By Ashura Kayupayupa

@AKayupayupa

I am a human rights lawyer, mother to an eighteen months child and married to a Norwegian national. When the corona pandemic started, we were in Norway. Things seemed okay in the first few months until the second week of February 2020. By then they were few cases already in Norway and people started to worry about the virus. 


My Norwegian language class had four students, so it was easier to sit far apart from each other. We only sat relatively closer when we needed to dialogue in a group of two. A classmate close to where I was sitting started to disinfect all things she touched in class and all that.

In the kindergarten where my child was attending, the numbers of children attending started to drop day by day. Only three children would attend out of twenty-something in some of those days. So, the anxiety was kicking in already.

Not knowing what to expect about the spread of the virus, we still planned to go back to Tanzania by mid-March. The plan was to go to Zanzibar for two weeks’ holiday and then my husband goes back to Norway to work. He is a health professional in the infectious department in one of the regional hospitals there. On the day we left, he re-checked with his supervisor if it was okay to go ahead with his trip  considering he works for the infectious department and coronavirus patients were already being admitted in the hospital. His supervisor confirmed that he can proceed with his holiday and be back after two weeks. Just two days after we left, things changed really quickly. 

The Norwegian government announced they were going to implement a number of restrictions. They were the most invasive public measures since World War II. One day later, they announced that borders would be closed on Monday the 16th since the pandemic was escalating.

So, only after two days in Zanzibar, my husband felt he had to go back to work immediately. We therefore cancel our holiday after four days in Zanzibar. Mind you, every single day, and every hour, there was new information coming out regarding the pandemic. We started being worried too and wondered what to do. At last, it was decided that my husband should go back to work. 


The question was: How are we going to protect our daughter?

We got back to Dar es Salaam on the 16th of March from Zanzibar. While on the way, we were wondering if our child should stay with me in Tanzania or go to Norway with her father. Someone will ask why I could not go back with my family. Well, I did not have my residence permit yet to live in Norway. We had just applied for one and usually it takes a long time to process. Besides, we took our time to make the decision for all of us to live in Norway instead of Tanzania.

When we left Zanzibar for Dar es Salaam that morning, we had no idea we would end up to the airport. Everything was just chaotic. My husband had to rebook his flight ticket to Norway because no one was able to respond to all the changes that were happening at every hour regarding the borders’ closure in Europe. In the end, we mutually agreed that for the best interest of our child, she would be better off in Norway, just in case of any health emergency that might arise. 


It was so heartbreaking. My child was still breastfeeding. On top of that, she would usually have four meals a day. However, that morning of the 16th March, she refused to eat anything else, except from my breast. I suppose her instinct sensed all the anxiety we were going through, so she just wanted to feel safe on my chest. Yet, she had to leave her mother behind because I am Tanzanian. It was the most painful day of my life.

Everything seemed so strange and unprecedented. I still believe it was brave to make such a decision to have our daughter stay in Norway. This felt like the most selfless decision I have ever made.

Since we had applied for our residence permit already, we were constantly checking if there was a possibility of having my application processed urgently so that we can all be together as a family in these uncertain times. The response was that even the internal ministry in Norway had no idea of what to do in such a case. On the  morning of the day my husband and our child arrived in Norway, the Norwegian authority closed its border until to date. So, in the end, it was the right decision for my husband and our child to leave Tanzania immediately on the day we had the first official case of coronavirus patient in the country.

When my family got back to Norway, they were in quarantine as required due to the corona pandemic. While on quarantine, my husband and our daughter contracted the corona virus. It is worse for me because I cannot be with my family at this critical time. However, I understand the overwhelming work they all have to do to take care of each other. I cannot be there for them now because they have temporarily stopped processing any residence application outside of Norway. 

Unfortunately, in Tanzania, the government owns the disease, the tests, and the data on infections. I am not sure if the numbers they present to date, 24 cases, to be accurate. The government ordered the closure of all schools to fight the spread of coronavirus a few weeks ago. However, it is unfortunate that regular religious meetings and other activities are still allowed. If there is going to be a spread like the ones we see in the USA and Italy, the situation would most likely be the worst. 

It is almost impossible to distance oneself in Dar es Salaam. I have to go out for consultancy work to make a living. But I try to be one meter away from people, not shake hands, use disinfectant at all times, and travel on public transport at less busy times. My mother goes to the market to sell chickens and my grandmother goes to church. Nobody can stop her from attending church service, unless the government stop all churches from conducting services or church leaders close them on their own. I wish my family could stay at home at this time, but we surely cannot afford it.

I just hope things do not get as bad in Tanzania. May we smarten up quickly. The sooner the better.