Fear, by Subhasree Raptan, Kolkata

Born, raised, and currently residing in Kolkata, West Bengal, Subhasree is a young woman leader passionate about systemic change for further development of the society.

It was an evening of knowing a feeling of shock, when one of my close relatives, a health officer, tested positive for COVID. I faced lot of humiliation and bad words because she was my relative, as if it was her fault. There were even attacks on social media. 

At that point, I realized that in spite of so many awareness and sensitization initiatives on various platforms, somehow there were many myths and much wrong information among people, rather than an attitude of solidarity and supporting each other in these hard times when every human being is fighting. 

I saw how insensitive and selfish my community can be, because they are afraid, and I felt what people affected by COVID, and their family members, are going through, with the stigma. My relative, sadly, she left this world. 

Then I tried to find out how things were in the villages. It was more shocking to find out that there are villages where, just as with the issue of untouchability, people are not even allowed to take water from the tube well if they are COVID positive, and this has led to problems with access to drinking water and sanitation. 

From here, I started many interventions in the context of COVID-19 and then super cyclone Amphan, dual disasters in West Bengal. I worked on community engagement with youth leaders in Sundarbans, developing social media messages for awareness, in the local language. I reached out to the remotest village, where people don't have internet access and thus lack information, to share government announcements, benefits, etc. This way, the most vulnerable people, especially migrants, can be linked with government schemes. And I also found and intervened in cases of gender-based violence during the pandemic, did fundraising campaigns to support these efforts, and worked with community based civil society organizations. 

But till now, I carry the feeling of how I faced the situation along with my family: the feeling of  being humiliated, angered, and saddened … 

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(This story was prepared for an “Imagine Another World” online storytelling workshop held November 11, 2020.)

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