The global community has been hit innumerable times by catastrophes that changed the face of nations. As humans evolved, so did the diseases and their nature. Just like humans make themselves comfortable in an environment and adapt to it, so do other organisms to make them prevalent in the times. With each new pandemic, the community promises to learn something and to not let it happen again. But the question is do we really learn? And why is it that the structure of each pandemic is similar every time, where great institutions set up by proud men tumbles down?
Is it the fault of our governance, our state system or our lack of kindness as we evolved and became more avaricious? I believe that we can try and answer these questions and learn from the mistakes of our predecessors, the history that is already written. And if we do want to change how our history is written, then we can look back and assimilate the wrongs in our favour.
No pandemic comes unannounced. Each society prepares for it through its priorities and negligence. The earliest recorded pandemic was the Athens plague (430 BC). The catastrophe was such that the strength of the city-state was in havoc, with people leaving their dear ones for the fear of the disease. As historian Thucydides stated, “The catastrophe was so overwhelming that men, not knowing what would happen next to them, became indifferent to every rule of religion or law.”
Then there was the Cyprian plague (250 AD) and the Justinian plague in 541 AD. In 1350, the Black Death, as the name suggests, was responsible for wiping off half the population. Poor city-dwellers and children were the most affected, incomes were reduced due to inflation, and religious extremism and fanaticism bloomed during these times. But the most deadly flu, which was yet to come and shake the peace, was the Spanish flu — not named after its origin but by the most-affected region — also called the ‘forgotten flu’ that has now resurfaced because of its comparison to Covid-19. The flu affected almost one-third of the world’s population.
There were many blunders made by the government during the Spanish flu — the ineffectiveness and slow decision-making due to WWI, aspirin-poisoning of the population, hiding of actual numbers, censored media to not affect the patriotism of the war — the flu persisted for many months and eventually, some people developed immunity while others died. The same rules of social distancing and lockdown were implemented then and wearing masks was made compulsory, with heavy fines imposed on those who didn’t comply. Like this, many pandemics affected the world, some disappeared and some still persist, such as HIV/AIDS.
If we look at the pattern in all pandemics, they are quite similar, with just a few contrasting elements. We had the knowledge and experiences of these past events available to us, yet, the world had to bend down on its knees. The poor are suffering, people are losing their sense of collective environment, law and order is failing and there’s total havoc. But there are certain dissimilarities in the plots — years of knowledge and the government being accountable to its people. I can confidently say that the major powers, so proud of their vast knowledge base, failed to control yet another disaster and was unsuccessful in breaking the chain of events.
The pandemic could have been contained with better planning, governance and renewed healthcare systems. Still, half the population stands affected and people are dying; kindness is secondary and profit comes first. People running off to countryside from cities are facing even more hostility from the neighbourhood. Religious extremism and new ideas of fanaticism are also not uncommon; blaming a religion for bringing hell upon others is easy as it relieves the other. More haunting than the disease is the disappearing act of compassion. So, in a way, our governments and societies over the years have changed just a little when it comes to tackling pandemics. They just have added some shine to their ways.
If we had just looked back and tried not to repeat the same mistakes, I do not say that the pandemic could have been prevented. But the consequences could definitely have been less dire.
An encouraging thought is that at least nature is having its time and rejuvenating itself. With already a million people affected because of the pandemic, the important thing is to maintain social distancing and extension of a lockdown. People are losing hope, but it should be remembered that this is not the first time the world is being hit by something so stubborn. The community needs to understand that medical facilities do help fight the virus, but something most important than anything is humanness.
Just like for previous times, our history will be written, maybe someone is already in the process of it. But it depends on us how we want to be remembered by our next generations and how our decisions will influence their decisions in future.