اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية
Firstly, welcome to everyone reading this report.
After the outbreak of this pandemic or the so-called “coronavirus” in Lebanon and the occurrence of its serious effects which cause health symptoms that could lead to death, all people were in quarantine and communication stopped between them. We did not have any communication ways except social media channels. This was very annoying because we know that social life brings all family members together. Therefore, this interruption had several negative aspects, one of which was not being able to participate in happy and sad family occasions. Thus we started having these events within the smaller family only. This led to loose social ties and divergence of families and communities.
The quarantine made us use social media channels more to watch and hear about old stories. We can say that we have strengthened our social skills by spending time with other family members. We have also restored the glory of the old times our ancestors and parents talked about. The old times where all family members were always at home. The father in the family used to work in the land by himself. Whereas the mother and children were always at home. They did not work or study at schools or universities because of lack of awareness and affordability of education.
With these stories, we enriched our children’s view of life in the old days and the difference between life in past and present.
Staying at home and hearing many rumors about Coronavirus had negative effects on the mental and physical health. This made people, especially children, more anxious, about the upcoming period and future.
Therefore, I tried and was able to overcome this routine and negative feeling despite everything. I followed different ways to not get bored with longer periods of free time, such as assigning time for studying, praying, practicing physical and electronic games and time for challenges, innovations, winning and failure.
During home quarantine, we enhanced our political knowledge since we were watching news and live coverage on TV and social media channels like Whatsapp and Facebook. It was very interesting to see people helping each other daily. Some people were providing aid to others who were adversely affected by lockdown and were not able to go to work and sustain their families.
Moreover, the Corona pandemic and home quarantine had many impacts on all infrastructure workers in the town, especially those responsible for collecting garbage and cleaning streets. So people started to put their waste on the roads away from their houses and it was being burned from time to time.
Our daily activities became limited and this made me responsible for family matters and taking care of all family members. Our family members of all ages from children to elderly started to help in household work and make lunch and dinner together. We also read and practised our favorite sports exercises at home. Everyone developed their own talent based on their interests. For example, my son played football in the house garden and my daughter played games on the mobile and laptop. While my wife continued working since she works in the nursing sector.
As everyone knows, sports improve physical and mental health of children and adults. So we worked out at home while watching sports programs on TV and the internet.
Disruption of work was one of the challenges that faced people during the pandemic. Thus, food aid was provided by the President of the Palestinian Authority to the entire Palestinian people in Lebanon. I was among other volunteers who helped in distributing these food parcels. People were very happy.
Moreover, I was spending more time with my wife during quarantine compared to the past period, where we were busy in our daily work.
In addition, I was providing moral support to my family and friends through social media and phone calls and I was sharing their joys and sorrows. This brought a sense of satisfaction and had a positive influence on us.
I also created a good atmosphere for the family to feel comfortable by:
Listening to music, relaxing, and meditating.
Playing and having fun with the kids.
Drawing.
Online communication with relatives and friends.
We also did some steps that made the long quarantine more enjoyable for everyone. This was a great chance for us as parents and children to seize.
We will never forget that the year of 2020 will be mentioned in future history books. The books which will also talk about the lockdown and quarantine which were imposed by governments to protect their citizens.
Now, before ending this diary, I want to tell you about a scene that is, in my opinion, so tragic and cannot bear seeing it. While I was in home quarantine, I saw from the window many children coming to search for food in waste dumps. They have poor and critical social and economic circumstances and they do not take into account pandemic risks facing our country. As if they want to tell people that nothing is more difficult than poverty. This hurts me deeply because, despite all the developments in the world and big innovations on every level, we are still facing poverty and lack of cultural and health awareness.
Finally, I would like to thank Catalytic Action for giving me this opportunity to participate in this report.
Moayad Hamadallah, 44, accountant and trader, Palestinian living in Bar Elias