COVID-19! This word has been engraved in our lives since March 2020. We all are trying desperately hard to get rid of it, but we can’t. And now it walks parallel with us.
This pandemic has tremendously affected the whole world, whether rich or poor, VIP or normal, male or female, everybody has been affected. But the measure of impact is different for everybody. We are here to talk about our mental health due to the pandemic but I would like to talk about a section of people who can’t speak for themselves but are highly affected by the pandemic.
People’s lives, their daily routine, world economy, weddings, our savings and even plannings have been shattered by this pandemic. Some of us got the privilege to work from home, some got fired, some worked as corona warriors and some only prayed for one time meal every day.
Yes, there is a section of poor daily wage workers who were striving for a single meal every day. Before all this, they got work on a daily basis and were paid daily from which they bought food for themselves and their family members. But this cycle got disrupted due to the pandemic and lockdown which in turn put a halt to some of their lives. During the lockdown, we were staying safe at our houses, but they even didn’t have any place to stay, forget about staying safe.
Why would this neglected and vulnerable section be not prone to developing mental illness and depression? They have limitations in many things. Most of them are migrant workers hence they lack family support during this crisis. It’s literally hard for them to follow the rules of maintaining personal safety and hygiene during COVID -19 which is a must to stay safe. They don’t have easy access to doctors and health care workers.
I think that they don’t have social acceptance either. All these factors might give rise to mental trauma and depression in them. In addition, they have an economic setback going on. They have lost whatever little work they had. They do not have any type of financial support or security. They were dependent on the food shelters run by the Government of India or some noble people. Even these shelters were limited and could not have got everyone the privilege of getting a one-time meal.
The worldwide declining economy might have an impact on their mental health too. Imagine the impact on some 100 million people, according to data.
Seven months have passed and somehow, we are coping up with COVID-19 with due precautions. Our life is coming back to track but what about them? How are they going to cope up with it? How will they come out of their mental illnesses and depression? We all are maintaining social distancing and avoiding meeting new people (which is absolutely correct), but this makes it difficult for these workers to get some work for their livelihood.
Although I know we all are doing our best by helping them financially at our level, but I think they need more attention and care. The government can introduce more laws to help them to come out of their misery and live life normally.
And I know we’ll soon see anew dawn without this pandemic and without fearing positivity.