Should we fall like dominoes?

We seem to be swinging from one catastrophe to another and if we are not careful, we get sucked into the hole of depression.

First it was the African Swine Fever that threatened our livestock and culled many of our pigs. The conservative approach of our government to protect our good stock limited the production of pigs as investors were wary of increasing their stock with the looming threat. This eventually impacted on the cost of pork and had some meat shops close shop in certain parts of the country. 

Then came Covid. It not only created havoc in our way of life, it threatened our lives.  The world economy was shaken. We came to a standstill, and for a while inner turmoil warred with inner peace. The length of the pandemic and the mutation of the virus caused  further damage on the economy of which our government was not ready. None was ready. Not even the first world nations. So we knelt down to find peace. We prayed for a vaccine. For treatment and for the total eradication of the disease.

When vaccines were released, the discovering countries got them first, and we had to tether in the sidelines and wait as our vulnerable citizens fell one by one like the 10 green bottles standing on the wall. Then inoculation was rolled out. We became hesitant to what we kneeled for. What we pleaded God would provide. There were different thoughts. Debates even, on the safety of the vaccines. Sigh.

After more than two years of practice we got used to the protocols of protection, and even the boosting of vaccines. Cases did lower, and we were gearing up for better economic activity. We started to be busy again. And we became hopeful for commerce to move better. As we busied ourselves, our moment to pray reduced…well, hopefully only for some.

And Odette came. It did not only take off the roofs of some homes. It cut the communication lines. Literally darkened the streets with no power and raised the cost of agricultural products. It made us thirst for the basic things like water, food, and fuel. We sought the intervention of government, business and friends in other areas. And thankfully, good hearts prevailed. We survived the main hump although there are still some hurdles to overcome as repairs, are continuing and not all areas have been restored to normal with current, water connections and the like. But we managed. Are managing. We will get there.

So Omicron slipped in. The weather was conducive. We fought it. Are still fighting it.  We will survive. Rest, proper nutrition and vitamin supplementation. Concern for others by distancing to avoid the spread. We have made this our way of life already. We just need the air cleared so we can at least hug again, touch again, be human again. Not sentinels shielded by an armor of defense that makes us devoid of feelings. But we must be constantly aware of this freedom when it comes, and treat this fragile liberation with care so we do not go back to exile again.

And as our levels of safety slowly open doors, we are again confronted by the threat of the Avian Flu Virus that makes our fowls limit their flight to their locality. Unlike the ASF this one greatly affects bot man and fowl and since they are birds, they can soar above the borders.

We cannot discount the war between Ukraine and Russia that has affected the cost of fuel and made business stagger once again with the escalating cost of power. The rise in oil prices is sure to ripple into the cost of running business, and will affect even the core of our homes as we put less and less onto the table.

Really, if we think about all of these things, we will find ourselves toppling down. Like a stack of dominoes. But we are not made that way. God has not led us this far to just drop us like that. But we must know whose hand to hold. Whose leadership to follow. For this we keep the pack together through God. Then we will not fall like tiles of domino.