By Kim Khiat Tye
5 April 2020
Funny, isn’t it? It takes the vengeance of a virus to teach humanity a few precious lessons that we all have taken for granted as our lives spin on at a frenetic pace. Well, at least the coronavirus has slowed down our daily rhythm to a crawl to allow us to ponder a few unpalatable truths.
The first truth is that this is a small, small world we live in – a global village that is ever shrinking, helped along by internet connectivity and social media. Hopefully, a new awareness has emerged of our collective fragility as well as the certitudes of life that we have never paused to question. While physical distance still divides, cyberspace unites to bring all of us up-to-date moment by moment of any event, big or small, significant or trivial. In this global village, shorn of borders, there is no more room for them and us, just as there is no more retreating into the cocoon of isolationism a la Donald Trump. When the US president blustered his way onto the world stage, he swiftly promulgated his parochial policy of American first. To hell with the rest of the world, that is! Thus he proceeded post-haste to erect a wall along the Mexican border as well as banned citizens from a number of Muslim countries from entering America. Worse, he extricated America from several multilateral trade agreements, and also signalled his intentions not to co-operate on several international fronts.
Yes, porous borders can be closed, drawbridges raised, co-operation withdrawn, and treaties abrogated, but Trump now has to contend with an “invisible enemy” (in his own words) that is no respecter of physical borders and ocean barriers. This nemesis of a virus has surfaced to bite the President hard, jeopardising his leadership of the world’s only superpower, exposing America’s woeful lack of preparedness for the viral onslaught, and possibly denting his chances of winning a second term come November. The mite of a virus has brought a mighty power almost to its knees in short time. Welcome to the global village where countries big or small now have to look out for one another in a borderless world as far as viruses go.
The second truth is that every action or non-action by a citizen of this global village will have ramifications for humanity. To illustrate, collectively each of us can make a difference to the twin threat of climate change and global pollution to stave off the catastrophes that threaten future generations. For the former, we can be agents of change, influencers or activists in holding governments to account in securing our shared future and that of posterity. For the latter, if each of us refrain from tossing out plastic receptacles, even just one piece, for whatever we consume, we wouldn’t have floating islands of plastic waste today that cover an area the size of France or rivers that are strangled by plastic detritus. And, of course, killing fishes and other sea creatures can overturn the fragile balance of nature, and eventually harming humanity as well through ingesting plastic swallowed by fishes. Similarly, the eating of wild meats and poor hygiene and sanitation standards can have consequences beyond borders as demonstrated in Wuhan, where Covid-19 is said to have made its first appearance.
The third truth is that no country is an island anymore no matter how each may attempt to sequester itself from engaging with the global community. For one, tourists criss-cross the world with relative ease abetted by cheap air fares and the proliferation of budget airlines and cruise liners. Travelling to the ends of the world has become a practical reality. In short, tourists are as ubiquitous as the yellow arches of MacDonald’s all over the globe. Such ubiquity entails risks, especially when diseases surface. Wherever tourists set foot, they may unwittingly introduce whatever they may be carrying, unfortunately. Witness the cruise ship debacle just now as many countries refuse to allow holiday-makers to disembark as the Covid-19 infection spreads on board these vessels, although many had earlier slipped through the net to come ashore obviously giving the virus a leg-up in gaining a new foothold or extending its reach. Consequently, Australia and Japan have refused to allow these holiday-makers to come ashore, following the Ruby Princess debacle in Sydney. The point is that countries are only wiser after the fact and in hindsight. After all, viruses are invisible and when the pandemic is finally vanquished, holiday-makers will be disgorging from planes and liners once again. Who knows what will come next?
The fourth truth is that international tourist spending and the myriad industries they have spawned in many countries underpin numerous national economies today. Every country is fighting hard for its share of the tourist dollar and is rolling out the welcome carpet with alacrity. With such increased traffic, the spread of diseases is quickened as seen in the current pandemic. And tourists unfortunately can be asymptomatic vectors, too. Adding to this international mobility is the global nature of supply chains and the intertwining of economic activities which necessitate business executives travelling frequently. To top it all, a good number of countries – the US, Canada, Australia and a number of European countries in particular – host fairly large migrant communities from many lands. These migrants frequently travel to and fro their adopted homes and their countries of birth. All these movements of people make it impossible to restrict mobility across borders. All this means that viruses can hitch a ride on the backs of these unwitting travellers, tourists, and migrants. Granted that no one would knowingly choose to become carriers of diseases, but viruses are certainly less discerning in choosing whom to infect or use as vectors.
However, the singular positive that has emerged from this pandemic is that our global interconnectedness is a fact of life, and the sooner we recognise it the better. We have to share information quickly in the event of an infectious outbreak no matter how incipient it is; act not only in our own selfish interest but with the weal of the international community in mind; and co-operate on several fronts, especially in medical and disease research and suchlike.
In the post-Covid-19 world, humankind’s shared destiny must no longer be mouthed platitudinously. We cannot ignore the existential problems in Africa where multitudes continually seek to better their lot. The chances of new viruses emerging are very real. We only have to be reminded of SARS, Ebola, and Aids. Poverty provides the perfect petri-dish for new diseases to breed. Our myopic attitude to other’s problems was vividly illustrated in the mid-Nineties when a rust bucket of a vessel loaded with Africans seeking a new life was refused entry by one African port after another although it was in imminent danger of sinking with their desperate human cargo. They were abandoned by the world, so to speak. Back then, I pointed out in a piece of writing that we had failed to recognise that this episode was a harbinger of the woes that would befall our world if we failed to recognise it as our problem but rather choose to look the other way conveniently. Population pressures, hunger, impoverishment, wars, and famines often form the backdrop for new diseases and exotic ones, too, to rear their ugly heads literally, like the hydra-headed coronavirus.
In truth, our world will continue to be ravaged by new epidemics and pandemics. In this fraught scenario, we can either choose to be victors or vectors or, worse, the vanquished in this new theatre of war against many more invisible enemies to come that will test our international resolve and reliance on one another. And ultimately our oneness as the human race.
Covid-19 has been a rude awakening for the world albeit a timely one for humanity to now view the world through a new lens that promotes co-operation and concord, resulting in a new comity of nations. Indeed, Covid-19 has forever transformed the global landscape and it is up to each of us as responsible global citizens to imbibe the hard truths and lessons unleashed by a mite of a virus – Covid-19.
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