1, This time, Ugandans are under more intense siege by COVID19. In the first wave, it invaded our territory but there was this general sense of it being a remote occurrence. You hear and see infection figures and a few deaths reported on media but still for most of us, it felt distant threat. But this time, it is so close to our quarters, in our local communities. Almost each one has heard of a death case of somebody quite close or well-known to her or him. And in a growing number of cases, a family member, a friend, or somebody you associated very closely with.
2. It will be a dangerous illusion to think we shall begin to see the back of COVID-19 any time soon. No way! We need to be prepared for a third wave (perhaps even fourth) as a government, as communities and institutions, as families and as individuals. God forbid, infection rate will rise and more will lose their dear ones to COVID19 in times ahead.
3. “That which kills us not makes us stronger”, the wise man said. So, our first line of intent must be to survive for the wise man’s words to live on. A mindset of positivity, strength and above all, wisdom are needed more than ever now. Woe unto you who have learnt nothing yet and forgot nothing. COVID-19 and Foolishness are good allies at wreaking havoc. They will surely come for you! We owe it to our loved ones slain by COVID-19 and the living we care for, our nation and humanity, to become more resilient, survive and live to tell the story of a global event at the dawn of the century.
4. Yes, let us record and tell our story – tell it with honesty and truth to preserve it for posterity. In the past our elders were custodians of our stories which they held in their natural memory bank – the brain. They relayed them orally to the young, who in turn passed them on to the next generation to carry on. That chain is largely broken. We have lost much of it to time and death of the old-time preservers of our heritage. We have lost our individual collective stories and memories to our luck of foresightedness and interest to preserve that which is our essential element of continuity. Today, we have great opportunity and capacities to claim and control that which is our own, but the will to act. If we do not take charge, some other people will preserve and tell our story in their own terms for their own interests. Who shall we then blame for a self-inflicted subjugation?
