More important things
by Richard Allen in Kathmandu
It is one more stark example of the differences of the haves and have nots. The British press of all shades have been endlessly headlining, for months and months, the possibilities of when the British public will be permitted to go on holiday and where to, and the necessity for testing, quarantine, lock-ins on their return from an overseas holiday. One of the worst examples of the British fake news spreaders recently headlined the fact that the Nepali variant (currently unproven and non-existent) is a threat to their holidays – and, oh horrors, Portugal has just moved from green to amber.
To me, a Brit living and working in Nepal, which is, as most will know, having a very tough time with COVID, this focus on when and where we can go on holiday, is astonishing. In comparison with so many countries in the world, the UK is so so comfortable, so much of that comfort still deriving from the long gone hundreds of years during which Britannia once ‘ruled the waves’.
Here in Nepal, the great majority of the population don’t have the resources or time to go on holiday – the great majority are farmers who have crops and animals to care for every day of the year. Nepal is not alone, we read too much of the wars and troubles in too many countries to list here.
And now the Covid virus. But when nations of the world need to come together, realise at a fundamental level that we are all in this together, that it is not going away, and that the only way we can control the spread is to cooperate, scrap ideas of borders, and separateness……the worst elements of the British press nominate countries to blame and invent non-existent variants.
Added to the decision to reduce the overseas aid budget by £4 billion, which led to our NGO having to apologize to our Nepali partners who had wasted well over 100 hours on preparing a proposal for UK Aid for an enlightened agroforestry programme down the hills from Everest, the Brits in Nepal have now been further embarrassed by the naming and shaming of this wonderful country on the front pages of our little island newspapers.
Is there no empathy and compassion left? Is it all about separation nowadays? Are we all existing in our own little spaces, territories, countries within our own little blinkered support groups? No, it is not all about this, there are hundreds of examples of countries, peoples, trans national groups working together for the betterment of humanity, the environment and the world – but this Covid virus has certainly shone a light on the failure of world and national leadership to put politics aside and be able to work together in the time of a worldwide crisis. And it is not as if we do not have a few other crises bubbling up across the world!
It appears as if most world leaders are not plugged into the spirit of humanity. I saw the G7 described as the “leading” nations, then the “advanced” nations – what does the G stand for…… global – really?....... they are certainly advanced in galling, garrulous, gold-digging, greed, grating….. and refusing freedom from patents…..after all, we could be making our own vaccinations in Nepal.
If the seven of them, or 20 of them, whatever, need an example of focused energy, discipline and compassion, in relation to this Covid pandemic, please take a look at Bhutan and New Zealand.
Only two things can control this virus – a permanent lockdown, or vaccinating > 75% of the world population – the former is unrealistic, and we are very far from the latter.
Vaccines please, leaders – scientists in many different countries have done such an amazing job in developing these vaccines, please don’t screw it up with hoarding, allowing vaccines to expire, self-serving press conferences, unnecessary expenditure on flat and press room renovations - please leave your competitive personalities at the Olympics and on the football fields. In fact, come to think of it, so much money is wasted on the never ending arms race, wars, conflicts, controlling of populations…., that maybe a short holiday for the wealthy is the least of our worries. But, my God, it is annoying to see it on the front pages.
Many of us have seen friends, acquaintances, and people we know suffer or die during this pandemic. Can we not leave behind the baggage of fear, envy and resentment, and put judgements aside for this year? Can we instead be gentle and patient, and live the words “for the common good”, rather than just speak them.
Well, I am sending this over to the UK now, and I will get back to lockdown, Kathmandu style – wondering where the next bucks are coming from (haven’t earned a bean since June last year), but its fasting week with my daughter, and I’ll continue with my meditation course, reading and gardening….. sure, I would love to go on holiday, and I am one of the lucky ones that can afford it, but right now, dear Brits, dear editors, dear leaders, there are more important things.