Sunday, May 1, 2022

RECENT AND PRESSENT GLOBAL CRISES



2020 was the year of coronavirus (COVID19). It took over the world all of a sudden. Millions were infected by this dangerous virus. The origin of the coronavirus was the Wuhan city of China. The spread of the deadly virus was done by human beings who moved from one country to another. Because of the easy transportation by air, ship and other means the virus spread from one country to another.

The year 2020 was a shock for the medical profession and also for the common people. Specialists and virologists started thinking seriously and tried to find a solution to control the spread. They suggested people wear masks. So masks of different shapes and sizes and colours were made everywhere. We all bought them in bulk and wore them whenever went out. Millions of people at all levels were affected, some seriously and others mildly. Many died including some from my own family too.

People were afraid of Covid19. At the national level and also at the international level precautions were suggested and adopted. We were all instructed to stay at home without exposing to the virus affected people. The most exposed people were the health workers like the doctors,, nurses and others associated with them. In fact, they were appreciated by one and all. Global tributes were paid to all of them. Many health workers also died in 2020. I would say that the invisible virus could threaten the whole world.

 In a sense, we were socially isolated. Travels were cut. Restaurants, shops, theatres and public functions were closed. Marriages and funerals were allowed with a restricted number of people. Hospital facilities with oxygen were provided in different cities. We, the people of the world suffered a lot, praying to God to bring this pain to an end. The most affected people were the elders. Those who had some illness already were affected by Covid 19 easily.

Slowly and slowly we moved to 2021, the year of vaccination. By this time vaccination were invented and distributed to public and private hospitals. People above 69 years were initially vaccinated by either Covaxin or Covishield. Everywhere people assembled in large numbers and waited in long queues for getting the jab. There was some fee for the vaccination in private hospitals and it was free in government hospitals and public health centres. I too with my wife went to the Coimbatore  General Hospital and got the jab. They asked us to give our aadhar card and PAN card numbers with our mobile numbers before getting the jab. We both got Covaxin jab. Some people preferred Covishield. After a month interval, we got the second dose of Covaxin from the same hospital. This time we stood in the queue for 1 hr or so. Surprisingly our vaccination was not reported to the national register and we did not get a certificate.

Later on, it was announced for other age groups. The senior citizens were advised to get a booster dose too. We went to the same hospital again and found no crowd and queue this time. We got it done within 5 min. And also entry was made on the slip in red ink. My wife and I happily returned home. Whether these vaccinations helped or not was not known. But one thing was certain the death due to Covid 19 drastically came down in 2021. Omicron, another variant of Covid 19 from South Africa started spreading all over the world including India. Its spread was faster than Covid 19. Anyway vaccinations took care of it. Somehow, 2021 passed on.

2022 came and brought the war between Russia and Ukraine. It accelerated the already collapsed world economic crisis. Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022 for some reason and captured some of its key cities by destroying many households and multi-storey buildings. Still, the war is continuing. From the TV reportage, we could see the destruction and death of civilians and millions of Ukrainians escaping to nearby countries as refugees. In spite of UN discussions and compromise talks with world leaders. Some predicted the onset of World War III. It will be decided in the coming days and months of 2022.

Thus the three past years are globally important. The global crisis is felt by one and all of the world. May all these problems come to an end as soon as possible!  - NARA

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