By Abdulaziz Alkashi. English Language Program Student

April 2020

Abdulaziz wrote this letter of hope for the ELP Writing Contest and received an honorable mention. 

The recent Coronavirus outbreak certainly changed our lives and the way we live. Schools have closed, flights have stopped, workers have stopped going to work, and basically life stopped. The number of cases around the globe is increasing. Thus, people have to stay home all day in order to protect themselves, and they only go out to buy necessary survival items such as food and water. In countries like Saudi Arabia, people cannot even go out to buy grocery, as the government demands them to remain indoors 24 hours. Surely, it all sounds like an apocalypse, and that the end is near. However, this virus is actually a small obstacle, and humans will get through this difficult time as they always did with other deadly viruses. In fact, Coronavirus is making humans evolve in some ways.

There are many reasons we be cautiously hopeful about this situation. Firstly, this is not the first time that the earth faced such a pandemic. As a matter of fact, humans have managed to deal with numerous other deadly viruses, examples of which are the plague, the Spanish flu, and the swine flu. Coronavirus is nothing compared to some viruses like the plague, which had a fatality rate of 30% to 90%, or the Spanish flu that had a death rate of 23% to 71% (Wikipedia contributors, 2020). However, humans still managed to deal with those deadly diseases by developing treatments. Also, humans got through diseases like the plague centuries ago, when they did not have an advanced medical system that we have now. Therefore, utilizing the high-tech equipment and advanced medical system, scientists will be able to develop a vaccine soon. All we have to do is stay hopeful and optimistic.

Moreover, Coronavirus made the world stick together to fight it. All countries put their issues aside and are now united by working together in this war against the virus. It brought the world together as countries are helping other countries. For example, China provided Italy with necessary medical equipment such as masks in order to help Italy fight the virus (Aljazeera, 2020). Furthermore, communities all over the world are showing acts of kindness. People are not only caring for others, but they also volunteer to help. To illustrate, “people are coming together to sing on balconies in Italy. Others are setting up groups to offer support to the elderly or vulnerable” (Mental Health Foundation, 2020). Therefore, Coronavirus is helping mankind evolve by making everyone unify, despite their differences.

In the end, I have a message to Coronavirus.

Dear Corona,

you will not win against us. You are just a simple virus. Be prepared to lose because humans are united and strong. We will make sure that you do not success in your mission. Thank you for making humans connect and care for each other.

Thanks,

Abdulaziz