COVID AND OUR BETTER ANGELS | Spiritual Alchemy

AS WORLD LEADERS ATTEMPT TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF A GLOBAL PANDEMIC WE ARE LEFT TO WONDER HOW WE WILL MATCH UP TO THE COURAGE AND SELFLESSNESS OF ANOTHER GENERATION.

With the outbreak of WW2 in 1939, rationing began, first petrol then food was severely rationed. Everyone was issued with a ration book to register at chosen shops. Shopkeepers were given only enough food for registered customers and housewives had to find inventive ways to make meals appetising. Rationing led to black markets. with additional non-rationed supplies ‘under the counter’, for those who could afford it. This was a lucrative industry with a maximum five-year jail sentence. Certain foods were unobtainable, many children had never seen a banana and their sweets were rationed until the end of rationing in 1953.

Clothing was also rationed with one set of clothes allowed per year which could only be bought with allocated coupons. A dress might be 11 coupons, a pair of stockings 2. Men’s shoes took 7 coupons, while women’s shoes were only 5. In 1945 an overcoat needed 18 coupons; a man’s suit, 26–29. People were encouraged to repair rather than replace their clothing, and a generation retained sewing skills.

Operation Pied Piper: In the first four days of September 1939 in the UK nearly 3,000,000 people were transported from towns and cities in danger from enemy bombers, to places of safety. The government then took the decision to evacuate children from the cities to live with foster parents in the countryside. From 13 to 18 June 1940, around 100,000 children were evacuated within a week. Parents were issued with a list detailing what their children should take with them. These items included a gas mask in its case, a change of underclothes, night clothes, plimsolls (or slippers), spare stockings or socks, toothbrush, comb, towel, soap, face cloth, handkerchiefs and a warm coat.

Children separated from their parents and with identification labels pinned to their clothing, were herded into railway stations accompanied by an army of volunteers. Hundreds of children arrived in the wrong area with insufficient rations. They were unaware of where they were going, why or when they would be coming back home. They experienced the trauma of separation and isolation at a young age leading to psychological damage for many. As city dwellers, they often found it difficult to adapt to a life in the countryside with strangers. Some retained happy memories as adults having made lifelong friendships with their foster families, while others suffered brutalising situations with lasting trauma. When parents and children were reunited, often several years later, there were inevitable estrangements to be worked through, sometimes never reconciled.

Times have changed: As epidemiologist and virologists seek to understand the origins and potential needs to control the pandemic covid restrictions and mandates are being imposed. In Australia social distancing guidelines were ignored with crowds thronging Bondi Beach, resulting in a government closure of beaches. All cafes and restaurants as well as pubs, clubs, casinos, gyms and places of worship are closed. In the UK Weddings are restricted to five people including the couple with funerals restricted to 10 mourners. From March 25th, all libraries, museums, galleries, beauty salons, tattoo parlours, shopping centre food courts, auctions, open houses, amusement parks, arcades, indoor and outdoor play centres, swimming pools, and indoor exercise activities will be shut down.

INSPIRATIONAL HERO’S

Italian doctor Marcello Natali a father of two, died Wednesday from COVID-19, at the age of 57 after working tirelessly treating patients. Doctor Natali, who worked at the Codogno hospital, the epicenter of the pandemic in Italy, had frequently sounded the alarm about problems regarding Italy’s slow response to the crisis. Two days before his death he stated he and colleagues were working without gloves due to the shortage.

An Italian priest who gave a respirator to a younger coronavirus patient he did not know, has died of the disease. Father Giuseppe Berardelli, 72, died in hospital in Lovere, Bergamo – one of the worst-hit cities in Italy.

WE CAN ONLY HOPE THAT THE VIRUS HAS SUCCEEDED IN AWAKENING MANY OF US TO THE TRUTH THAT IT IS IN ADVERSITY THAT WE FIND OUR BETTER ANGELS.