Letters | Coronavirus pandemic: how US found out it is not immune to crisis in a borderless world
- The US, preoccupied with the Democratic presidential primaries, did not sufficiently prepare for the impending crisis
- As for too-cool-to-be-scared American teens making viral memes, online learning is a gift that must be taken seriously
Few coronavirus stories perhaps start like mine, with an evacuation from Myanmar, where I had been travelling, in January. It was my second time fleeing Asia. The first was in November, when I left the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology as violent protests hit the city.
Leaving Myanmar, I wrote in my journal: “I cried the first time I left Hong Kong – for the city’s unsure future, for China’s unwavering heartlessness. I cried at home because I felt safe, and I hadn’t realised how lucky I was to have the birthright freedoms that Hongkongers fight for. Now I leave again, and am selfishly wistful about material things left in my dorm. My never-ending anxiety reminds me to have perspective, how fortunate I am to head an ocean away from the worldwide pandemic.”
Maybe, instead of waving the flag of nationalism, we could have heeded warnings and prepared, acknowledging we aren’t untouchable on our side of the pond in a borderless world.
I appeal to my fellow Gen Zers to pause making insensitive viral memes and recognise that students everywhere have been learning online for months. My operations professor, whom I will never meet, says on video, “Anyone can teach you but only you can learn.” Instead of mourning your “ruined” semester on social media, how about making the best of your online learning tools?