Yes, we shall overcome: WFDB
Recently Ernie Blom, WFDB President Ernie Blom inked an open letter to the fraternity & said, “For one thing I am sure of – there will be life and business after COVID-19. And that humanity will arise Phoenix-like from this situation. To soar once again.”
In a few days from now, many of you, my colleagues and friends in the diamond and jewellery industries will be celebrating the important festivals of Easter and Passover. Like most of you, this year, my heart too is filled with anguish, but at the same time, it is also inspired by faith.
I am distressed at what the world and humanity is going through presently – an exceptional and unprecedented health crisis of gargantuan proportions, and one which has a far-reaching impact. COVID-19’s fallout has affected all of us – even those who have not directly contracted this virulent disease. It has impacted the way each of us lives and works right now; and, over the longer term, it will inevitably affect economies at a macro level and every individual’s own wealth and earning ability at a micro level.
As the world is rapidly learning, COVID-19 is akin to the Hydra, the multi-headed monster of Greek mythology. If you cut off one of its heads, two would grow in its place. And so, we see how both the virus as well as the death toll is spreading from region to region, country to country, and even re-emerging in China which had appeared for a while to have flattened the curve, conquered the virus.
In these circumstances, what used to be an occasion when we gathered together with those near and dear, with family and friends, and bonded with the larger community at Church or Schull, will now be spent in near total isolation. This year, it will be very difficult for any of us to really ‘celebrate’ these great festivals. But we can use them as a time to pause and think, to reflect more deeply on our lives and our work, and start reimagining how we will go forward with these in the post-lockdown world of tomorrow.
For, as the events of earlier millenniums that we commemorate in these days show us, definitely the darkest days will one day yield to a new dawn; those who live through the toughest times will enter their promised land and rise again in resurrection.
And so, I have hope in my heart, for each and every individual, for communities, for economies. For the world!
My thoughts these days focus on the spirit of “We Shall Overcome” that inspired the Children of Israel as they trudged through the desert; of Jesus Christ, weighed down by the cross, and his supporters who followed him up the Mount of Calvary.
Let us all hold on to, even reincarnate that precious spirit… in our hearts, in our minds, even as we sit separated by social distancing in our individual homes, bound together by a common set of tribulations and challenges. Yes, we shall overcome.
Let us begin the first steps towards the future by counting our blessings – secure and comfortable homes, adequate food on the table, precious time to get off the frenetic treadmills that our lives had become and cherish the warmth, solidarity and love of our family and friends.
Let us also pause to consider what we can do for those more badly hit by these troubled times, those who work in our offices and factories, the communities in the mining countries across the world. Every small step to alleviate someone else’s pain will bring a touch of joy to our hearts.
And let us begin to envisage what we would like our business and our industry to look like when it emerges into a brighter tomorrow.
A tomorrow where we are all more compassionate and caring, where our companies are part of a more socially conscious and committed industry, where we plan and coordinate our business moves and goals to achieve a greater good and play our role in building a healthier, more humane and more sustainable world for all of us to live in.
