Quarantined in China: How Our Well-Equipped and Self-Contained Academic Rooms Became Prisons in Wuhan Province
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The author, Ustaz John Garang Ayii Riak, is a Master’s Degree Student on Comparative Education Program, Zhejiang Normal University, East China
By Ustaz John Garang Ayii Riak, Wuhan, China
Wednesday, February 19, 2020 (PW) — Being confined in one place without freedom of movement for safety became like an actual house arrest and imprisonment, although it is your own room, the quarantine seem like a really imprisonment to the life of majority. When Corona Virus broke out on December 2019 in Wuhan City of Hubei Province, the Peoples’ Republic of China received and spread the news about the pandemics and we just ignore it and again we received another news about Corona Virus on January 18th, 2020 from the Chinese authorities about the new epidemic disease outbreak and we were told to prepare and protects ourselves from Coronavirus disease, because it has seriously started since December 2019.
Then, on January 19th, 2020, we received another notification that Corona Virus has widely spread all over the provinces of China and by tomorrow January 20th, 2020, “No one should go out from his/ her room and you shall not open your window as well, in that day you open it, you shall surely be infected and you shall eventually die.” Then, we went and sleep, in the following morning we fine the dormitory/university gates were already locked and all the residences along the way locked and the patrolling police were deployed in a very corner in the city. We remains indoors for more than two weeks with little food items we had or with some none, we as students manage to share whatever the little rice we have one another for a kilo of rice and little salt and oil to sustain ourselves in our rooms.
After two weeks, all food stuff we had got finished from each of every student, but nowhere in the compass one can borrow; all the shops in the town locked and the disease intensified especially in Wuhan, Guangdong and Zhejiang Province where I am studying. The life became chaotic and hectic, so we started making a lot of complains toward the university administration, but some of the universities made arrangements either open canteens or bring food items from outside the school to students. Some of the Chinese students living outside double their effort and managed to help buy some food items and share it to their colleagues in the compass.
The life and situation was debauches on daily basis between January and early February 2020 because the number of confirmed cases of infection and suspicious cases overwhelmingly shoot-up at daily basis, which made several scared everywhere. We the Students Union lift-up with some courageous/hilarious to students in the groups, trying to send some counsel and courageous messages to the groups and individual to boost their morale and it somehow helped. We remained indoors and stressfully affected each of every student in his/ her room. One tries to put on Netflix videos, Selfie stickers and some traditional dance like putting on Alek Mamiir (dergel) etc. plus any kind related to dances for the sake exercise, gospel songs or struggle songs to pus or passing time, but all were in vain due to stressful ethical in minds.
One makes exercise and push-ups or went online to read everything but no help at all, all these, did not help because being in one place marks everything useless. We tried everything to comfort ourselves, but no mental health. But again, when the situation became worse all rooms were locked outside by the police and administration in order to prevent students from going outside. Life became obscener and eviler because of confinement in one’s room and this life became fouler and vulgar than the life of the really jail.
One day become like one month and a week is equivalent of one year. The only way which has little is to call someone else and talk to him/her and you prolong talk from no topic until you end up with topic this is done to avoid mental sickness and other diseases apart from Coronavirus because once you are sick even if it is other different disease and you go to the hospital, then you can be quarantined (isolated) because hospitalization became the order of the day, once you go to the hospital, chance for you to come back are very limited, you can either be infected on your way to the hospital, and during diagnosis, you will either be a Coronavirus confirmed case or suspected case whenever you have one of its’ symptoms such as fever, headache, high temperature or disease or fatigue or running nose.
Fear and worries also involved in, every student fear and even you fear to go to your fellow colleague or for him to come to your room because one is apprehensive of being infected by the disease. All in all, Chinese were confident to win the war against Coronavirus and they were committed to whatever possible and even their doctors have greatly sacrifice their life to die on the behalf of the patients because they used to say this is our war as Chinese doctors, Corona Virus will either kill us or we kill it to liberate our people. In spite of all these suffering from Corona virus, I am very happy and determined because I have learnt something from it.
First and foremost; I learnt how to endure the tribulations and trials because this academic life experience will help me in the future as H.E Xi Jinpiny, the President of China said that, “Tribulations, setbacks and tests are good for young people in their later life because they will remain stronger after they are tempted.” So everyone deserved to endure suffering and trials. Lastly, I thank God for His protection during this time of Corona Virus war and I equally thank to both Chinese government for their great care and our African students in general and South Sudanese Students in particular for their affirmative endurance without thinking of going home.
Dear readers, the strange things with Corona virus, its’ does respect or spare anyone, whether you are young, adult or an oldest person, ordinary or top officials (1).You must be indoors that is rule number and rule number (2) you must wear a mask whether surgery mask or any mask whenever you once to open your door or want to go out, and everyone was in his or her house-arrest and no movement or self-contact.
My last message to our fellow students in China, we should know that, this is our academic and we must stand firm to defeat COVID 2019 War and to achieve academic task which brought us here we must endure and withstand this situation until it will become under control of China. To dear parents, you should not worry very much because we are fine and strong to endure all the consequences of Coronavirus disease. We will manage it because we are mature people that why we came this far place.
We can cope up with it because we South Sudanese, we have long history of endurance and tolerance throughout the history of our life journey and this will be one of our historical experiences we have encountered and it will leave some strengths and power lessons in us that will help us in the near future whenever we meet another hardship and we will be good advisers to the young generations who are in hardship.
To conclude, there is a good news that, the Corona Virus is greatly DECREASING in a very big percentages because Chinese Authorities have done their best and hopefully all schools and businesses will open very soon.
The author, Ustaz John Garang Ayii Riak, is Master’s Degree Student on Comparative Education at Zhejiang Normal University, China, and can be reached via his email: John Garang Ayii johngayii2014@gmail.com
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