Just like many parts of the world, The Smiling Coast of West Africa – The Gambia is currently faced with the grim reality of COVID 19 virus.  As of Friday August 7, 2020, more than one thousand (1,000) people in the Gambia have been infected with the corona virus and at least nineteen (19) people have died according to the Ministry of Health and World Health Organization (WHO).Today, the infection rate and death toll has risen to an unfathomable figure which makes the country an epicenter.

As the virus is sweeping through the country, the grim sense of loss and despair surfaces. The pain is beyond the loss of jobs, businesses and income. It is the loss of precious lives.It is the deep grieving that individuals, families and the nation is going through and the sheer hopelessness of a remedy. The sudden surge has exposed the deficiency in leadership, the huge gap in the medical system and inadequacies of managing such a crisis.

Though the country is in the trenches at the moment, The Gambia is by no means an isolated case.  All around the world and in many parts of Africa, the pandemic is tearing down families and communities.  When I look back some seven months ago, it appears that we woke up one morning to devastation that is beyond repair.  It is like we just turned on the lights and welcomed the reality of people dropping dead around us.  The mortuaries in the country are overwhelmed and have no space to store remains of people who are dying by the second.How did we arrive in such a dark place?

From the look of things, it is apparent that one of the most powerful weapons to employ in this war fare is civic education and acknowledgement of the reality.  In such times, we must take proactive measures, we must be vigilant, we must be alert and collectively work together to fight the spread of the virus.  We cannot wait on the government; we cannot continue to depend on resources that are not available to us.We must follow the established guidelines and take precautionary measures such as:

• Practicing proper hygiene
• Wearing of face masks
• Observing social distancing
• Adhering to 'stay at home' and curfew guidelines

We are in a battle and victory will only come through unity.  We must embrace the simple truth that COVID-19 is 'real' and because we have no idea how long this battle will last; we need to brace ourselves for unforeseen. We are standing on the shores of a sinking nation where every system we thought existed is at the brink of breaking.Right now, we need to take lock-in steps into the future.

Because the virus does not discriminate between male and female, young and old, rich and poor, privileged or denied, black or white, we all need to stand together and fight together.  The choice is ours; we can choose to take control of our lives or grant permission to the virus to overtake us.In the words of Tyrese Gibson, "life is a menu, so remember whoever and whatever you order for your life is what's going to be delivered to your table".  We must be aggressive in adhering to the established guidelines and even take it a step further to add our own.We must prioritize, we must practice self-discipline, we must protect ourselves first in order to protect others.

It does not matter how long the virus and pandemic lingers around, this season will come to an end sooner or later.  But until we arrive at that desired place, we must forge a path into that future.  We must replace politics with responsibility.  We must trade greed and selfishness with ethics and acceptable ethical behavior.In such a time as this, we need to be more supportive, show solidarity and commit to taking our place as patriotic leaders and leaders.

Author: Abdou Karim Badjie

Editor:  Dr. Margaret Ellis