Being in Nagasaki in the time of the pandemic

TEXT+ PHOTO: Gloria Bundutidi

I am Gloria Bundutidi, a Medical Doctor from the DR Congo and Angola (having dual citizenship). Currently I am a 3rd year PhD candidate at Nagasaki University, studying Tropical medicine and infectious diseases.

After weeks of staring at the four corners of my walls due to isolation, I had decided to visit one of my dearest friends on a cool Sunday evening and this was what transpired:

Hey, my brother. I’m outside your door. Let me in!

No, my brother. You are not protected. I told you I wouldn’t let you in if you weren’t wearing a mask.

Stop joking my brother. I didn’t know you were that serious!

Well I am. I’m not taking any chances with this corona. Here’s a mask and hand sanitizer, if you don’t agree with my house’s rules, please go.

But I’m a medical doctor. Plus, I was the one who supplied you with the masks and sanitizer.

Yes, that’s why you should understand my request.

Who would have thought visiting a friend’s apartment would require ‘gearing up’ before entering? Well, my naive and delusional self had thought otherwise after being briefly warned about the measures my dearest was implementing for his visitors. Little did I know those measures were also applied to me even though I contributed to those precautionary measures.

I have been living in this beautiful city of Nagasaki for almost three years. This city is known to attract visitors from far and near, and as such, gives me the opportunity to interact with those visitors, especially if they are visiting the Atomic Bomb Museum, which is located near my apartment. However, this energetic and compelling daily atmosphere of interaction and exposure drastically changed in just days because of COVID-19. Silence and fear invaded the city. All places that attract visitors were closed, all trips were cancelled, disinfectant found in every corner, and only essential workers traversing with their masks while keeping their distance from each other. Wearing a mask was no longer a fashion but a necessity to survive. As an extrovert, this situation affected my phys- ical and mental health heavily. The lack of social and physical interaction has taken a toll on me. I wasn’t able to complete my swimming laps nor have bible studies at church. Not to mention the inabil- ity to travel within or outside my prefecture. I felt like I was in jail where all of my city was limited to a confined space, especially when I realized that we may have to do this for a long time. Even during Golden Week, the longest holiday break in Japan, I was stuck at home. All this “free time” but unable to do something substantial with it. But that didn’t stop me. I was still able to take a stroll an evening or two so I could reflect while sitting on a bench in the Nagasaki Hypocenter Park. Because as a medical professional, I knew that keeping my mental health intact was essential to survive this pandemic.

This further became a reality when the cases started to emerge within Japan, and elsewhere in the world, where various government bodies and health organizations were clueless to the potential of this virus and started feeding us with indefinite answers. I became totally devasted after hearing news of my closest friends dying of COVID-19 in my home country and not being able to grieve. But thanks to technology, I was still able to communi- cate to my other friends and family so they could comfort me although I couldn’t physically see them or hang out with them.

This pandemic not only affected my daily life but also my school life. Libraries and all sports centers were closed, life on campus almost died out, along with the annual university conferences and meetings. Even my field trip to the Philippines which was a major practicum aspect of my course was cancelled. Students and professors had to resort to online learning rather than face to face. This alternative was so difficult and painful to adjust to. It was hard to focus online due to technical issues, along with scheduling challenges due to professors coming from different time zones.

Despite this catastrophic situation, I feel totally optimistic and I believe in a better future where we will be able to go back to our normal lives. It recently started after the government decided to lift the ‘State of Emergency’ across Japan. Even though this freedom will give us the chance to socialize, we still have to respect all measures established by the government which includes protective wear, good hygiene, and, of course, social distancing. This doesn’t necessarily means solely looking out for one’s own interest but also our loved ones, while looking forward to a better future. Don’t forget that this situation will eventually pass, so