Members of Resistance Orchestra

Click to read the article in Turkish

We have been living with a fear that has shaken the world and immensely effected our lives for some time now. It will - apparently - be the case for a while. We all have different stories in this process. Some of us are alone, some of us have to go to work no matter how much we do not want to. There are pregnant women among us, there are those who try to cope with an anxiety disorder or the ones who have just baeten a serious disease.

Since the virus arrived in Denmark, I have been finding myself checking the number of infected people and the condition of hospitals. I am refreshing the page over and over again. The numbers are constantly increasing. If not here, then in some other part of the world... My heart is filled with fear. Following the number of infected people does nothing but triggers my fear.

Most of us are already taking every precaution that we can. We warn each other and our loved ones. Our hands have got dry as we wash them constantly and we have got used to the smell of disinfectants. We go to the market in the emptiest hours and open the doors of cabinets without touching them with our hands. We talk to the people that we share our houses with from a two-meter distance, let alone meeting other people.

It is an all-out war against anxiety and fear

Experts are listing one by one what we need to do to keep our motivation: Eat properly, indulge in your hobbies, sleep well, do sports even if you are home, go outdoors and get some fresh air if you can, breathe freely in nature... Make some time for yourself away from electronics, read something, watch a movie, listen to music...

While I am writing these, in the middle of the night, an all-out war is being waged against the virus at hospitals. Hospitals are full of health personnel that cannot go home for days. The same war continues in some houses too. A full-scale war against insomnia, illness, anxiety and fear...

An ungifted participant of a balcony concert...

Like all of us, I also watched the videos of people in Italy who gathered in their balconies and started singing together in a spontaneous concert. Before that, I first watched the video of people in China's Wuhan who called out to each other from their windows, supporting one another saying, "You can do it, Wuhan; just stay strong."

We need to strictly follow the recommendations cautioned to us so that we can protect the health system and people of the country where we live. But we should also keep in mind that we must be a not-so-gifted or an ungifted participant of balcony concerts. What I see now tells me that we need to do or be a part of whatever we can, whatever we are good at, whatever we can think of or whatever we can just reach out. Maybe, we are not doctors or nurses, we are not educated in medicine, we are not psychologists. We cannot play an accordion, nor do we have a tambourine. Maybe, we are just totally ungifted, maybe we are afraid and about to lose all hope. No matter how we feel and how things stand, it is high time to join a concert.

Museums and orchestras are opening their archives to online access one by one, artists give live concerts on social media instead of cancelling them. Today, in a Facebook group, a young woman writes that she can do shopping for the ones who are too ill or old to go to the market. Dozens of other volunteers comment that they can follow suit. They all write the neighborhoods where they can be available for help. In another group, a man says that he does not feel well and this period has triggered his already existing suicidal thoughts. Again, dozens of others mobilize to stand by a person that they do not know. A doctor is found, the person is reached and he is prevented from staying alone.

We care about each other's lives

In another platform, there is a post about the need for volunteers with medical experience who can support hospitals. It is also announced that the volunteers will be given the necessary training. Several people apply as volunteers in less than two minutes.

We care about each other's lives. We are not the ones who publicly condemn our neighbors to death at a border gate, it is done by those with their hands contaminated by much deadlier germs. We are the ones who can mobilize to save the lives of people that we do not know.

Coronavirus spreads quickly, say the experts. We see how a single red dot can just paint everyone in red at the blink of an eye. Let's just spread as quick as this, then. Let's just spread our solidarity, our mutual support and resistance that quickly. Let's forget about bad policies, our disappointments, the saying 'human is a wolf to human' when the life of one of us is at stake. Let's just remember the hope on the faces of doctors from China who have gone to Italy for support. Let's stop complaining like "they didn't do it, that was late, the other did not take precautions." If virus is telling us something, don't we have an answer to that?

I am not alone, you are not alone

I am not so gifted in music. Neither do a I have a balcony at my house, nor do I hold a tambourine in my hand. I still want to be an ungifted member of this resistance orchestra. I am not alone. You are not alone. We are stronger. We are more resistant. We can multiply like burs and take each other under our wings if we want.

Don't lose hope; if you have a fear, share it, ask for help. If you are feeling well, go and help someone in need. Do not forget the ones who cannot go down the stairs or leave their beds when hard times come. If you say "I cannot do anything", support someone feeling bad from where you sit, utter a nice word, tell them "You are in my mind." If there are people making music, it will be enough for you to just look out of the window and smile. Only then will we all together give a vital concert as the members of a resistance orchestra. (HE/AÖ/SD)