There is a raging madman behind me! I write while holding a broom under my elbow for protection. It's David! We've been in lockdown for a month. Since school is closed, David and I fight more. Also, it's been raining all day today.
I had a brief escape from lockdown. I went to the market with mom this morning. I go with her to help her carry things. David does not like the market. He prefers fancy stores. The last time we went was about a month ago -- just before the lockdown, and after the mayor of Lugoj entered the market in person and asked people to raise their hand if they wanted it to stay open. Since almost everyone raised their hand, he let it stay open while markets in nearby cities and villages closed. People were afraid then. They spoke in whispers and told us about the visit of the mayor. They did not know what will happen next -- if the visit of the mayor only delayed the closing and the market will be closed after all and if the city will be severely affected by COVID-19 or not. Both now and then almost all people selling had masks on, gloves and the produce was covered with a plastic foil for protection -- it is still pick your own, but one has to stick their hand under the foil for that. The foil offers some protection by stopping spit particles from falling on the produce. Not all customers have gloves or masks because they are difficult to find. This is also why, when they do find them, they reuse them -- usually/hopefully after some form of cleaning.
Today people were angry. You could feel the anger vibrating from them and hear the lockdown referred to as the "corona-madness". They did not agree with being kept prisoners for yet another month. They wanted to be free and it felt they would soon be ready to protest if their freedom was taken from them for much longer with no plan for when it will all end or how beyond a "we don't know". If I said that in school, I'd get a bad grade. They'd say I did not know because I did not try hard enough to find out. I have very high grades -- 9.8 GPA out of 10 -- because I read a lot, and can find answers on the spot to all sorts of questions better than my teachers. They also never give me a whole month to prepare. However, leaders can make all sorts of mistakes and then say "I don't know" or "I didn't know". It is not fair and other people seem to agree with me.
Today people were angry. You could feel the anger vibrating from them and hear the lockdown referred to as the "corona-madness". They did not agree with being kept prisoners for yet another month. They wanted to be free and it felt they would soon be ready to protest if their freedom was taken from them for much longer with no plan for when it will all end or how beyond a "we don't know". If I said that in school, I'd get a bad grade. They'd say I did not know because I did not try hard enough to find out. I have very high grades -- 9.8 GPA out of 10 -- because I read a lot, and can find answers on the spot to all sorts of questions better than my teachers. They also never give me a whole month to prepare. However, leaders can make all sorts of mistakes and then say "I don't know" or "I didn't know". It is not fair and other people seem to agree with me.
On the way home, we were stopped by police twice. They asked us for our written declaration, which included the name, date of birth, and the path one takes -- it has to either be shopping at nearby facilities (theoretically, once a week), taking an animal companion out (near the house) or an emergency. The police officer who stopped us on the way to the market read mom's name from the declaration. Mom explained where we were going, and he let us go. On the way back, they just touched the declaration and let us go. They seemed a bit afraid as well. They must have felt the anger rising, too.
When we got home mom read the news. She does that a lot and then worries. She told us that Putin declared he'll close Moscow -- i.e., turn it into a cyber gulag or a big prison enforced by the phone with a screw tightening to take away the little freedom people have at the discretion of their leader. Will they try this in Moscow? and then turn the rest of the world into a digital prison, too? after all, China exported its quarantine methods to the rest of the world. How long will the prison be there? Will it be forever? I learned in history the whole of Eastern Europe was a prison for 50 years or so and nobody did anything to stop the madness. Anyone could denounce anybody else as being "the enemy of the people" and they could be tortured and killed. When children denounced their parents, they were declared "heroes" by the party. We walk by a street that used to be closed -- its end turned into a place for torture -- every day. In the past, there was a high wall at the end of it. One could hear people scream in pain from behind the wall as one went by. People who are more imaginative like David wonder if their souls come back there at night and scream again to remind us that nobody helped or tried to save them without meeting the same fate.
Are there raging madmen on the prowl? are they the leaders of the world? Putin, Xi, Trump, Netanyahu? Are seeking refuge from corruption behind the curtain of this virus that will later turn into a heavier curtain of oppression, war and destruction? Are they doing this because they are afraid for their own lives and afraid of losing their hold on power? Could such people really want the well-being of others? Could we choose to be free again like people did in our small city when they kept the market open? when? how?
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