COVID-19

COVID-19

Dini Harmita 

This is pure my opinion. COVID-19 has taken many lives therefore I decided to write about it. Indonesia becomes the second country with highest case of COVID-19 in Asia, after India. It makes sense, because of the population. But it doesn’t make sense when we found out there were two people with positive COVID-19 could fly with Garuda Indonesia to Hong Kong. It doesn’t make sense either when there was a patient trying to run away from a rooftop of a hospital.

What’s wrong with Indonesia? Many. But today, this night, let’s just talk about COVID-19.

In US, COVID-19 vaccine is free, everywhere, including at convenience store. It makes sense, because US is a developed country. They have a lot of money to buy vaccines for their people, including foreigners. 

But should we ignore Indonesian and Indian case simply because we are not a developed country? Shall we be a developed country first to be able to provide vaccines to our people?

I believe there must be ways. The most important thing is to take care of yourself, then others. Stay at home when it’s not necessary. Wear masks, wash hands and keep the distance even when you’re already vaccinated.

When we are doing our efforts, the institutions including government should also do their part. How? I know that our debts are too much right now, beyond the IMF alerts. I know how does it feel to having debts, precisely. But what I don’t know is that where the money goes, plus the government will also enact taxes in few aspects. What I heard is that the money goes to the infrastructure development.

This is what I always want to criticize. I know infrastructure development is important but human development is much more important than it. Would you rather seeing unused train to the airport or many people are released from famine? We could have used the money for feeding the poor people then empower them. 

I know we are aiming at being a developed country in 2030 therefore infrastructure is being developed everywhere. But it feels like we don’t have our own characteristic. We just follow the trend of being a developed country without really seeing our human development. Not to forget, human development is one of the characteristics of being a developed country.

Giving scholarships to people is one of the ways. But it’s not the only way.

People died. I do really appreciate the efforts of vaccination in Indonesia but I think we can do more than that. Now vaccination feels like a privilege. One time 5,000 people are vaccinated. For how long will it take to vaccinate all people in Indonesia? 

Maybe, this is maybe, among the money the government  allocates for infrastructure development and scholarship or other budgeting there must be a little money that can be allocated more for handling this COVID-19.

Me myself I do really want to get a scholarship. But I do not mind that if I get the scholarship my portion will be used for giving vaccines especially to poor people.

Something funny is that, there’s an assumption saying that poor people tend to be less infected. To read, they are much stronger, they have more immune. Especially those who stay in the villages. It makes sense, maybe because they live far away from each other, and they practice a healthy life.

This COVID-19 has taught us something valuable: Qodarullah. People who got infected by the virus always said it. That it has been predestined. God wants you to get COVID-19 then you’ll get it. God wants you to die then you’ll die. It makes sense.

What doesn’t make sense is that when we do not prevent at all. Now the hospitals have too many patients already. So it’s not only prevention that we need, but how to solve it. 

How about lockdown? People said it doesn’t matter lockdown or not because of Indonesian people characters. No matter what is the countermeasure, no matter what is the policy, the people will always find ways to break it.

Shall we give up? I don’t think so. As an Indonesian, who loves her country, maybe not so much, I would recommend the government to prioritize the COVID-19 countermeasures and prevention on top of the projects and programs. I believe people will understand. Even the scholarship awardees, I believe they will understand. Even the infrastructure contractors, they will understand. Not to stop the infrastructure projects, not to stop the scholarship programs, but just to prioritize how to solve and prevent COVID-19, a bit more. 

And once we decide to prioritize it, please kindly be reminded not to corrupt it. 

It’s not about what we show the world, but it’s about what we have already done for our people. That’s all.