Take heed Bajans! . . . Barbadian living in Italy says COVID-19 is no light matter

Lisa Ruck, a young Barbadian professor living in Italy who lost a friend to the coronavirus (COVID-19) is hoping Barbadians adopt the right attitude to the pandemic which has the potential to have a devastating impact on the nation.

Ruck, who is currently on lock down in Rome, miles away from Italy’s coronavirus epicenter Lombardy situated in the northern part of the country, told Barbados TODAY that even though people may be living in fear and uncertainty at the moment, now is the time to be optimistic and sensible.

“We do not know how long this is going to last, so the only choice we have is to adapt. And the sooner we all conform to these restrictions the better things will go. I think people just need to let common sense reign,” Ruck said.

During a frank discussion with Barbados TODAY from her home in Rome, Ruck admitted that initially, like the rest of the world, she saw the virus as an issue for CHINA where it began.

She said she is quite sure that many Barbadians also saw the pandemic as a situation happening across the globe.

Now, having only ventured outside on a few occasions to purchase food, Ruck said her main goal is to remain calm, strong, and carry on her professional life as best as possible while staying safe inside.

The Professor at Luiss Guido Carli University explained that when the lockdown started she continued teaching her classes online.

“I am just trying to carry on as normal as possible. The only difference is there is no back and forth to the university and you can’t meet with friends when you want to,” she said.

When asked if she was missing home at this time, Ruck, who is in her 30s, said no.

“I just came from home this year. I visit home often. But because I have lived away from home for so long I am used to communicating via the internet regardless. So nothing has changed for me in terms of how I communicate with my family and friends back home.

“But, I am worried about people at home not taking the virus seriously. I have been seeing videos with people crowding at the supermarket or in front of shops. But, no, I am not missing home necessarily. My mom calls me every day.”

On the point that some Barbadians seem not to be taking the virus as seriously as they should, Ruck urged her countrymen to change some of their thoughts and behavioural patterns.

She said she was not pleased to see videos circulating showing people crowding at supermarkets on the island a few weeks ago when the lockdown was announced.

“It is so irresponsible. There is no excuse for the crowding. I am sorry but we have a lockdown here in Italy too. We didn’t have any notice that it was coming either. We were told about the lockdown late a Sunday night that it would be instituted from Monday morning and you didn’t see anybody crowding up and fighting up in front of a supermarket and there are 60 million people here so there is no excuse for that behaviour.

“I don’t buy into that excuse that poor people were panicking. Do better. Take some responsibility. I think all Bajans know what three feet is. Space yourselves properly. There is a supermarket here on my street and the people are lined up and spaced out very orderly in a long line waiting to get into a supermarket and we doing it in the cold,” Ruck advised.

As it relates to her thoughts on how authorities have been handling the pandemic, Ruck noted that while there is no playbook for the situation, she believes Government has been mirroring measures implemented in other parts of the world and trying to see what will work best for the society and population.

“I think the Government is doing the best they could. At least we have a proactive Government. They are feeling their way through as they go. People debate that the country should have been shut down sooner. But I ask people all the time how Bajans would have gotten back home.

“We have agreements with airlines and cruise ship carriers and Barbados is a major port. How are we going to get things imported into the country? People do not focus on facts, but we still have to keep Barbados functioning because we are an island and we can’t function alone. I would say though that in terms of what I see working here in Italy is we have not closed supermarkets. You cannot close people’s access to food. Food sources are still opened.

“People go and line up very orderly and wait and get their food. I think it would be nice if we adopt the same campaign as the Czech Republic ‘I protect you, you protect me’ to try to establish that people understand it’s a community effort that is going to battle this thing,” she said.

What lessons do you think the COVID-19 pandemic has in store for Barbados?

She said Barbados should become a more technologically advanced and modernized society when the pandemic is over.

“Definitely the education system and the way we teach and the way we deliver lessons – there is definitely going to be a step forward in the right direction there. It was a push off the cliff, but it needed to happen. There is room for improvement in the banking and payment systems and getting companies and businesses online.

“Then, the realization that we can’t feed ourselves and making steps towards food security. The focus has always been on tourism and now tourism gone. So what are we going to do now?

“As an educator, I know we focus so much on academics in Barbados and we do not give way to the essential services and jobs in our population, or we disregard, or we underpay, like being a teacher. At this time look at what we still need. We still need teachers, garbage men, nurses, farmers, the media, because those are essential jobs,” Ruck said.

She continued: “If America, like they did with the PPE [Personal Protective Equipment] that was supposed to come down, supposed the US decides ‘we need to reserve our food for us so we cutting outside shipments’. What are we going to do? We have to look at supporting ourselves.”

All across the world people are in pain over the loss of loved ones from the deadly virus and they have found that not being able to say goodbye to that special someone before they take their last breath is particularly hard.

Ruck found herself in this sad place about a month ago when her friend Alex died from the virus. Ruck said that Alex, a Scottish Italian passed away in London after battling with the symptoms of the virus for a short period.

“He walked to the ambulance I was told, and then five days later he passed away. And the sad thing about this is that you die alone. Because you go into the hospital for COVID there is no visiting. So many people lost their families and their family members never get to see them and they die alone.”

Ruck said Alex, 52, had no underlying conditions to her knowledge.

“And because you can’t gather, you can’t really have funerals. The funeral homes up north were so overwhelmed that they just resorted to cremating people. Usually, in small towns in Italy, whenever there is a death in the neighbourhood, the entire town gathers and they carry your casket through your village or town and the entire town follows.

“Also, it is tradition that we bury people the next day in Italy. The case with Alex is that he has such a huge group of friends here in Rome and even if we couldn’t fly out to London we would have still had a memorial for him here.

“But instead we have had to console each other via Skype, and Whatsapp call and messages which is very sad because he was a very social person with friends all over the world and had this extraordinary life. We need Barbadians to take this virus seriously,” she said.

anestahenry@barbados.bb