Month: May 2020

Dealing with a Pandemic, continued

In continuation of yesterday’s post, here are a few more answers to the question: What are the opinions that you are hearing in your country of how your government has dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic?

Evening traffic outside St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia on 24 March, 2020 (left) versus the same intersection on 26 March, 2020 (right) after quarantine began.

 

 

–Jessie Labov, Budapest, Hungary

The Hungarian government’s strategy seems to be not to test anybody, even if they have very obvious symptoms of the virus, unless they are in need of hospitalization. As a result, we have an artificially low number of diagnosed cases and a fatality rate of 10-12%. They followed the same arc of population control that you see in the rest of the region, but with a lot less enforcement than Poland (where police actually stop people in the streets and ask where they are going), and a lot less buy-in than Czech Republic (where masks are required in public and people are sewing them all night and some are even handing them out for free). In general, people seem satisfied with the government’s response, safety-wise, but very cynical about the abuse of political power coming down the road. One interesting detail: Hungarians (in my opinion) were relatively quick to understand what was at stake and make the conscious choice to act in the interest of the collective social body. A marked difference from the US. I wonder whether that is a European thing, a hangover from the socialist era, both, or neither.

–Ann Merrill, Kyiv, Ukraine

There has been quite mixed reactions to the quarantine in Ukraine. The first couple of weeks, people really didn’t take it seriously, but by now (week 5) most people seem to understand the importance of physical distance to stop the spread. The economic impact is really hard for the vast majority of Ukrainians who live hand-to-mouth already or have very little savings.

– Tatiana Shchytssova, Vilnius, Lithuania

The government of my country (Belarus), strictly following its authoritarian president, tries to ignore the pandemic and shows catastrophic helplessness accompanied by concealing true information about the number of infected people and the deceased. In social and independent media, the level of criticism in this regard is very high, but it seems to have no influence on the attitude of officials.

 

<<Next Monday, June 1st, we will learn about different groups who are most vulnerable to the virus.

 

Dealing with a Pandemic

A global pandemic is a once-in-a-lifetime event, so it’s no surprise that there have been countless different approaches to handling this crisis. This week in Notes from the Field, we asked our participants:

What are the opinions that you are hearing in your country of how your government has dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic?

–Jesse Smeal, Rome, Italy

In my opinion and the opinion of many peers, we are very upset with how the government has and is handling the crisis. We are particularly upset with the lack of economic help and ineptitude of the government as a whole.

–Emma Pratt, Tbilisi, Georgia

The Georgian government has received international praise for their response, and most people here concur (sometimes to their own chagrin). However, many people (in my circles, anyway) are worried that the Georgian Orthodox Church’s refusal to follow social distancing recommendations will cause a major outbreak, and are angry at the church itself, as well as at the government for not standing its ground. In mid-April, in the weeks leading up to Orthodox Palm Sunday and Easter, church attendance dramatically increased despite prohibitions against large gatherings.

–Adela Muchova, Prague, Czechia

The prevailing opinion is that the government’s decisions are chaotic, communication unclear, and rules can be interpreted in many different ways. At the beginning, the government met daily and held long press conferences to demonstrate its readiness. People believe that strict measures (such as face masks, quarantine, closing businesses) are necessary to prevent the disease spreading. So public trust in the government is rather high, although experts (journalists, doctors) are rather critical towards the practical political decisions and steps taken.

–Lyudmila Skryabina, Moscow, Russia

I think that our government is taking adequate measures in fighting the pandemic and in supporting the economy. Just recently the decision was made that the government will give money to small and medium-sized businesses to pay minimum wage salaries (currently 12,130 rubles/month) to workers in April and May in order to avoid massive unemployment. It seems to me that it’s possible to live on this amount of money in self-isolation. In addition, mortgage and credit payments have been delayed and penalties for late housing payments have been waived.

What has been overlooked? It seems to me that we should have closed the borders much sooner and not allowed travel abroad, starting in February. Unfortunately, people who returned from Europe and Asia at the end of February and beginning of March have spread the disease across Russia, especially in Moscow. They did not quarantine themselves but went to work, took public transportation, and now we have the lamentable result. Unfortunately, even when the quarantine was announced many people did not follow it immediately and instead continued to serve as sources of infection, not knowing that they were already ill themselves since they were not showing symptoms. Alas, that’s the trickery of COVID-19.

<< Check back tomorrow for a continuation of this post with answers from Hungary, Ukraine, and Lithuania!

COVID-19: The Bread Baking Renaissance

Food is one of the few things that can unite, sustain, and soothe us no matter where we are in the world. In these troubling times, many people have turned to bread baking and vegetable gardening both to feed themselves and to pass time. In this week’s Notes from the Field, we asked our participants what their go-to comfort food is.

–Emma Pratt, Tbilisi, Georgia

Khachapuri is a traditional Georgian bread filled with cheese and egg.

Most Georgian food makes good comfort food. There has been a popular social media challenge of people around the world making adjaruli khachapuri or khinkali and posting photos of their results. I think I will try to make my first adjaruli khachapuri soon.

–Jesse Smeal, Rome, Italy

Any pasta dish. Cheap, easy and delicious.

–Ann Merrill, Kyiv, Ukraine

Carbs, carbs, carbs.

–Jessie Labov, Budapest, Hungary

My child has been sustained largely on “mákos tészta,” or poppy seed noodles, which is spaghetti or fettuccine coated with butter (or duck fat if you’re my mother-in-law), then sprinkled with a mix of ground poppy seeds and powdered sugar—the proportion of each depending entirely on the level of bribery necessary to get the child to eat. If you grew up in the U.S., you will probably find this weird and off-putting. If you grew up in this region, you will wolf it down like manna from heaven.

–Eric Bednarski, Warsaw, Poland

We have been eating a lot of traditional homemade Polish pierogis in my household. Although I have been eating pierogis for most of my life, I’d never made pierogis myself until this pandemic struck, so it has been fascinating to see the whole pierogi-making process from start to finish. A lot of people I know in Warsaw seem to be baking their own bread now too. Many of them are baking bread for the first time.

–Lyudmila Skryabina, Moscow, Russia

A meat and fish counter remains open in an empty St. Petersburg supermarket.

I can’t say anything about my fellow countrymen, although I think many are cooking now. Personally, I have been making more soups in quarantine. Yesterday I made borscht. I am also trying to remember the recipes for all kinds of yummy dishes. I recently made the mini-khachapuris Dr. Brintlinger taught me to make several years ago. I have to admit that I’ve been eating better and healthier food in quarantine.

<<Check back in next Monday, May 25, to learn more about how countries in Central and Eastern Europe are dealing with the pandemic.

Pandemic Essentials

What is essential in a pandemic? Our correspondents in Central and Eastern Europe recommend these books, films, and other works of art.

–Jessie Labov, Hungary

Giorgio Agamben’s State of Exception. Even though he has gone off the deep end and claimed at the beginning of this global health emergency that COVID-19 was a hoax and a conspiracy cooked up by governments in order to wield exceptional power. Yes, even though Agamben recently said those insane things, his book about the post-9/11 world is still very relevant and important to today’s reality. See: “Giorgio Agamben’s Coronavirus Cluelessness”

–Emma Pratt, Georgia

I can’t dazzle you with my intellect with my answer to this question, because I haven’t had the bandwidth for academic or intellectual reading. I tried to start Red Famine by Anne Applebaum when I returned from my trip to Ukraine, but I found it too emotional right now. The most fitting book I’ve read during this time has been Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory. It strikes the balance between being light and fun and reminiscent of better times, without being overly frivolous or silly.

–Ann Merrill, Ukraine

Мої Думки Тихі (My Thoughts Are Silent), a quirky, lovely, funny Ukrainian independent film released earlier this year. It’s available online in Ukrainian with Russian subtitles. The scenery is gorgeous, and anyone who’s taken a road trip in Western Ukraine will find many familiar sights.

–Jesse Smeal, Italy

Influenza 1918 – PBS film on the 1918 Pandemic. Very relevant to today’s crisis.

–Conrad Rinto, Hungary

Luckily, prior to the pandemic I had ordered Eric Hobsbawm’s The Age of series. He is an author that I had discovered in Professor Dragostinova’s “Nations and Nationalism” course at Ohio State. Additionally, I am re-reading Kim Newman’s Anno Dracula series because when in Hungary why not read an alternative history series on Dracula.

– Lyudmila Skryabina, Russia

It seems to me that during the pandemic we should read those things we’ve been unable to find time for. And watch as many comedies as possible!

<<Next Monday, May 18, our participants will be sharing their go-to comfort food recipes!

How to Pass Time in Quarantine, continued

To continue this week’s theme of passing time in quarantine, here are three more responses from Tbilisi, Kyiv, and Moscow.

–Emma Pratt, Tbilisi, Georgia

I am working remotely and adapting my previously in-person class for online delivery has been a lot of work. I have also spent more time than usual cooking—trying to make the most efficient and delicious use of the products we have at home. So far, we have actually been eating better than usual. I’ve also been reading, but not as much as I had thought I would. We have a Nintendo Wii, which I have been using to get some exercise to clear my head. To be perfectly honest, I also spend a lot of time on Twitter waiting for updates. I haven’t gotten bored yet.

Boxes taped to the floor encourage social distancing practices in Kyiv, Ukraine

–Ann Merrill, Kyiv, Ukraine

Ukraine has been in quarantine for 30 days at the time I am writing this. I’m actually fairly busy with my freelance work as a translator and editor, and was already quite used to working from home! I am working on the translation of my 3rd book for Awesome Heritage. Work on the magazine I edit also continues, The Ukrainian: Life & Culture. But there are a lot of hours in the day, so I’ve also rearranged closets and furniture, potted and repotted plants, and done a lot of cooking and baking. And I am going to finally tackle khachapuri, thanks to an American friend in Kyiv who is using the quarantine to launch his cooking channel!

–Lyudmila Skryabina, Moscow, Russia

I have a ton of work. I can’t even get to much of what I have planned.

In the film industry, a lot of projects have had to be put off, and that’s true for us at Okapi Production as well. We had planned to start filming our first feature film in the beginning of May, but now in our best case scenario we’ll start at the end of the summer. Instead, while we’re staying at home we have increased our activity on social media and launched our YouTube channel. Since we’ve been doing casting calls for a year and a half we have a large base of contacts among active children and parents across Russia and the CIS.

Several regional television channels (Moscow region, Kuzbass, Rostov, Krasnodar, and others) have noticed our videos and we are now doing social advertising for them for free.

Since we’ll be working remotely for at least another month, I have started to write some new scripts for our children’s television program “Bad Advice from Helpful Kids.” We are learning a new format: not in the studio but via teleconferencing. The theme suggested itself: how to entertain yourself at home. Thus, I am extremely busy with video production work. But I still have a few articles planned for a scholarly volume at the Tomskaya Pisanitsa museum. Basically, there’s no time to be bored or depressed!

<<Next week, May 11, our participants will be sharing some book and film recommendations to help you pass the time!

How to Pass the Time in Quarantine

From baking to reading, gardening to yoga, more time at home has led to more time for hobbies and new ways of working and going to school. This week in Notes from the Field, we asked our participants what they are doing to pass time while in quarantine.an empty classroom

– Tatiana Shchytssova, Vilnius, Lithuania

I spend a huge amount of time playing the role of teacher for my 8 year-old daughter. Her school in Vilnius uses a model of distance-learning that assumes that teachers will send new materials and tasks via email every day, and it is the parent(s) responsibility to supervise the education process. Therefore, my larger problem is how to find time for doing my professional work at home.

–Jesse Smeal, Rome, Italy

I have two restaurants/cafés. We are able to do home deliveries. It’s not much and only amounts to about 2% of my normal revenue, but it’s something. My wife and children pass the time with school, homework, housework, playing games, and watching TV.

–Jessie Labov, Budapest, Hungary     

We have relocated to a small house near Lake Balaton, in one of the most charming villages in Hungary (population 300), where we teach online, homeschool our kid online, take care of the garden, cook a lot, occasionally order pizza, and go on daily hikes. The house belongs to some friends who are stuck in Germany and can’t come here. We do not set foot in the village out of respect for many of the residents who don’t want us here.

<< Check back tomorrow for another set of responses from Tbilisi, Kyiv, and Moscow!