Hope In The Time Of A Pandemic

From panic buying to moments of temporary reprieve and intense grief, award=winning author Elif Shafak examines our reeling emotions and collective mood in a quest to find common humanity through the adversity we face today

- Elif Shafak

It was during the first days of the pandemic in the UK. Supermarket shelves were partly empty, panic buyers were bumping into each other across the aisles, filling their carts with toilet rolls, boxes of cereal, oatmeal and pasta. People were stocking up on items they really didn’t need, and surely not in such large quantities. It was almost as if we were a city under siege, getting ready to endure a prolonged military confrontation, though without knowing exactly who the enemy was or where they might strike from. That was the collective mood at the time. In less than a few weeks, the panic would mostly subside and we would see heart-warming stories of kindness, humanism, solidarity and empathy emerging. But during that initial phase, there was just too much anxiety and alarm in the air. Also, a sense of disbelief.

AN INSECURE AGE

I was feeling down, tired of following the world news. I was walking around, observing people, as well as observing myself, not really shopping, which I knew I would come to regret when I went home with an empty basket. A few metres ahead of me was the fruits and vegetables section.

Bananas and apples, potatoes and sweet potatoes had all been sold out. I noticed a single pomegranate on an upper shelf, all alone. I made a move towards it, determined to buy something at least. That was when I saw the couple—both in their mid-forties. Well dressed, well mannered, holding themselves erect and almost motionless. I then heard the woman say to her husband, very slowly: “I can’t believe this is happening. Is it happening, darling, tell me. Like a cheap sci-fi movie, no? When were we zoomed into this bizarre world? I just want this to be over.”