By: Vitalio AngulaNamibia is such a close-knit community that by now all of us young adults know of someone close to us who has succumbed to Covid-19.
As a country we should prepare ourselves for the collective trauma the loss of life as a result of Covid is bound to inflict.
Collective trauma can be defined as ‘the trauma an entire society experiences as a result of a pandemic’.
None of us could have seen the pandemic coming.
Up until last year the deaths, overcrowding of hospitals, lack of oxygen were but a distant reality only visible on our t.v. screens.
However, over the past couple of weeks, Namibians have experienced a sad reality.
A health crisis like no other experienced before in contemporary post-independent Namibia.
Loved ones are dying on a daily basis!
We have lost associates, work colleagues and national leaders.
Schools have lost teachers and hospitals have lost nurses.
As we wait out this pandemic, we should prepare ourselves for its aftermath; as families come to grips with the loss of their bread-winners and husbands grieve the loss of their wives.
As boyfriends weep the passing of their girlfriends and workers come to terms with the passing of their employers, we need to prepare ourselves for a period of national healing and emotional reconstruction.
The emotional toll and psychological burden Covid-19 is bound to leave on our collective psyche needs to be managed to ensure healing for a nation that has never experienced a crisis of this proportion in recent times.
As good neighbours we may be called upon to counsel a loved one.
As teachers, we may need to counsel our learners.
As elders in the church, we may be called upon to counsel members of our congregations.
The same applies in our workplaces, our family settings, sports clubs, and professional networks.
Let us be cautious and cognizant of the fact that as a nation we are going through the most.
We can help each other by lifting one another’s burden of hurt, pain, and anguish.
By being there for one another and lending an ear of support we can help each other heal from the collective pain we are experiencing as a nation.
NB: Vita Angula is a political science analyst and columnist who writes in his personal capacity.
