Malti
English[:mt]
“Għaddiet ġimgħa minn meta għamilna t-test u rriżulta pożittiv. Mhux qed infittxu informazzjoni fuq l-internet, mhux qed naraw aħbarijiet u lanqas qed ingergru. Qed ngħixu ġurnata wara l-oħra. U l-affarijiet sejrin għall-aħjar. It-talb tagħkom, il-messaġġi, ix-xewqat sbieħ u l-ikel mimli mħabba li qed jaslilna qed ikomplu jagħtuna l-forza. Inħossukom tassew qrib tagħna u veru qed tgħinuna. Grazzi mill-qalb tal-barkiet li qed jaslulna”.
Dan il-messaġġ WhatsApp, intbagħat minn familja tal-komunità tal-Fokolari f’Mumbai, u f’dan iż-żmien ta’ dlam hu tassew raġġ ta’ tama u kuraġġ. Ma tgħaddix ġurnata li ma tismax bil-mewt ta’ xi kollegi, ħbieb u xi drabi anki familjari. U dan flimkien ma’ aħbarijiet li sistemi qed jikkrollaw u li familji mhux qed jirnexxilhom jagħtu d-dinjità xierqa lill-għeżież tagħhom morda jew mejtin.
Fl-Indja hemm popolazzjoni enormi (1,3 miljardi), allura wieħed kien jistenna li n-numru ta’ kasijiet kien ser ikun għoli ħafna. Għal sena sħiħa, sal-aħħar ta’ April li għadda, il-pajjiż irnexxilu jikkontrolla s-sitwazzjoni, iżda issa kollox qed tmur dejjem għall-agħar. Is-sistema sanitarja publika mhux qed tlaħħaq mat-talba għal mediċini, ossiġnu u ventilaturi li hemm bżonn, barra l-fatt li hemm varjanti tal-virus f’partijiet differenti tal-pajjiż.
Matul il-pandemija l-komunità tal-Fokolari ħadmet bla waqfien. Illanċjat azzjoni ta’ qsim tal-ġid fuq livell nazzjonali biex setgħet toffri għajnuna ekonomika lil min tilef ix-xogħol jew lil min għandu bżonn ta’ fondi biex jixtri l-bżonnijiet ta’ kuljum. Il-proġett Udisha mwaqqaf mill-Moviment tal-Fokolari fl-Indja għen lil madwar 80 familja li jgħixu f’Mumbai b’ikel, mediċini, kotba, ħlas ta’ iskola, ta’ kera jew ta’ kontijiet tad-dawl, eċċ. U waqt li t-tieni mewġa tal-pandemija tinsab fl-aqwa tagħha, xi żgħażagħ qed ikomplu bil-proġett #DaretoCare billi darba kull ħmistax imorru jqassmu l-ikel lil dawk li jgħixu barra fit-triq.
Bħalissa, l-enerġija tal-komunità qed tintefa’ l-aktar fejn hemm bżonn l-għajnuna sanitarja biex jkunu salvati l-ħajjiet tan-nies. Ftit ilu, l-isptar Holy Family f’Mumbai għamel talba urġenti għall-ċilindri tal-ossiġnu meħtieġa għal 160 sodda ta’pażjenti Covid; il-komunita’ mill-ewwel wieġbet billi sabet sponsors li setgħu jgħinu u issa qed tfittex oħrajn.
Waqt li din it-tieni mewġa qed tkompli taħkem bil-qawwa kollha tagħha, il-familji tal-Moviment ħassew il-bżonn li jgħinu lil xulxin aktar mill-qrib anki billi jibdew jiltaqgħu kuljum online għal nofs siegħa ta’ talb flimkien. Dan qed ikun ta’ sostenn biex jegħlbu n-niket, in-nuqqas ta’ħila quddiem din is-sitwazzjoni, u anki s-solitudni. Fl-ewwel żmien tal-Moviment, il-komunità ta’ Trento, skopriet li Alla hu mħabba propju meta t-tieni gwerra dinjija kienet fl-aqwa tagħha; u issa hawnhekk il-komunità Indjana qed tiskopri li t-talb flimkien online hu mod qawwi kif jesprimu r-realta’ ta’ familja waħda, ikoll indaqs, magħquda fl-imħabba t’Alla.
Annabel Dsouza (Mumbai, India)
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From the sharing of material goods to offering spiritual and emotional support, all efforts seem a drop in the ocean of the Covid-19 tragedy in India. Yet local communities continue to go ahead with faith in God and mutual trust.
“It has been exactly one week since we tested positive. We are not looking up any information on the Internet and we are not allowing ourselves to watch the news or complain about anything. We are taking it one day at a time. Getting better. Your prayers, messages, good wishes and food full of warmth have continued to give us strength and we can feel the closeness and support of each and every one of you. We continue to offer thanks for the smallest blessings we have been given.”
This WhatsApp message shared by a family from the Focolare community in Mumbai has been a ray of hope and courage in these dark times. Not a day goes by without receiving news of the death of colleagues, friends and sometimes even family members. This is in addition to the constant reminders through all the media of collapsing systems and families unable to assure dignity for their sick or deceased loved ones.
With a population of 1.3 billion people, a high rate of cases was expected in India. For a whole year, until last April, the country managed to curb the spread through various measures, from strict lockdowns to contact tracing and mass vaccinations. But now the situation is worsening daily, as the virus mutates in various parts of the country and the public health system struggles to keep up with an unprecedented demand for medicines, oxygen and ventilators.
During the pandemic, the Focolare community has worked tirelessly and relaunched a nationwide communion of goods to show solidarity and offer financial help to those who have lost their jobs or need funds for daily provisions. The Focolare’s Udisha project in India has been able to reach out to nearly 80 families in some of Mumbai’s low-income communities, providing them with food, medicine, school fees, books, house rent, electricity bills, etc. Amidst the raging second wave, some young people continue their work for the #DaretoCare project by serving home-cooked meals to the homeless once a fortnight.
With the aim of saving lives, much of the effort and energy of the Focolare communities is now focused on health care. When an urgent request came from the Holy Family Hospital in Mumbai for oxygen concentrators for their 160-bed Covid ward, the community quickly found sponsors for two machines and is now looking for more.
As the second wave continues to hammer home its full force, the Focolare families have felt the need to support each other more closely and have begun to connect daily to pray together for half an hour, finding much needed support in the pain, helplessness and even loneliness of some. As in the early days of the Movement, when the community in Trent (Italy) discovered that God is Love even in the raging of the Second World War, online prayer with the Indian community is becoming a powerful way of expressing their being one family, all equal and united in God’s love.
Annabel Dsouza from Mumbai, India
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