When I first started to hear about the coronavirus in China, I never thought that it would invade the whole world. I was very sad for the large numbers lost in China and I was affected by the scenes and I cried - I wished they could live in peace.Then this virus invaded my country so quickly, and I prayed to God that it would not infect any of my loved ones.
Early on, I wandered out with my father. Everything seemed strange. We were scared when we saw the streets almost empty of people, the parks closed with locks, everything silent and calm. We were watching this scene that we were not used to before. We were used to the hustle and bustle of our city in the evening, people in parks until the sun rises and children playing and wandering around. How a so small virus can change everything so quickly. I was waking up at night and going to check my kids while they were sleeping. I was crying over their heads and praying to God to save them. I feared for my children and my family more than for myself.
One night I watched a movie with my husband called ’Bird Box’. The movie changed me, as if God had sent it to calm me down. It made me feel a difference, to be more optimistic. I said for myself: ‘This is not the end of the world, we are still okay, and we have to feel that.’ I remembered that I read before that from the tribulations, the gifts come, and the lessons also come, and the plight of this virus has taught all of us a lot. As the Arabs say: ‘Every cloud has a silver lining’. This situation has taught us to know that work may go and money may be lost, but family will remain, so we must put them first. We have felt many blessings in the people and family surrounding us, and in the many new ways we can spend our time, those 24 hours each day in which we can work and accomplish more.
We have learned to know that the homeland is the heart, and everything can be let go to preserve that heart in order to keep alive and well. I wish from God to save our country and all other countries.
Well, what remains? It remains to say: Be optimistic, everything will be okay, it is just a summer cloud.