Since the emergence of the Corona virus pandemic in 2019-2020, the world has not known peace. Besides the millions who died or lost their jobs and income from the pandemic, the world has changed drastically. Deep into 2022, the infection was still circulating in China, Hong Kong, and North Korea, where millions were battling to survive both lockdowns and infections. Sadly, the coronavirus is still not over yet, as it is turning into an endemic infection that occasionally rears up its head at different locations around the world: but people are just tired of it! Ebola just ended in Uganda, after causing havoc in Congo and Marburg virus, which is very similar to Ebola, killed two people in Ghana in 2022…
The monkeypox infection that started in 2022 is not over as it is currently spreading quickly in DR Congo and the Republic of Congo; it is also rising in the US and Canada. Initially, it affected only homosexuals but in Congo, it is affecting all groups of people, particularly children. An opinion in the Washington Post published on July 7 (2022), summarizes the situation thus: “Today, the virus has spread across more than 70 countries on six continents with no sign of abatement. According to the WHO itself, cases have tripled in Europe in the past two weeks. We need to wake up to the fact that we are already in a boiling pot. The available European data show that most infections have occurred in men who have sex with men (MSM)🫂, who are generally young adults. However, there are reported cases among household members, heterosexual contacts and nonsexual contacts, as well as children.”
Just before the pandemic waned, we woke up on February 2022 to news of Russia invading Ukraine. The war still drags on as sanctions heaped on Russia for her aggression, bites: oil and gas (LNG/LPG), fertilizer, food, iron, and steel prices have soared enormously, resulting in record-breaking inflation. Virtually all countries across the globe are battling with increasing prices, which is making billions of people poorer than before. With the same monthly salary, increasing inflation is making millions live from hand to mouth. Already, Sri Lankans cannot afford fuel and food, and the State is bankrupt. With over $50 billion in external debts, the IMF has declined to help Sri Lanka and thousands are already fleeing the country…
This inflation has caused Central banks to increase interest/policy rates globally, making loans more expensive. The foreign reserves of many countries are virtually finished as more foreign exchange is needed for the same quantity of goods, owing to increasing prices. The increasing cost of living has led to industrial strikes, riots, and anarchy in several countries: particularly, in Latin America, Central and South Asia, UK, Germany, Turkey, and Africa. Many industrialists and economists have already warned of an impending recession and lay-offs, which will make millions jobless. This projection was seen recently (2023-2024) in the wave of layoffs that occurred in Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Spotify, etc. In all, about 305,000 people were laid off in the US alone in 2023.
The UN has already sounded the alarm on a worsening world food crisis across the globe. After the world returned from lockdowns and empty shelves, the war in Ukraine has reduced grains and sunflower oil exports from the food basket of Europe. From Turkey through Egypt to Eastern African countries of war-ravaged Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, and locust-infected Kenya, millions are on the verge of starvation and death. Deutsche Welle news reiterated a UN report yesterday that 345 million people are on the brink of starvation.
The heat waves that “cooked” millions in Europe, America, Japan, and Asia, last summer is causing fear and apprehension this summer too: will there be a repetition? The heat waves and rains caused intense discomfort, fires, flooding, and drought. It was so bad that it dried up the longest river in Italy, the Po River, leaving several farmers in Northern Italy with droughts and cold Alaska battled with fires. At the same time, Australia (Sydney), China, India, and Bangladesh were battling with floods. In South Africa, flooding led to landslides that killed more than 400 people in KwaZulu-Natal between April-July 2022. Floods were also reported in several parts of Africa during that period. In Ghana for instance, it submerged large parts of the capital, Accra.
We are clearly living in unprecedented times…from finances to food, climate to global pandemics, the world is at a crossroads. Just reflect on the political scene after the pandemic: UK’s Boris Johnson resigned after mutinies of resignations in his cabinet and Japan’s Shinzo Abe was just assassinated. Brazil went through troublous elections and Israel started a war with Hamas after Hamas broke into Israel to kill and capture hundreds. Unfortunately, we cannot predict the future or what it holds, but we can trust God to keep His children safe.
“…Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler🪤, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee…” Psalm 91.
A Happy and peaceful Sabbath to all you, dear reader.
