Testing Times in Pakistan
Mehmal Sarfraz for The Telegraph
April 2nd, 2020
Below is an excerpt of the op-ed by Asia 21 Young Leader Mehmal Sarfraz, originally published by The Telegraph on March 31st, 2020.
When the coronavirus pandemic ends, the world as we know it will change in ways that we cannot predict right now. There are some hard truths that we would most likely witness, including the fact that countless lives would be lost in the process and some governments that failed to rise to the occasion would be ousted. A global recession seems to be in the offing. World economies have seen a pushback. Some ask if this is nature telling the human race to pause, to take a break, to rethink our future. We will only know if we are fortunate enough to survive this.
The world is coming to grips with the following facts: tourist spots are empty; international flights are mostly suspended; most shops are closed; places of worship have been temporarily shut down; healthcare facilities seem inadequate in the face of the coronavirus pandemic; and we are relatively clueless.
The tragedy that is unfolding right before our eyes should make us reflect. Do we really need to spend so much money on wars and weapons? Why hasn’t healthcare been a priority in this world full of greed? The gap between the rich and the poor has never been so obvious — look at the lockdowns around us. The poorest of the poor are scared. They have nowhere to turn to. Those of us who are privileged enough to self-isolate at our homes will not be able to understand what those who scamper to make ends meet even under normal circumstances are going through right now. We can only hope that our governments can provide food to them in these difficult times. People should also donate to the needy as much as they can afford to. These people are the most vulnerable on account of their living conditions. They need help now more than ever.