Of wartime heroes and criminals

The invisible enemy, the coronavirus has, for the first time united humanity at all levels in one common way: fear and uncertainty and the will to find a solution. No one seems to be safe or unsafe from the virus, no one knows where it will hit harder next.

And while billions of dollars have been spent around the world on weapons, arms, military artillery and warfare gadgets, all weapons are cold and helpless in front of a tiny virus!

What if even one percent of these billions were spent on scientific research and development ? What if we had more hospitals and health infrastructure? The saddest part, is that we are even loosing ,the already understaffed, medical domain personnel to this virus.

Physicians who spend more years studying than most of us, to qualify as doctors, nurses and other medical team members, all in the frontline, in some countries even with inadequate protective gear and with a big shortage of material and equipment.

Many doctors and nurses have already died, they are not easily replaced, and among them are some of the most experienced in many fields, one was the late Dr Gita Ramjee, a top virologist from South Africa.

It was indeed sad to hear that Prof Ramjee, who was one of the leading scientists in the battle against HIV and its prevention for so many years,has succumbed to coronavirus after coming back from a conference in the United Kingdom.

Hats off, and a big clap, as it has become a part of many nations daily routine, for these wartime heroes!
On the other hand, at the beginning of this crisis, some people took advantage of this fear, and started hiding masks, sensitisers and other hygiene related material, it didn’t take long before they were caught red handed and even before authorities taking action against them, they were already scorned and chastised by a wide range of the public on social media.

It seems that these days, not many can get away with shameful acts that are exposed. In some counties a special authority is set up to follow online criminals and at the same time follow people who are exposed by others while committing such crimes.

Many banks and financial institutions are also sending warning letters to their clients to be aware of suspicious letters that ask for passwords and other confidential information, this is a clear indication of the rise in numbers of such dubious activities from heartless cyber criminals, who are taking advantage even while humanity is undergoing such sad crises, for me these are war criminals and should be judged as such.