About board games and venturing out during a pandemic, I have the same question - is it worthwhile?
When I was a child, the boredom of board games and playing cards would drive me to tears. Hours of tedious following the rules, only to be left with nothing to show at the end of it. I much preferred a quiet corner with colouring pencils and paper, beads and string, building blocks, or my French knitter.
According to child experts, by not forcing me to play games my mother caused me to lose out on valuable life lessons - team spirit, ambition, competitiveness, perseverance, the ability to complete a task within a structured framework, being a gracious loser. Haha, now we know why I'm such a weird adult.
If you have children banned from going to school or if you become bored during the Covid-19 lockdown, you could consider board games to pass the time and at the same time improve your social skills and character.
Right now, I'm desperate for a chess match with Gary Kasparov. As he reaches across the checkered expanse to make his first move, I would lunge forward and snatch away his queen. Why? So I can carry it off into a corner and craft a pedestal for a dollhouse birdbath.
By far the most serious drawback of not having board games is the lack of dollhouse building materials this affords. A crafter's stash can never be big enough. Which will be a topic about hoarders and hoarding in a future post.
I considered venturing out to a charity shop to see if I can sniff out a few chess pieces for my project but I nixed the idea immediately. Since last night, South Africa is in the first stages of lockdown. Schools will be closing this week, and people have been advised to stay at home as much as possible. As is typical of governments worldwide, they're closing the stable door after Corona has bolted. What astounds me is that in this age of free circulation of news around the world, 'informed people' are still in denial about the seriousness of our situation. But it's not only that; they seem to have no concept of how much worse it's going to be for South Africa because they aren't factoring in some brutal truths about this country:
- More than 20% of our adult population is HIV positive. This is the highest number on the entire planet.
- TB is rampant in South Africa. Again, we have the highest numbers of any nation. Talk about a population with compromised immunity.
- South Africa has one of the most inadequately educated populations. Ignorance becomes deadly when people have no knowledge about health and safety. Most South Africans don't have a basic understanding of hygiene or disease prevention and they live in squalor. This is why Covid-19 will sweep through the nation like a wildfire.
- We have crowded living conditions in townships and informal settlements that can rival anything in China. The ideal breeding ground for a virus.
- Unlike China, our government doesn't have the resources or control to put the population under full lockdown to prevent the virus from spreading.
- Don't be fooled by news reports of our state of the art laboratories, hospitals, famous doctors and epidemiologists. A lot of it is bluster about past glory and what we have left will serve a select few.
- Our healthcare system doesn't have the facilities or resources to provide the most basic services to citizens. Many South Africans never see a doctor in their lifetime. We have only a handful of decaying government hospitals and clinics to care for more than 48 million people who have no medical insurance. Many of what the government calls 'health care facilities' are one-room clinics with a nurse and no doctors. Distribute the population evenly and you have a hundred and ten thousand people at the doors of each. Our health services are grossly inadequate when we are healthy, never mind during a pandemic.
- The South African economy is bankrupt. We don't have funds in the national coffers which can be diverted to provide medical care to the people or relief to business sectors that will face extreme hardship.
- On a good day, South Africa has a food shortfall. Poor people will undoubtedly starve in the coming months; first because of supply-chain disruptions and shortages, then because of unemployment and rising costs as the economy continues to spiral downward. I know that my European and American friends are speaking out against selfish hoarders but in South Africa, the fear of running out of food is not unfounded and for those who can afford it hoarding is already a way of life.
- Political rivalry and instability is the order of the day. We are dealing with an uneducated population that is led by corrupt leaders who regularly sweep crowds into a frenzy of murder and looting to achieve their own ends. If you think I exaggerate, look up Julius Malema. Mr. Trump could be the court jester to this dangerous megalomaniac and many ministers in our government are no better. Malema is inciting people to an uprising against the government for its inept handling of the Coronavirus pandemic, at the same time helping the government to stigmatize people who have contracted the virus. Unfortunately, he has the ear of large numbers of the population.
If you're thinking of donating a few Euros or Dollars to help us get through the crisis, reconsider. Your country needs it as much as we do right now. Any help that comes to South Africa will be used as a political tool or diverted and misspent. We'll be lucky if a few crumbs fall to the people who need it most.
What a grim picture I just painted. Sorry, I had to get it off my chest.
You might wonder where I stand in all of this. Shouldn't I feel very guilty to yearn for a chess piece when a million people in my country are about to die of sickness and starvation? I don't. I feel grateful. Grateful to be one of the few who are not starving and who can stay at home and ride it out. I was born in this country, I am one of its people and it has always been my home. Despite sucking at board games as a child, I try to respond with kindness when my fellow citizens act against me in racism and hate. Like many privileged South Africans, for all of my adult life I have involved myself in the upliftment of the underprivileged and paid taxes so that the government can do their part in repairing the wrongs in this country. Although I'm not a political activist, I speak out for what I believe is in the interest of all of humanity, not any one person or group. I did not create or condone this situation. I'm merely one person doing the best I can. Until all people come to their senses and act for humanity instead of promoting their own interests, we will not turn the tide. The midst of a pandemic is as good a place as any to pause and think about that. I wonder how many politicians will?
If you're looking for me, I will be rummaging in my stash for something that I can use to build a birdbath.
