Coronabusiness?

Island-made masks!

“There’s no coronavirus here! No coronavirus!” Our friend emphatically proclaimed this again and again. He had rejected our attempts to greet him by bumping elbows or fists (the customary handshake alternative in the age of COVID). Instead he forcibly took our hands and rubbed his palms repeatedly against ours, laughing good-naturedly and repeating, “No, no, no. There’s no coronavirus here!”

While no other islander has forced physical contact on us quite like that, we have been repeatedly assured that there is no coronavirus here on the islands. Some acknowledge that it was here but that it isn’t here anymore. (And there is some truth in that. For a week or two, there have no longer been anyone with COVID symptoms in the hospital on our island.)

Others talk about how bad coronavirus was outside the islands but that here all they had was a strange dengue season. Dengue fever comes in outbreaks every couple of years on the islands and this year the dengue was particularly hard and for many came with a cough (!), which islanders admit is not a symptom they usually have with dengue. (In reality COVID hit on the heels of a dengue outbreak, so there was legitimate confusion initially about what was dengue and what was COVID.)

Others truly believe that there never was any coronavirus on the islands, they say that the only thing they’ve had on the islands is “coronabusiness”! Over and over, we’ve had islanders complain about coronabusiness— or the exploitation of the global pandemic for money. They say that the government tries to maintain the idea that there is COVID on the islands so that they will continue to receive foreign aid to fight it. They claim that the island government continues to have measures like masks and limited gatherings on the books just to get more money.

Island beaches were closed for awhile for COVID

“Coronabusiness” is also seen in the fact that masks and PPE that were donated by foreign countries are now being sold in the market to line island pockets. It’s in a bunch of people being arrested for not wearing masks only to be driven to a building site and forced to work as free labor for the day. Coronabusiness is also the fact that large gatherings are not allowed (ostensibly to prevent the spread of disease), but you can go to town hall and pay a “fee” in order to have your large gathering with the promise that the police will not come and break it up.

Those who complain about coronabusiness are also quick to blame the coronavirus measures as really the manipulations of the current president to stay in power. The breaking up of gatherings with police raids, tear gas and arrests. The curfews. The fines. The travel restrictions. In all these things they see a president who is just trying to keep the people down who don’t want him in power. On the islands, we’re entering a contentious year politically and coronavirus/coronabusiness has only stoked the discontented murmurings that were already there that the government is not working for the good of the people.  

People back home are curious about how coronavirus has impacted the islands. We don’t claim to know the whole truth. We do know that COVID has not hit the islands as hard as we feared. Maybe it’s because it’s a young population. Maybe it’s because it is so densely populated that they reached herd immunity really fast. Or maybe it’s because the islands is an outdoor culture where most gathering and socializing happens outside where breezes dissipate disease. Whatever the reasons, we see it as a clear answer to our fervent prayers.

Tom- the birthday boy!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We got our bags! They finally arrived on Clove Island on Wednesday and we were able to claim them on Thursday morning. We’re very grateful to a few friends that work in shipping who went out of their way to get them to us! We were able to have 1-on-1 meetings with each of our teammates and a potential teammate this past week, as well as colleagues and island friends and associates. It was good to reconnect and to see a plan for the coming months take shape. Tom celebrated a birthday— we thank God for him, for the good husband, father, team leader and friend that he is.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
The mother of an island brother and friend is gravely ill. She is in a coma. We assume that she is dying but don’t know all the details. Please pray for our friend and his family, that he could be a light to all of them and they would know peace at this difficult time. The potential team member is trying to arrange a site visit in November— pray for all the logistics as traveling is more difficult these days. Pray for clarity and confirmation as she considers joining us in the new year. We’ve decided that we’ll stay in our current house through Christmas at least, while at the same time casually start looking for a new place. Pray that God would direct us to the right place and that our kids could even be excited about the move. Pray for our teammate who is currently in the States as she considers her future steps and timeline, including rejoining us on the islands in the near future and beyond. Pray for us as we look at what our new schedule and routines will be now that we are back, that we’d make good decisions and commit to the right things.