Recollection of letters (19)

 25 November 2021

Dear Dr Haroon

When I look at this card, I am reminded of the film 'Forrest Gump', starring Tom Hanks when he says," Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get". He won an academy award for his role in that film. Did you see the movie?

Singapore has opened the VTL (Vaccinated Travel Lane) to many countries, including India. Next week will be Malaysia and Indonesia. Many people expect the covid cases to go up. Right now it is about 2000 cases a day. No matter how careful we are, there will be imported cases slipping through immigration (those with false negative PCR cases maybe). Still the government is confident and monitoring the situation in terms of hospital and ICU utilization. Deaths are expected each day in the tens.

Europe is facing a 4th wave and Austria has gone into lockdown for three weeks! I hope those lockdown days will be over. It's very disruptive and cause untold sufferings to the F& B sector, street vendors and small family businesses.

The VTL to Malaysia will bring another headache to the many businesses in Singapore which are dependent on Malaysian labor, especially the F&B, security firms, medical & dental clinics, park & gardening operators, bus drivers etc. Many of these Malaysian staff have not gone home for two years, having made the choice to stay on in Singapore when borders were closed in March 2020, to continue working here. They were separated from families, spouses & children, and rightly so, they should now be united with their loved ones. And Singapore will suffer a labor crunch, at least for awhile. Supply chain will be affected which will in turn push up the prices of goods and essentials. Such is life (sigh!)

Let's stay positive and hope for the best.

Warm wishes to you & family,

Sylvia

Recollection of letters (18)

 22 November 2021

Dear Dr Haroon

At last I hear the good news that you have received my letter! On hindsight, I think I did not put the postal code of 1215 Dhaka on my previous letters, so I guess the postal staff must have just discarded them! Lazy! Who in Bangladesh does not know Samorita Hospital in Panthapath? 

I want to share a 'motto' of one of my good friends, an ObGyn doctor who had this plaque hung in his clinic, which serves as a constant reminder of his vocation: 

Endow me with the strength of heart and mind

so that both may be ready to 

serve the rich and the poor

the good and wicked

friend and enemy, and 

may I never see in the  patient anything else,

but a fellow creature in pain.

A profound memento right? It was written by Maimonides, a 12th Century  Physician and Philosopher. I think this plaque should be in all doctors clinics, offices, chambers.

The daily cases of covid-19 in Singapore has dropped to average 1500-2000 cases per day. ICU utilization is about 63% Daily number of deaths is still about 15-18 per day. So with the cases dropping and 85% population vaccinated, Singapore enters into the transition stage from today 22 Nov. Social gatherings of 5 pax allowed and F&B can take 5 people at a table. It's a welcome news for the F&B business. They have suffered so much and many have to close shop.

I had my booster jab last week, Moderna, and had mild fever for 2 days. Even then, I am still fearful to go out where there are crowds. I won't plan any travels as yet , seeing the explosion of case in Europe now!  A 4th wave?  Seriously??

Take care & all the very best

Sylvia     

  

Recollection of letters (17)

 22 November 2021

Dearest Sushila

Please pardon this old Christmas card from Unicef, a vintage bought with charity in mind. I didn't know then that the world was going to change so much, technologically, digitally whatever! People don't send cards anymore; just mere wishes via email and whatsapp messages which I feel lack the human warmth of a real person!  

When Steve Jobs revolutionize the world with his finger-touching smart phone many businesses were affected and some even fold over, Let me recall here: 

greeting cards

personal letters communication

facsimile (fax machine)

camera

fuji/kodak roll film

photo-printing

filo-fax (those days, people used to carry leather-bound personal notebook)

calendars

diaries 

photo albums

dictionaries

calculators CDs/DVDs

MP3/Nano (personal listening device)

newspapers

And now with the covid pandemic, life will never be the same again. A  new normal, they say. There's now on-line shopping, internet banking, digital transfer of money and all those new terms - crypto-currency, Bit-Com. I have absolutely no idea about them and am not interested to learn.

Anyway, Christmas is here again, something to look forward to and even in the carpark lots of the shopping malls, one can hear Christmas carols in their PA system, to lift up our spirits and entice us to join in the season of giving! 

Have a joyful Christmas!

Love 

Sylvia 

Recollection of letters (16)

 5 November 2021

Dear Sushila

I bought this card in Yangon many years ago when I first started working in marketing. Myanmar was the first country I visited in 1998. It was still under the military rule, still raw, remote & practically no tourist trade. Hence this card and all writing cards are individually drawn by aspiring artists. Because the country was closed for so many years (under General Ne Win), its citizens were closed in with no passports to travel (except for the wealthy and well-connected, who could afford that precious travel document). So majority of the population do not have the chance to see the outside world. Even television and telecommunications were limited and very expensive, out of reach of the average man on the street. So you can imagine those budding artists...in their minds, their visions were all scenes of their country, the pagodas, the monks, their livelihood in the village by the river etc...& still-life paintings are their tropical fruits.

I made many friends in the military hospital, the doctors, the generals, commanders, and I used to lug thick medical books and Buddhism books for them. They were all hungry for knowledge! Things changed when the Junta allowed a general election in 2010, and Aung San Suu Kyi's party won which helped to transition the country to partial democracy. Investors came in and life became better for many. Unfortunately, a military coup on 1st February this year pulled the country backwards again. Very sad.  The UN report says that almost half of the 54 million people in the country could be living below the international poverty line by 2021. I am saddened by the whole turn of events, and the Junta is not even bothered about international pressure. I pray for situation to get better in a country I learned to love. I pray for the women, children, orphans this winter that they keep warm and do not go to sleep hungry. 

Another important event going on now, Sushila that we should pray for are the leaders who have gathered in Glasgow for the COP26 meeting, that they be united and committed in their resolve to save our planet Earth, to minimize global warming. Each time they gather, it has been blah..blah...blah but no action. Even Sir David Attenborough in his 90+ years took time to warn these world leaders that the situation is critical and they have to do something NOW! It is in their capacity to combine their efforts to use resources to cut down on carbon footprint, to stop using fossil fuels; to save the world for future generations.

Pray that our air can be clean and flowers grow in abundance.

Love 

Sylvia