony from where I am looking at the world makes me think I am lucky. Staying at home is the only thing I have to deal with and the company of my self. I can be angry and rant about how we were caught off-guard and now cut off. 

As a country, a barangay, an office, a community, as individuals, we were and still are not ready. 

"I am an X in an indeterminate equation. And that X is the rock upon which I stand." - Mario Puzo