VOICE FROM THE SOUTH
It is reasonable to believe that this pandemic will last till the end of 2021. We would wish it were shorter than that. We have to plan and prepare for provisions as to what we will eat and what we will spend in a time that it is hard to earn money. It will take us at least this year and half before we can hope that we will be able to go anywhere when we want to, either to earn or for pleasure. It will take till the end of this year before the competing vaccines will be declared safe and effective. There are about a dozen being developed and hopefully at least half of them will be successful. For how long they will protect us we do not know. But if they protect us at least a year, we will be satisfied. After a year we can have another dose and that will give us what they call herd immunity. That means that someone with the infection will not able to spread it to everybody in the group. In this situation we can already control the spread of the disease. In the mean time we have to earn a living and go on with our lives.
Our political leaders are sensitive about how they are seen to manage the pandemic. We are fortunate that the leader in our country is using his head and following the advice of the scientists. In the US, it has sealed the fate of President Trump. He needs to campaign in large crowds but the decease does not allow him to do so. He is furious at this turn of fate. He is like a wild animal being cornered for his life. Our President is annoyed by it but is just as equally frustrated at his not being able to implement his plans. We all must suffer, some to a greater extent than others. So we have to help each other, especially those in need.
How long do we have to wait before we are able to give a job to anybody who wants a job? How long do we have to wait till we have enough jobs waiting for our people who want to upgrade the jobs that they have? How long? We cannot wait too long. This needs planning and the cooperation of everybody – the financiers, the workers, the planners, and coordinators. It can be done but we need everybody’s help or at least almost everybody.
We cannot leave our mines to languish. The Lord has given us this wonderful resource and we know how to mine properly. Our only trouble is how to share its benefits. We need to come as close to equality but that cannot be reached. There has to be some difference but not so much as to be unfair. This is a rich country and the Lord has blessed us with wonderful natural resources. All we have to do is to get to work.
Our educational system is pretty good. All we need is to tweak it just a little bit for improvement and aim for the skies. Our neighbors have done it; why can we not do it? Taiwan is prospering in spite of the pandemic. Their exports have increased so they have to transform their passenger planes into cargo planes. Our youth are bubbling with enthusiasm. But they need guidance and encouragement. Everybody has to figure out how he can help now and after COVID-19.