Here in Naples, we’ve been wearing layers for months, shivering in the city’s piazzas as we drink our spritz at night, counting down the days until summer. I was dreaming of my first summer on the Amalfi Coast – of basking in the sun, swimming in the warm sea and generally relishing in hedonism and merriment.
The end of March is supposed to be the start of spring in the Mediterranean, and the last few days, the sunshine and the scent of spring air have been taunting us from our balconies. And here we are, all of us stuck inside like we’re under house arrest. It’s just fucking surreal.
You always kind of wonder how society will react in these kind of scenarios. You know, emergency scenarios. Catastrophe scenarios. It’s a morbid yet captivating thought. Movies like The Day After Tomorrow, Birdbox, Invasion, War of the Worlds, insert your favorite post-apocalyptic movie here – they capture our minds the tantalizing question of “what if?”
Well, now we don’t have to wonder “what if.” We’re seeing it for ourselves. Not to be dramatic or alarmist – true, there are no giant three-legged cyclops Martians laser beaming us to dust à la War of the Worlds – but still. Things are hardly dandy.
We are now witnessing the domino effect of a pandemic on our modern, globalized society’s economy, supply chain, healthcare system, and soon, job market. I’m hard-pressed to think of an industry or facet of society that won’t be affected by this situation in some way. While it’s difficult to guess exactly what will happen (as the situation is still playing out) it’s safe to say this is a moment in history we won’t soon forget.
In Naples, the first faint rumblings of the coronavirus were felt when city dwellers began to return to the center to get back into the groove of work and school after spending a few leisurely weeks in their hometowns for the holidays. I was feeling optimistic about a new year and a new decade. I even renewed my gym membership. How sweet my innocence was.
At the time, we were all reeling from the devastation from the bush fires in Australia. Then, the seemingly random assassination of Iranian major general Qasem Soleimani that caused a collective oh shit, oh shit, oh shit moment around the world. People in Naples were scared. Everyone was talking about it in the streets as if war was about to break out.
By comparison, this mysterious flu affecting a small pool of people in Wuhan was still second page news. It felt like it would probably fizzle out and be forgotten. Who’d ‘a thunk that by March, we would indeed be facing a global crisis, but it would have nothing to do with war?
For me, it’s been interesting to witness different people react to this situation – from friends to strangers in Facebook groups to political leaders. Everyone has had a different response. For a while, there was this sort of Vive la résistance attitude here in Italy among the people and businesses – myself included, in the beginning.
People figured the media was just blowing this situation out of proportion. Trying not to buy into fear mongering, we went about our normal routines. I don’t think you can’t really blame people for that. It’s hard to break out of that fog: Oh yes, another terrible thing is happening in the world. Well, what else is new?
We have all trained ourselves to digest and suppress horrifying information and go about as normal. That’s a survival mechanism, and it’s useful – nay, necessary – most of the time. So, it makes sense that our collective knee-jerk reaction was to minimize the severity and go about business and usual.
Especially with certain world leaders – *cough* Donald Trump and Boris Johnson – still touting that same cavalier, pish-posh attitude month after month while this epidemic turned into a pandemic. At least they’re finally getting in gear now. Now that containment is no longer possible.
Compared to the U.S.’ efforts to broach this coronavirus situation – or lack thereof – I think the Italian government has done an impressive job. The medical centers have been testing patients diligently and reporting the number of infections with transparency since day one. And the reaction time and quarantining of towns in Northern Italy was pretty quick, I’d say.
At one point, Italian officials even urged citizens to stop the practice of baccetti (you know, the little cheek kisses Europeans do as a greeting), eliciting hilarious headlines like “Coronavirus fears prompt Italy to ban kisses.” But unfortunately, asking Italians not to kiss each other is like … asking an American to stop hoarding toilet paper. Good luck with that.
Anyway, Naples and the region of Campania in general, was unaffected for a few weeks as they attempted to contain the virus in the North. It was shocking and frightening to hear that the towns were “quarantined.” You immediately wonder what that means for the people living there. What does a quarantine even look like? When do we ever even use this word outside of an apocalypse movie?
I guess, here in the South, we were hoping against hope that we wouldn’t find out for ourselves. Then, each day, we received little pieces of news that the walls were caving in on us, too. Two cases here, two cases there – in this neighboring town, in that neighboring town. Finally, in our town.
First, in Naples, they limited the hours of the restaurants and bars and told people to practice social distancing. Then, last week, they closed all businesses except for supermarkets and pharmacies and told us not to come outside unless it’s absolutely necessary. If you’re wondering what that means, we basically aren’t allowed to do anything – can’t go to the park, can’t sit on a bench, can’t stroll around aimlessly. You just have to stay inside.
I mean, it’s still Italy. It’s not like 1984. If you go outside and walk around the block, the police aren’t going to run up behind you and shank you. But if you’re caught wandering around for no reason, you could be fined or face jail time. Yes, seriously.
So basically, the highlight of my day is going to the supermarket. In Naples, you have to wait outside in lines to get inside because they only allow a handful of people in at a time. When someone exits the store, then they’ll let one more person in. If you’re with a friend, you can’t go in together. You have to wait your turn. Everyone is wearing masks and standing far away from each other.
As far as any worries about food and supplies, I haven’t experienced anything like that yet. Our supermarket has plenty of produce and nonperishable food. And toilet paper. But I can only speak for my neighborhood. I’m not sure what’s going on elsewhere. Hopefully, everyone has all the food and supplies they need.
As I’m writing this, it’s been about one week (I’ve lost count of the days) since the government imposed the strict regulations.
Even as a self-proclaimed introvert that usually needs to be dragged out of the house, I’ve become frustrated to the point of tears in these past few days. I can’t do the things that I want to do. I want to go to the park. I want to go on a train to a different area of town. I want to sit at a coffee shop. I want to go to the library. I want to buy a mother fucking pizza, God damn it! These are the things that make life worth living. And it’s only been one short week. Imagine if this situation continues for months. I shudder at the thought.
But, on the other hand, it’s not the end of the world. I am a two-minute walk to the supermarket, I am able to work from home, and I am in a comfortable apartment with a washer/dryer and functioning plumbing, hot water, Internet and electricity. I am feeling very grateful for those things. I’m sure there are a lot of people who are not as lucky as I am right now.
I saw a meme somewhere online that said “If our grandparents were called to war, we can be called to sit inside and watch Netflix,” which is exactly what I needed to hear.
In fact, for me, I feel like maybe it’s the right time for a little time out. Maybe this is a good time for us all to think about how we’re living our lives and what is important – politically, religiously, philosophically – on an individual level and on a group level.
During this time, we are being challenged to think about others; perhaps you are physically strong, but perhaps your neighbor is not. Perhaps no one from your government will hold you accountable for how you conduct yourself during this time – likely, not. But even still, your actions could save or cost lives.
Looking through a more political lens, the faults in our healthcare systems’ flaws are highlighted. Does it still feel valid to argue that we don’t have the money to invest in making sure people are covered? Is the freedom of the market still paramount to human lives?
Taking that philosophy outside of this specific crisis, how do we, as a species, want to think about our other even greater challenges, moving forward?
Is saving the planet still going to be a problem that’s too inconvenient or expensive to address now? Do we still want to wait until our time is already spent before we decide it’s time to try to turn the tides?
Or can we take something good from this situation? Can we realize that we need to work together and plan together – and that if we don’t, we will suffer more hardship?
In a way, this COVID-19 thing really isn’t “that bad.” I guess it depends on what you compare it to. It’s not Invasion. It’s not War of the Worlds. It’s not the black fucking plague. It’s a little taste of how vulnerable we truly are, as a species and as a society.
Maybe this could also be the kick in the ass we need to appreciate the things we take for granted. The small things and the big things. I know that for me, it already has been.
I’m still hoping that in a year we can look back on this time and say, thank God it wasn’t as bad as they said it was going to be. Or at least, thank God we made it through that. Humanity has survived worse and we will survive this. But I hope more than survive it, we will use it as a springboard for more change.