Swine Flu
Not long after I arrived in Mexico, the country began terrorizing the rest of the world with swine flu. It seemed to start somewhere in the south of the country and people began getting sick all over Mexico and the United States before cases popped up in Europe and Asia. It was a pandemic of global proportions: people were panicking, pigs were achy and running high fevers, SPAM stock was plummeting and I was right in the middle of it all.
Was I scared? Of course not. Those of us who live in the Third World are used to adversity and exotic diseases. I spit up in the face of malaria and yellow fever in Africa. I braved hypothermia by setting foot in Minnesota. Usually, the worst aspect of these faddish diseases is the quickness with which they infect the media. Just a day after the first pig sneezed, the Internet and the 24-hour news-tainment networks were predicting the downfall of western society.
Naturally, everyone assumed poor, chaotic Mexico would not act quickly enough to stem the impact. “Do you think the government will be able to contain the contagion?” asked my mother. “When pigs fly,” answered my father. Well, swine flu. Schools and restaurants were quickly closed; all public gatherings banned. People walked the streets hiding behind doctor’s masks and they washed hands excessively. When it was all over, a couple hundred people had gotten sick and – except for a few – gotten better again.
The government had effectively quashed the menace through quick, coordinated action across various sectors. They solicited help and were receptive to outside experts. They spent money where it was needed and didn’t skimp on the cost. In almost no time at all the narco-traffickers and corrupt policemen and soldiers were able to resume their deadly drug war without the fear of insalubrious viral infections. ¡Viva Mexico!
Was I scared? Of course not. Those of us who live in the Third World are used to adversity and exotic diseases. I spit up in the face of malaria and yellow fever in Africa. I braved hypothermia by setting foot in Minnesota. Usually, the worst aspect of these faddish diseases is the quickness with which they infect the media. Just a day after the first pig sneezed, the Internet and the 24-hour news-tainment networks were predicting the downfall of western society.
Naturally, everyone assumed poor, chaotic Mexico would not act quickly enough to stem the impact. “Do you think the government will be able to contain the contagion?” asked my mother. “When pigs fly,” answered my father. Well, swine flu. Schools and restaurants were quickly closed; all public gatherings banned. People walked the streets hiding behind doctor’s masks and they washed hands excessively. When it was all over, a couple hundred people had gotten sick and – except for a few – gotten better again.
The government had effectively quashed the menace through quick, coordinated action across various sectors. They solicited help and were receptive to outside experts. They spent money where it was needed and didn’t skimp on the cost. In almost no time at all the narco-traffickers and corrupt policemen and soldiers were able to resume their deadly drug war without the fear of insalubrious viral infections. ¡Viva Mexico!
Un beso,
Lainey
posted by Catalina | 1:18 PM
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