Who are the real sufferers?
I felt nostalgic when a friend shared images old school times when school was more than a computer screen. Images describing school life then: Kids having blast in the class in the absence of the teacher, the hiding and eating from our friends tiffin boxes during an ongoing class, the fun and frolic of soiling in the mud and splashing ink on others uniform, the pride of bathing in the sun when punished by the teacher for an entire school spending time with friends, playing games in the school ground, etc. I am sure you too have taken a ride down memory lane.
But the biggest irony today is, that the things we adored the most are now a fantasy for the future cohorts of the world.
I felt heart wrecked when my daughter enquired if the era of online will end soon and she would be able to enjoy the most awaited moment of the life outside the borders of her room. This simple run-of-the-mill question made me ponder. A new realization dawned upon me. Despite the new world that has brought the globe together, it has left hollows in our lives which are nearly impossible to fill in.
Is it not agonizing that these kids are confined indoors for no fault at all? This makes me introspect as to who is responsible for this? Is it Mankind or God??
I guess we all are aware of the real culprits, God created man, man created Virus, isn’t it? During these horrifying times I did come across many who kept complaining about their business loss and some who cribbed about the postponement of their marriages and social event.
However, in my opinion, it would not be wrong to say, the real victims of the lock down era are children. They have been the silent victims throughout these trying times. Recent researchers have revealed a horrifying picture of how the children have emotionally and psychologically suffered all across the world. These sufferers belong to different age groups: The new born babies, who didn’t acquire sufficient Vitamin D as they were caged indoors soon after their birth. The pre-schoolers who were well-tuned by the parent for the new academic session, Little did they know that their new classrooms will be confined to the mobile or computer screens when the new academic session was turned into a rectangular screen. The small kids who would otherwise learn best by doing were now engaged toggling between screens to meet the new demands of the current education norm. Or was it the senior kids who lost one prime year with their buddies wherein socialization could have added values of cooperation, sharing, empathy, etc?
We are aware that nearly 1.5 million kids were thrown out of school due to this pandemic. These kids witnessed domestic violence, malnutrition, physical and mental abuse, extreme exposure to irrelevant abundant free disturbing data, information overload due to aspirations, and many more such issues. It is the prime responsibility that we understand the trauma caused to these lucid minds. Big words like Pandemic, quarantine, virologist, and other related terms are now added to the dictionary of these young souls who are yet to memorize words without syllabication. These are inscribed in such a manner that it shall remain imprinted in their clayed minds forever.
Don’t you think that it is time we reminded ourselves of our old school days and made the lives of these kids a little less complicated? Giving them a congenial atmosphere, free and fresh air to breathe, clean environment to roam freely, guided parenting at home with refrained talks limited to child’s age appropriateness, all of this and much more.
They say that what is done cannot be undone… But it is high time that ‘Yeh dil mange more’ philosophy is reversed to the age-old values which will reduce superfluous demands leading to hoarding, resulting in uncontrollable measures adding to the global issues. Let us take turn into astute adults picking up lifelong lessons for life from the given scenario.
Mustn’t we catch the train before it’s too late? Simple means like adoption of the 3Rs – Reduce (reducing unnecessary demands- philosophy of IKIGAI, recycle (make new out of old ) and reuse (Use to the maximum) values like live and let live can bring about the desired changes. We must strive and determine to achieve the sustainable goals as prescribed by the UN which can add value to the lives of the upcoming generations.
There is absolutely nothing that one can do about the situation outside, but one must surely empathize with the fact that we have to blossom these buds indoors, thereby, focusing on their mental health and well-being. Remember the country benefits most when its focus is on the youth of tomorrow as that is the tangible future and shall always be.
Mrs Nuzhat Khan
Principal
Aspee Nutan Academy
