It is another New Year. 2020 and 2021 have come and gone riddled with the scare and devastation of COVID -19, then the hope on vaccine production, and ending in 2021, with the new variant of the virus, Omicron! What have we learnt from 2020 and 2021? What are our expectations of 2022? If I should pick out one major thing these years have taught us, it is that that we are all connected, everyone on the globe, together with our environment. The virus never distinguished between peoples, never respected national boundaries and never cared about the economic disasters it caused. It took control over the entire human world! What can we get out of this?

The world must learn to love. Loving ourselves, loving one another and loving and appreciating our environment inclusive of everything within it. Love does not distinguish between peoples of various races, ethnicity and religion. Love transcends boundaries. Love does not judge on economic basis. Love is universal. Love makes richer nations care about the poorer, weaker, less ‘developed’ ones. In terms of the COVID, love is when all nations share in the positive outcomes of the scientific research concerning the virus, distributing and sharing vaccines so everyone that needs them gets protected.

2022 has come in a very low key. Everyone is still very aware that the virus is still there. Masks have become part of the fashion of the year. Vaccinations and boosters have become the ‘town cryers’. However, people now appear to be less fearful of the virus. We have resigned ourselves to the new norm – less social gatherings, restricted travels (travel bans), working from home and e-learning or distance learning, etc.

We do not know what the year 2022 holds for us but we are hopeful that it would be better than 2020 and 2021. We pray that the year witnesses the defeat and eradication of COVID, and people recover from the present social, economic and emotional distress and once again, get to socialise with, and appreciate one another!