COVID-19: How does an immigrant’s fear of passing away differ from someone who has family in the United States?
Not being able to participate in her parents’ funeral, if death occurs, keeps her up at night Enkela says. She, now understands the anxiety of a family who has a member deployed at war. Below is Enkela’s last letter to Andy:
Dear Andy,
Greetings from Omaha.
This is a hard letter to write. To some degree, I am glad that you are not here to witness what the world is going through. We are fighting an invisible enemy – COVID-19. There is death, oh, so much death. Blame, oh, so much blame. And talking talking, oh, so much talking. COVID has killed almost 200,000 thousand people worldwide, and has managed to instill fear in us. The entire world is on lockdown. It is hard to be strong when you are reminded of your limitations at every step. I am grateful we are healthy, at least for now. But there is not one night that I go to sleep and don’t think about my parents who live in a different continent. I pray God they don’t go now, because I can’t be there. Yes, full isolation – can’t travel, can’t shake hands, can’t hug. The world is reduced to one unit. I, now, understand the anxiety of a family that has a member deployed at war. I, now, understand the power of closure.
But even in this situation, there are a few good sides to it. I cleaned the house for example; gained some teaching skills – my kids are on homeschooling mode since March 6; and I walk more. Guess what Andy – the neighborhood, the city, the country, the entire world walks more. I may not be able to go to Europe this summer, but COVID brought Europe to my front porch. I enjoy watching people walking down the street. They remind me that I am not alone in this one unit world.
I love my porch.
Till next time Andy.
Enkela
Note: Since the time of this recording, the global death toll has surpassed 200,000.
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