Farah Abdessamad

Opinion | Coronavirus isolation is an opportunity to face our fear of death, and make peace with ourselves

It may be grotesque to fear death but it is far worse to have deathbed regrets. As more people around the world go into quarantine or self-isolation, it is a time to explore connectedness and find tranquillity

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A man wearing a hazmat suit and a mask holds a sign: “The end is near. Call grandma”, at Times Square in New York on March 14. Photo: AFP

Farah Abdessamad

Published: 7:30am, 22 Mar 2020Updated: 7:35am, 22 Mar 2020

Some of us always knew our time was short here. Most of us choose to ignore it. Why would one think of the morbid in the day to day? Until a pandemic hits, that is.

I went to my local supermarket a few days ago and stood, aghast, at the empty shelves. I wondered about those in need. I expected to count on civility in a time of distress.

Why the stockpiling? It came to me that the irrational (and selfish) behaviour is founded on a universal fear. Not of sickness per se, but death, its prospect advancing at a head-turning pace in the rapidly increasing number of casualties.

Covid-19 is a faceless enemy. Fuelled by social media and constant news flows, it cripples our ability to think clearly. In uncertain times, we tend to panic. Today’s mass anxiety is largely unprecedented, with a lasting impact as it causes markets to plunge and leads to a deprivation of necessities.

Should we be in fear? At first, it may seem grotesque to fear the inevitable. In supermarket queues I hear murmurs: “What if I am next? Or my parents? Or my children?” Suddenly, in the West, an obscure “flu” has become close and personal.