LISTEN: "People aren't supposed to die like this"
South Africa and the world are concerned over the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths that are skyrocketing in India. We spoke with a freelance journo by the name of Samriddhi to find out more.
Samriddhi is a journalism student and is currently giving her time to help COVID-19 patients. She took some time to chat with Carol Ofori to discuss the state of shock in India at the moment.
She is currently volunteering for COVID-19 patients around India, who are seeking help on Twitter for beds, oxygen, and so forth. Carol asked Samriddhi if what we are seeing in the media is being exaggerated and she said that the real picture is "worse than what we know, it's worse than what we see, it's worse than what we read. Delhi is the capital of the world's largest democracy, people aren't supposed to live like this, people aren't supposed to die like this."
The hurt and anger that she feels came ringing through her voice as she spoke and shared that she cannot sleep at night because she is afraid that people will be asking for her help on Twitter and she won't be able to help them.
She says that regardless of your status in India, whether you are rich or poor, you cannot get beds or oxygen. Resources have become exhausted.
#SOSDelhi is just one of many hashtags being used on Twitter by people who require assistance. Samriddhi boldly says that the second wave was a 'man-made disaster' because the country did not take the virus seriously. She feels that the elections added to the second wave.
Samriddhi is a 20-year-old who has just returned from West Bengal and she receives numerous requests for help. She is experiencing numbness with what is going on in her country. She is hurt by the situation and feels let down, but this hasn't let this stop her from trying to help people who send her requests.
She goes on to say that she doesn't see things getting better, plus she is more scared as the doctors say that they haven't even seen the peak yet. All age groups are being affected, but particularly the age group between 18 and 40.
Currently, India is not on lockdown and the state of things is digressing as the days go on. Samriddhi shared more information and really painted a picture for us as to what she is going through as just one Indian in this pandemic, being surrounded by death and heartache.
Listen to the full interview here:
Images Courtesy of AFP