The best of us

We are certainly living in stressful times. It impacts on how we react to situations. So, when we would ordinarily – whatever that means now – take a particular set of circumstance with a pinch of salt and calmly deal with it, we may not deal so well with it now.

We may look to blame someone or a group of people. We may accuse the wrong people of guilt when there isn’t necessarily any guilt – it’s just the circumstances that are unfortunate.

Last week’s lead story about the wedding that caused so many people to contract COVID-19 was a case in point.

While it’s true that at least one person mocked the law and what was expected of them in the country and by our community, most were just there to celebrate the union of two people.

Weddings are meant to be joyful events – unique, memorable, and hopefully a once-in-a-lifetime occasion for a couple. They are generally planned well in advance, and to the last serviette and flower.

So, while a lot of people criticised us – the messenger – for writing the story, there were those who said ugly things about those celebrating the wedding.

As for those criticising us, I ask that you don’t “shoot the messenger”. We simply reported on an event that breached the law. And in doing so, we chose not to name and shame quite simply because we weren’t dealing with petty criminals or people who wanted to harm others. Instead, we were dealing with people who wanted to make a wedding special and not tainted by lockdown and this horrific pandemic.

It’s unfortunate that in the process, they didn’t follow protocols and laws and so many contracted the coronavirus there. Therein lies the problem. We all have to play our part in avoiding spreading this virus. We all have to do what we can to stay healthy and ensure that all those around us stay healthy too. We have to follow protocols and laws. This isn’t a time to mock and ignore laws – lives depend on it.

This week, we have reason to highlight incredible angels in our midst – the very people who do the opposite of ignoring laws. They are the people who give up their personal lives and time to save others. They are the many selfless, caring, mostly volunteers at Hatzolah and the Community Security Organisation (CSO) in Cape Town.

While most of us did what we could to get some semblance of a holiday, these incredible folk were working around the clock to save those who contracted COVID-19.

They were the lifeline for so many in our community who got sick. It’s astonishing to hear about the amazing way they looked after those who were sick.

The fact that Hatzolah would find ways to get people in outlying coastal areas in the country or even Cape Town, Plettenberg Bay, or KwaZulu-Natal home to Johannesburg was unbelievable. They would drive ambulances for hundreds of kilometres to do this, and monitor people all the way home.

I’m blown away by such kindness, selflessness and I – and everyone who has somehow been touched by these angels in PPE (personal protective equipment) – am filled with such gratitude and awe.

This coronavirus has really shown us what people are made of. We witness the incredible compassion and unstinting healthcare they perform. I wonder what it takes to be someone like that.

They are heroes who don’t want the kavod we want to give them. They don’t want to be named or put on a pedestal. They just want to keep saving lives and making sure that those who are sick are carried caringly through their illness so that they can survive.

As I have said before, this illness can be such a lonely and terrifying journey, but it’s one that the Hatzolah and CSO volunteers and staff take people through with such gentleness. It’s hard to imagine how we would manage without them. I must say I feel sad for those communities who don’t have angels like this in their midst.

Almost a year ago, when I lost my mother literally a few weeks before lockdown began, I experienced just a taste of what these incredible human beings do. My mother wasn’t COVID-19-positive, she had broken her hip.

But the Hatzolah angels that came to her rescue were so gentle with her, and kept talking to her through a very painful ambulance ride to the hospital, trying to help her through the pain. The driver, who I sat next to, kept talking to me to try and keep me calm in the face of my fear and my mother’s obvious pain.

I remember feeling like we were being held in cotton wool at such a frightening time.

Those two men who came to our rescue on a Saturday when they could have been with their families or taking time out to relax showed me the best in humanity. It’s this that they and their colleagues continue to exude through this pandemic, albeit 100 fold.

To be honest, kavod seems too small an honour to pay them.

Do you remember years ago, some in our community used to call those who were shomrei Shabbos the “G-d squad”? Well, I believe Hatzolah and CSO are the true G-d squad – they are doing G-d’s work in saving many lives so selflessly.

This week, as we continue the war against the COVID-19 pandemic, we remember those who died during the Holocaust on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In the same way we don’t ever want to forget the many incredible people who have died of COVID-19, let’s find the name of a person who died at the hands of the Nazis, and find out about their lives. This way, we keep their memories alive.

Shabbat Shalom!