করোনা ডায়েরি-২: Fragmented and fermented thoughts during the time of COVID-19

‘Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!’

—Leonardo da Vinci

 

I.

THEY say that wars and pandemics bring new opportunities before the puppet masters behind the world order and economics. But what they forget, unfortunately, why all these happen and for whom the changes are for. They also forget that some eccentric minds, historically, also get a deeper understanding and unbiased view towards the system that literally controls everything from cradle to the grave.
Did they forget what had we done to the lungs of the planet earth just a few months before the virus attacking our own lungs? Obviously I am not talking about any divine or environmentalist punishment nor a movie-like engineered pandemic but a coincidental opportunity, perhaps.

II.

A PANDEMIC like COVID-19, said to be the prelude to the WWIII, is gradually unmasking the suppressed human instincts exiled in the name of civilisation and development. The examples vary from leaving suspected COVID-19 positive mother in the woods, exploiting new ways to amass more money, slapping religious tags on the pandemic itself to promote more racial hatred and opportunities and the list goes on.
The same old blame games like — the United States is trying to accuse China for the pandemic, local representatives misappropriating relief materials, industrial entities developing newer strategies to keep their productions up pushing the workers’ life into risk and the list also goes on.
Although, the physicians, pharmacists, scientists, healthcare sector workers along with some unsung individuals and professionals, like law enforcers and journalists, are putting their lives into the highest risk to fight the virus and save lives across the world.
Some ‘disturbing’ countries like Cuba and Vietnam, on contrary, are doing outstanding works for the welfare of their people against that of the ‘developed countries’ we define as Arcadia. Although, a good number of Bangladeshi people are dying in those Arcadias every day, amid the unabated first class facilities, due to their ‘lower’ education and lifestyle.
But, a geeky brain might look for the hidden pillars on which the Arcadias are established as the role model of development. COVID-19 is presently taking the highest tolls in those developed countries with the best social and medical facilities. The geeky mind might also analyse their clean images — run on the media and in our dreams — at their stay-home-stay-safe leisure period.
This is the first time, of many past pandemics, ever, the world is experiencing a war without any arms but frequently washing their ‘arms,’ staying home, maintaining distances avoiding social contacts that most of the cases are diplomatic in nature.
All the praises, that defined Homo sapiens the supreme species in the galaxy till the date, are under an acid test and perhaps would fit into the RNA or DNA of a virus in the end of this pandemic.
As the pandemic goes on — the society, social and news media are contaminated with rumours, engineered information, agents and self-proclaimed Messiahs — misguiding even the people with the highest academic degrees indulging into the bliss of ignorance. Ignorance, inversely, is bliss only for the self-taught geeks who relentlessly acquire knowledge and wisdom exploiting it.

A Suburb Once Existed Back in 2013 

III.

MY WIFE gave birth to a baby on March 7 at a suburb where we have passed more than six years as an unsocial, eccentric couple doing ‘bizarre’ adventures that caused frowns to fellow friends and in some cases local musclemen who defined the rules of social ‘intimacy’ and ‘standards.’ They are interestingly feeling insecure over their past history of ‘social contacts’ — with due respect I am not mocking at them exploiting the crisis situation.
I was a bit annoyed about the sense of responsibilities of the interns and veteran doctors about handling patients, especially a full time pregnancy case. Interestingly, most of them were females themselves and treating my wife like, ‘Oh! Why this girl is carrying a piece of meat in her tummy?’
No I am not accusing them but the social system that brought them up as a curing machine.
I have a long first-hand experience of closely observing how a tender mind becomes a veteran medical professional — be a doctor, a pharmacist, a physiotherapist — step by step. Many of them are my good old friends and relatives — companions of the most beautiful memories of my life.
I am well aware of their dedication, their emotional attachment to the patients, their talent and relentless efforts to become the best to save the ailing souls.
The ancient professions that deal with humans and information, the two most sensitive entities in the world, are the most misunderstood unsung heroes — doctors and journalists — who are doing their works in solemn silence, in this pandemic as well, without any expectation.
I left my wife and a nine-day old boy and joined my workplace on March 15, a week before the general holidays. I do not know whether I will be able to hold them again, but have to write a list of ‘mysterious people’ in my encrypted notebook, who, in my opinion, will give him a guideline for understanding the reality in future in a world of manipulated information, media and education system. It might sound sexist that there is only one woman in the list.
A father, in a world full of ‘practical people’, leaving behind a scattered library, a studio and some encrypted documents for his heir who might obviously be proved as an ‘unsuccessful’ one. But, I might be wrong, if I am no more after the pandemic — wish the mother and her child live their normal life expectancy — his mother and the gifts will be a philosopher’s stone in a utopia-like post-doom dystopia soon ahead. But the ability to understand and utilise this property must be acquired by the Pisces soul himself through the lifelong monotonous and rigorous practices.
Meanwhile, my father had an emergency haemorrhoidectomy during the lockdown period on April 8. The hospital was just at the centre of one of the hotspots in our town. The surgeon, his old friend, had to release him in a hurry fearing the virus infection. I have plenty of time, as I am working from home nowadays, to observe him closely at this age. My childhood hero, a veteran freedom fighter of the war of liberation in 1971, who brought me up as a geek and gave the first lessons of the hacking culture is now losing the war. Against what? Diseases? Age? False promises? Poverty? The System? Or what?

IV.

MANY trifling issues get intense hype on mainstream as well as social media. A few things I have noticed perhaps failed to draw the attention of my learned friends.
Irrespective of their religious identity, as human beings, people living in war torn areas like Syria, Kashmir, or the Uyghurs in China and Rohingyas are not getting that much attention in mainstream media they got few months back before the pandemic — at least how they are doing, how are their health condition, whether they are getting any medical, humanitarian help during the worldwide emergency.
Increasing domestic violence for staying long time together during the lockdown period, effects on immigration, migrants, workers and the upcoming ranges of ‘social distance’ are also prime concerns for the future world apart from the much hyped economy.
It seems that the intelligent brains vocal for humanity, human rights, social-political-economic-scientific development, free thinking and different types of rights went in either quarantine or failed to prove the importance of their respective topics during a real world crisis outside their comfort zone, beyond their control.
People with or without home have plenty of leisure time to do brain exercise, in spite of hunger and inadequate supply of daily commodities, and question their reality in the face of higher risk of dying. If they start those forbidden activities of studying as well as thinking to find the answers, chances are high that the silver coating and spell of the intellectual tongues will disappear and proved defunct. Ironically this is the crucial time for both of the sides to survive — at present and in future.
For example — we need not to go far — a photograph published on New Age showing ‘poor people jostle to collect currency notes thrown at them by Dhaka South City Corporation chief executive officer Shah Md Imdadul Hoque from a vehicle at the Science Laboratory crossing in Dhaka’ on March 31.
This event of people fighting to collect so called relief money could not draw much media attention, but geeky minds might now question their realities before and during a real world emergency, outside their comfort zone in social media — how the system treat them, who do they feed and why.

A Morning with or without Her.

V.

WE MUST do some brain work and at least use the common-sense to survive in this situation from being manipulated — from now to the future.
Like the past, an anarchy or world war may trigger a change in the world order. The change may seem to be the ultimate solution but that will soon collapse due to the ignorance of political, social, religious and scientific figures around the globe.
The intelligence of a species must not be counted by the financial or technological advancement. It’s the time to reconsider everything. It’s time to understand the thinking and rewarding systems of Homo sapiens, their philosophy and psyche. Other than the next hypothetical evolution of the human species will fall in the same pitfall of eternal ignorance.
The practice of criticising a particular government or person will not bring any effective and durable results, at all. A critical thinker must bear in mind that even the most powerful government or influential individual is a pawn of a well-established system based on utilising the human ignorance and malpractices deeply rooted in the society.

VI.

I AM a dreamer. I wish we will reunite under the bluest sky, breathe the fresh new air with a deeper and unbiased view towards the system and the world order.
A tiny virus has unmasked our faces and washed away the makeups.

Part One is here.

Published on the New Age Youth.