29 Mar 2020  |   04:23am IST

Letter from Lisbon to my countrymen

lthough I live in Lisbon, I can't stop thinking about my countrymen who are in Goa, especially now that Covid-19 has taught us that we all depend on each other and that solidarity must be increasingly a universal good.

As I was informed, there are people in Goa who have been found positive and are kept in isolation.

I am little sad with this news, and there are probably more infected people in Goa, only they may not know, because the reaction may not be immediate but come later.

So I ask you to take advantage of the experience of other countries, such as China, Italy and Spain, and do your best to avoid reaching the frightening numbers of Lombardy, Northern Italy.

As I am not a doctor and being 78 years old and part of the risk group, I can tell you how I behave daily since the emergency state was decreed by our President of the Republic.

I fully execute the guidelines laid down by our General Health Directorate, which, in turn, follow the instructions of the World Health Organisation and in turn apply to the specific Portuguese case.

Here, in Portugal, what the specialists ask is simple but extremely important things.

I remember that during my youth in Goa, we respected older people. Whenever I visit my homeland I find that this practice continues to be followed.

Excellent, but the best way to express the respect, love and togetherness for the elderly is to stay apart from them. I will explain: the virus, which many young people carry, if it is often very bad for themselves, has proven to be fatal for the elderly.

For this reason, here in Portugal, the elderly, not only are requested, but are also obliged to stay at home.

Obviously if they were alone, without being able to shop for their food they would die of hunger.

So they are allowed to go out just to buy food and go to the pharmacies. However, young people have proven that solidarity is not an empty word. Many help the old for shopping and place the shopped items at the entrance of their door, without ever entering the house. They talk to each other what is strictly necessary, always keeping a distance of one metre and a half or two metres.

I remember that when I was young, parties and large gatherings were scarce because our purchasing power was very low.

Fortunately today, the general purchasing power of Goans is greater, so wedding parties and specially birthday parties are frequent and many more people than before gather at these parties.

What I ask you is not only to reduce parties and gatherings, but work for their total extinction, until we are free from the evil that plagues the earth.

When I go to Goa, as I stay in Penha de França, I know, from my own experience, how buses are crowded. If you like your land, your friends, your family, your neighbours, or any other person, then please only catch the bus when you have no other alternative, but even so, always keep a distance of one metre from one passenger to another.

It is evident they will answer that it is impossible. I assure you that nothing is impossible when human life is at risk.

We know that children learn by touching objects and putting them in their mouths. This childhood habit continues to accompany us, so we tend to touch things.

Only now we need to be extra careful because any surface may be infected with the new virus.

So, I wanted to challenge you. Check how long you can stay without touching your face, especially your mouth, nose and eyes, or glasses in case you use them.

The best thing we can is: do not to give a ride to the virus for our lungs, is to wash our hands thoroughly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, several times a day.

Washing, washing, washing has to be our motto.

I hope that the owners of the bigger shops such as the supermarkets as well as pharmacies should start themselves asking their customers not to crowd the counters but stay outside in a line keeping the distance of 1.5m from each other and allow only those to come in after others have been serviced and have left the establishments.

Do a big favour for yourself: please remain at home as much as possible. By remaining at home you will help yourself and others.

If you are not today in an emergency state you will soon be.

And if you now have questions about the new virus and its consequences, during the emergency state you will have even more and get fewer answers; many doubts and few uncertainties will remain.

Realise also that governments have to take care of our health without choking our economies.

The defence and preservation of humanity is now in our hands.

(The author is in Lisbon)


IDhar UDHAR

Idhar Udhar