Danae de Nysschen, graad 10-leerder van Hoërskool Stellenberg beskryf in haar eie woorde hoe sy die landwye inperking en die Covid-19-pandemie beleef.
There is a fierce, faceless predator, just outside the perimeter of my house! It is a powerful monster! So powerful it forced governments from around the world to shut their borders and send all their citizens home to stay there. What did I do wrong? Is this not what you would do to a naughty child, to send them to their room when they are misbehaving?
Now like little Clownfish we dare leave our safe anemone to join the world again, but this monster is still there, lurking in the dark and preying on its victims on the streets, in malls, hospitals and workplaces. Invisible to us and striking hard and effectively at you when least expected.
CNN and SABC news relay the new statistics daily with new infections and deaths locally and across the world. Pale faced I listen to the devastating news how this monster rips through vast populations from around the world like a hot knife through butter, extinguishing the flames of the most vulnerable souls.
I am scared! I am only 16 years old, with still so much to do on my bucket list. Lockdown is supposed to keep us safe, but for me, it is a prison sentence! Unfortunately, we need to go out to get food. People need to get out to make money, all while we know danger is still there.
Soon, schools will reopen and people say we should be fine. Don’t worry, they say! When someone tells me: “Don’t worry”, that is the exact moment when I worry. I really want it to be fine. As much as I need an education, I need friendship too, but not at a cost where pupils and teachers become victims of this beast.
With anxiety, and insomnia, symptoms of my daily life, and my growing fear of standing face-to-face with this monster in a ring. Challenging not only my life, but that of my family, my school friends and teachers. Ripples of this pandemic is like that of a deadly tsunami speeding towards me and I won’t be strong enough to survive its waves!