An Italian Overview of Everyday Life at Coronavirus Time
What happens when you are constricted at home?
And yes, here we are. It’s been three months since the last time I officially said to myself, ‘Francesco, now it’s the moment to write your first post on Medium. I know you are pathetically shy, even on the web, but writing is your passion, isn’t it? Why the heck would you postpone this moment.’ I have a ton of articles that I’d like to bring to life, literally. However, there is always a little part of me that does not want to explore new views in everything I do. ‘Maybe you are not enough, maybe your English is not adequate. It’s not the right moment…perhaps’. Perhaps…yes, precisely. What a more enjoyable moment to start writing on Medium, if not in the middle of probably the worst and most uncertain period my country has faced in the last fifty years.
By the way, this was me this afternoon, before going to the grocery store.
Besides the mask and the gloves, you can see (or not see) that I am not particularly worried. The authorities have taken up all the necessary measures to fight this threat called ‘Covid-19.’ So, immediately after asking my mom to take me this picture, I took my nearly new driving license, grabbed the car keys, and drove to the nearest supermarket. Once I got out of the car, the show I had to see in front of my face was one of the saddest views I ever saw in my life. I was the 18th person in a queue of masked people, one meter to the other, in a complete, almost anechoic, silence, just waiting to enter the ‘coveted’ market door. Nobody has greeted me.
This scene really gave me chills. I live in a small town in the middle of the biggest viral outbreak in Italy. We were just not ready to face such a dramatic situation, like the rest of the country, if not the World, of course. Still, in my opinion, here, the case has a completely different weight. Are you wondering why? ‘Cause, we know each other. Yes, I know almost every single villager of this tiny town. I grew up with a lot of those faces. For me, not being able to see their smiles but be able to ‘smell their fear,’ feel how subtly scared, bored, and exhausted they are, has just a tremendous impact on my empath mood.
Let’s clarify first: we are not being asked to fight for our country like it was for my grandpa (r.i.p.). We have just being asked to stay at our homes indefinitely. No schools, universities, discos, bars, pubs, cinemas, restaurants, pizzerias (no more pizza?) sports, game rooms. No hugs, kisses, handshakes, and long talks. Not any walk, if not one meter, by every other person around you. No driving or prolonged walking if not carrying out a piece of paper that certifies the medical or working reason why you are allowed to get out of your home.
Briefly, we are just allowed to go to the grocery store. Said so, going grocery shopping is technically the only aside-work-and-hospital opportunity we have to see different people from the ones who live in our houses. So, now I hope you can better understand why this is so sad to me. Like any other person in my town, in an increasingly digital world, I was used to going to the supermarket and having some real social interactions.
Again, we are Italians! We love to get in touch in daily situations with the people we know. We love even more to get to exchange some opinions, random phrases with ‘passers.’ People that we actually do not know, or we do not know as much. Someone we can always count on for a smile exchange.
It’s just an effortless action, but it’s so rewarding and powerful from a mood perspective (try it out!), and it’s just such a pity not to be able to do so.
Yet, we hopefully will not be constricted in this situation for as long as a few weeks (in the worst-case scenario, probably a month or two). Cities are nearly empty in those days. Citizens have almost understood why we have to face these limitations, liming their social contacts to the bare minimum. However, the long side effects that this epidemic episode will have on our country and its people are predictable. We are very social people, and due to this emergency, we will never be the same Italy. As for any traumatic event that relates to an entire nation, something will necessarily change. Maybe we will not feel free to talk to people for a very long time spontaneously. Perhaps we will not double (or triple) cheek kiss our relatives for months. Not to speak about the adverse economic long-term side effects that all this will probably have on our stock exchange.
But we have more urgent issues to be solved than ‘kisses and hugs.’ Our public sanitary system is nearly collapsing because the situation we are facing is very challenging. 10% of all people that result positive to Covid-19 needs a special cure and intensive care to recover. Our national hospitals do not have enough resources to adapt to this emergency, so we need help.
Am I asking you to donate? No, you can help us in many ways. E.g., not being afraid of Italian products. The coronavirus does not spread from food, and the quality of the Italian products will always be the same as you already know and love.
Italy will bend, but not break 🇮🇹.
Thanks!
#iorestoacasa #andràtuttobene
