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Michelle Rutendo Shamba in Tianjin, China
THE COVID-19 pandemic has brought untold suffering across the entire globe. Call it havoc, a crisis that threatens to decimate the entire world population if it goes unchecked.
The global crisis is undoubtedly worsening with most countries completely shut down, businesses and schools, to mention but a few, have been temporarily closed.
When the coronavirus broke out in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China late last year, we did not expect it to cause as much havoc as it has to date.
While pressure, uncertainty and fear is piling up on many, a lot of my countrymen and women may be wondering how international students abroad are coping during this time.
Parents and guardians with children here, in China, spend sleepless nights over the safety of their offspring. Mudhara wangu and my mom are no exception as they constantly check on me even when I tell them I am perfectly fine and safe. I always believe their minds are not settled and they do not believe that we are safe at the University where we have been isolated for a good two months. April marks the third month.
You cannot blame them. This is so because of the distorted information which has been circulating especially on social media ever since the outbreak of this virus here.
When falsehood and distorted information is repeated over and over again, it tends to become truth and gets to the hearts and minds of many, so convincing mudhara wangu, Mhofu, that I am doing fine has been a tall order.
Anyway, you might still be scratching your heads thinking how we have survived this far being in a country where the outbreak began. Life has not been the same, having been in-doors for so many days.
The impact of the outbreak reached our University when we were informed that no one would be allowed to leave the University campus. This was hell on earth because my whole life I had never had to stay in one place for such a long time.
Reality hit me in the face each time I switched on my phone because all I could see was news on how every hour more and more people were getting infected or dying. Apa ndipo painge patangira ma1.
Checking my Wechat (one of the main social platforms used for communication here in China) the only trending issues there, were on how my fellow students were breaking down more and more due to depression and stress. Then I could feel the impact of how serious the situation had become. It was real and I kept on asking myself, “was this the end of the world?”
At the end of February it was reported that a Ugandan student was alleged to have committed suicide by jumping out of the window from the 7th floor of his University room where he was staying with his other two country-mates. It is said he had been over stressed and depressed due to the coronavirus situation.
My friends and I tried to come up with different games to avoid finding ourselves in the same situation but each time we would step out of our hostel the police would show us the exact same door that we came out from because they claimed it was not safe and they never wanted to see more than two people together outside.
My life revolved within the four walls where it was just my roommate and I who even made the situation more complex for me as she could not stop talking about home and how badly she wanted to return due to the fear of getting infected.
What kept me going was the fact that the cases of the virus were not so many in our city as compared to other places within China. But when I read the news that it had crossed to Africa, that worried me most and my sixth sense told me I was better off here than back home.
Some University students got financial assistance from their universities and the government which made the burden a little lighter on them and gave them peace of mind because there had been a huge price increase on food and other basics.
Because schools had temporarily closed, we started having online classes. This somewhat brought our lives back because our minds where now occupied with something different from the COVID-19 news. But it was still not the same.
I really miss home and wish to return but with the way things are at the moment, we feel safer here because travelling exposes you more to the virus. I hope that all this will soon come to pass because these days have really been unbearable. However, I keep reminding myself that God got me and that He kept me safe till today.
This is how the Covid-19 journey has been for us here in China and be rest assured that my fellow students and I are safe and we are going to come out of this stronger than before because we have adjusted to the situation which will obviously change my life and everyone else’s forever.
Stay safe Zimbabweans. The trick to surviving this pandemic is simple. Pray to God and always follow the advice of health experts. Maintain the social distancing, wash your hands regularly and stay at home.
This has been our trick. This pandemic will soon come to pass and we will go back to our normal daily routine.
Online Reporter