Faten Jebai lives in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. The 29-year-old is a video journalist and media trainer.
It was a long journey. I had just moved to Doha, Qatar for a new job nine months ago. As soon as it arrived, there was an immediate lockdown. I was alone without my family, and over time I got worse and worse emotionally. My new job and Corona had tied me to this place. If I had wanted to visit my parents, I would not have been able to come back and I had only just started the job. That was a hard time for me – without social contacts, just in my apartment. When I realized that Corona would be with us for a while, I decided to swap my job for a job as a freelancer and moved back to Beirut. That was only a few weeks ago. I continue to work for the company – but from a distance.
I am happy to have made this decision. So at least I’ll be back home with my loved ones. I know that I am lucky to be able to work from home. But at the same time this virtual life is also exhausting for me. I haven’t met any friends online for a long time because it was all too much for me. But I’m slowly getting used to it.
If I compare Doha with Beirut, Doha was much more regulated – the measures were clearer, masks were compulsory, people adhered to them. That is not the case in Beirut.
As with many things, one does not have the impression that there is even a government that cares. There were lockdowns, but very few wear masks and people also meet. The vaccine makes me optimistic – even if it is not due to arrive in Lebanon until the next few months. It is of course a shame that we have to wait so long while other countries have already started vaccinations. Still: I think the worst is behind me. And in the second half of 2021, a lot may get better.
“I am afraid of getting infected again with Corona”
Huda Khayti is 41 years old and runs a women’s center in Idlib in northern Syria. The province is the last refuge for all rebels in the Syrian war.
This disease should not be taken lightly. I contracted the coronavirus at the end of September. And I can still feel the health effects of the infection to this day. I have trouble concentrating, it is harder to breathe, and it makes it harder to wear a mask, and at the same time I’m afraid of getting infected again. I avoid anyone who even has the appearance of symptoms.
Huda Khayti (right) runs a women’s center in Idlib – she was infected with the coronavirus in September
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When the pandemic started I wasn’t so aware of it. There is war here and there are so many other diseases. We are facing so many challenges here that Corona was not high on the agenda. Even if I always followed the measures. I got infected anyway.
I have the luxury of my own apartment. But what should the people in the overcrowded refugee camps say, ten of whom often share a tent? There is a lack of masks, disinfectants and gloves. Dozens share a bathroom. Since the beginning of the Corona crisis, we have not been equipped with enough test kits here in Idlib. When I look at how we have had to fight the coronavirus with the few resources we have in the past few months, I do not assume that we will see a vaccine in Idlib in the near future. So I don’t need to worry about it.
“The lockdowns and the boredom are bothering me”
Loreen Msallam lives in Beit Jala in the West Bank (Palestinian Territories). The 38-year-old is the director of the Palingual language school, which she opened this year.
I didn’t think that we would live in such a state for so long. At the beginning of the pandemic, however, fear of the coronavirus was greater. We have a lot of cases here too, of course, but luckily I don’t know anyone with a difficult course. What worries me more are the recurring lockdowns, the boredom.
I have three children. We had to buy computers for all of them so that they could attend classes. I support you. All of this causes a lot of emotional stress. We also avoid meeting many people. But I miss social life very much.
Loreen Msallam (left) had long worked towards her dream of opening her own Palingual language school in Beit Jala
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Our government has endeavored to take the necessary measures. And that’s not so easy, because there are still people here who believe that the corona virus does not exist. But what I don’t understand is that we only have two-day lockdowns over and over again. Everything is closed on Fridays and Saturdays. Nobody understood the meaning behind it here. Especially because everything continues to run normally on the remaining days.
I am worried about the future. Now there is a new mutation that is even more contagious. Every time you think things are getting better, you get a message like this. Then the concern comes back that there could be a complete lockdown. As for vaccination: I respect it. I don’t know yet if I should be vaccinated. But I also think I don’t have the information I need to understand how a vaccine could be developed so quickly.
“I had to postpone my wedding several times”
27 year old Deema Deeb Abu Dalo is Arichtekin. She lives in the Jordanian capital Amman.
At the start of the pandemic, the Jordanian government had the situation under control. The focus was on people’s health. The first long lockdown was justified and necessary. But over time, the government has lost control in my opinion. Many people are dependent on daily work. Being able to do this work also has an impact on mental health, on the fact that they can pay for the children’s education.
Instead of recurring lockdowns, I would have liked a long-term government strategy to invest more in education and campaigns so that the population internalizes why they have to adhere to certain measures.
Deema Deeb Abu Dalo postponed her wedding seven times – after all, it still took place on a small scale
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Many people are not in the luxurious position of being able to worry about Corona. They have to feed their families. There is also hardly any economic aid. I know the government also has limited resources, but it could have used them better. I suffered from the lockdowns. I have a chronic illness – and because people did not adhere to the necessary measures, I had to isolate myself strictly. It took a long time to bother me.
In addition: I was separated from my family for a long time, my mother lives in Dubai. I had to postpone my wedding several times. It was an emotional roller coaster ride. I’m much better now. I finished my Masters in Architecture, I got married and I have a positive outlook on the future. I’m glad the international community worked to find a vaccine. Even if I prefer to wait until I get vaccinated. I just have to learn and learn more about the vaccine.
“We have so many other diseases”
Amal Mansour is 29 years old and a journalist. She lives in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, which has been at war since 2013.
You may be surprised at my attitude – precisely because I come from a country where war and poverty reign. My fear of the coronavirus has evaporated. Many people here in Yemen have forgotten that Corona even exists – and I am one of them. The local media hardly report on it either.
Nine months ago I was still very scared, wore a mask and kept my distance. Not much is tested here, the possibilities are not there and I therefore do not notice anything about corona infections, at least from my personal environment. Maybe we shouldn’t notice anything either, I don’t know. Schools and universities are open, everyone goes to work, the cities are full.
Amal Mansour no longer worries about the corona virus
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At some point I was just tired. I didn’t want to live in fear anymore and decided to go about my everyday life normally. I’ve taken off my mask, nobody keeps distance here – at least that’s my impression. We have so many other diseases here – the focus is no longer just on Corona. And we don’t know who dies of what either. No matter where in Yemen: We have other big problems, such as a high unemployment rate, enormous price increases and also a fall in foreign exchange rates. Nobody can afford to think about Corona.
I am also not currently planning – should it be possible in Yemen in the near future – to get vaccinated against the virus. So far I have got along well without a vaccination. Maybe what I think and how I live is wrong. But that’s the way it is.
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