Imli Jamir
Dimapur
To fight COVID-19 infection there are many requirements including infrastructure and tools & equipments. Without going into details, one primary necessary infrastructure is testing laboratory. The faster you get the test done, the better you strategise the containment of locality, family members and tracing contacts. While dealing with a highly contagious virus with long incubation period and large percentage of asymptomatic infection with potential for higer spreading of the disease, Nagaland do not have it's own testing center. The reason is - our state do not have Bio - Safety Level Laboratory. I don't know what that mean but it seems we don't have the facility capable enough to deal with or disposed off highly infectious bio hazard material and sample. After almost 60 years of statehood we are in this situation - hopeless and helpless. What was the government doing all these years? Where are all those budget allocated by the government of India? Whose fault is it, which government, what political party, and who are the bureaucrats that in this century we are facing a deadly disease without a testing center? Let's not go into other non existent service and infrastructure for now, but we are being cheated by the political class, bureaucrats, government officials and their entourage. When life can be saved by quick test and quicker results, we have to wait for days because getting sample from district like Tuensang and Zunheboto and travelling to Imphal or Guwahati for testing will be a logistic nightmare. I am sure the authority has all figured out but it is not helping in identifying the positive case and containment of community spread because here time is of the essence. It is obvious that we don't have the basics and we are screwed.
I am sad and I am angry. In fact "I am as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore ", to echo Howard Beale 'the mad prophet' from the 1976 movie - 'Network' . Thought the context is different the issues are similar, the feeling of helplessness and the rage inside us. We should be mad at the government for corruption and not providing the basic services and facility. We should be mad at the Church, for their indifference and not speaking the truth, however unpleasant it maybe. We should be mad at the Civil Society and Tribal organization whose leaders looked for their own welfare and forsake the public,who they were supposed to look after. We should be mad at ourselves for behaving like castrated male, impotent to stand up and demand our fair share.
We all should be as mad as hell, that, if the novel corona virus hit us hard, we all are fu#&ed. We should be mad that we brought this upon ourselves and nobody's to blame. We should be mad long enough that, when this is all over, we are not left to an inconsiderate, indifferent and corrupt system. We should be mad as hell and we are not going to get screwed again.
(The writer is a carpenter and can be found at Facebook@ Imlee Jamir Furniturewala)
