April 30, this year was the most eagerly awaited day. It was the end of the lockdown extension. Everyone in Rwanda hoped (not with much conviction) that the restrictions would be eased. Then 30th came. Morning passed. Afternoon went by. No news. That was fine. Cabinet was still meeting. Sunset, midnight; still no news. People went to bed, anxious but still hopeful. Perhaps the recent rise in the number of infected people was causing a longer discussion than expected. Then in the wee hours of May 1 the news came. The prime minister put out the resolutions of the cabinet meeting. The lockdown was to be partially lifted. It was more than what had been thought possible. A sigh of collective relief was nearly audible around the country. The welcome news came with new guidelines, of course. One, the partial relaxation of the lockdown was to start on May 4. That was fine. Another three days was nothing after nearly a month and a half of involuntary stay home. There was delight that now people could go out to work again and it showed in the numbers that came out on Monday. But it was not the same sort of excitement seen on the faces of Europeans allowed out on the streets last week. They were all clearly very happy to step on solid ground again after many weeks. Many said they had not seen the sun, let alone feel it shine on them. This is understandable since the majority of Europeans live in the cities, in flats in high rise buildings; in the sky, in a manner of speaking. Here it is different. Most houses, even the humblest abode open to some sort of space on the ground. The grand ones have big gardens. You step out, walk on the grass, soak in the sunshine (not a big deal here), watch birds do their thing in the branches and in the air, and hear them sing or call out to each other (many may not notice as it is always thus). In the evenings you can sit on the veranda and enjoy a sundowner watching the sun set. Or you may want to be outside under the moonlight and under its influence compose songs, poems or stories. There is nothing like the outdoors for inspiration. These things we take for granted. We should appreciate them more and be grateful that we have them. Hopefully Covid-19 and the lockdown will have brought this fact home. The anxiety of the last few weeks, the hope of last Friday and finally the ability to enjoy some things we had not done for a while says a lot about the human species. Again, most of which we take for granted. First, as everyone knows, we are social creatures. We delight in the company of others, not virtually but in the flesh. So, even if communication has been possible, face to face even, it’s not the real thing. It’s not enough. You must see and experience each other in the flesh. Of course, physical contact is not possible at the moment. True, we may occasionally crave solitude, but only by choice and even then for a time. When it is extended it becomes confinement.. Second, we were never meant to be caged. Human beings like to move, explore, wander into the unfamiliar and the unknown and discover things. We are curious and restless and that makes us abhor confinement and rebel against conformism even if provided with plenty (as must have happened in the Garden of Eden). That’s probably how our ancestors wandered from the comfort of this land to other less friendly lands and climes, and conquered them. There was, of course, a price: missing all-year sunshine and moonlight, and the pleasure of walking in the park everyday. Being free is something we share with other animals. You must have some pity for those kept in a zoo. They are used to roaming over what they think is limitless space but are then restricted to a patch of mere square metres in a cage. They were born knowing that they would have to feed themselves but are then reduced to being fed or given handouts by grinning visitors. They can’t like the experience one bit. I wonder why some in the animal rights business have not risen up against what surely must be cruelty to animals – denying them their natural habitat and confining them in cages, often far away from home. Third, we must work to survive and generate revenues for governments so that they can take care of us. Some say it is a curse, punishment for our ancestors’ disobedience in the Garden. But it could also be that our curiosity and restlessness, the desire to conquer and seek new challenges, drive us to work. We work to still the restlessness and to feed the demon of domination in us, in our perpetual duel with nature to which we seem to be fated. And so we must work. It is the source of our joys and triumph, progress and even freedom, but also our frustrations and failures. When we miss some of the things that make our lives worthwhile, as the Covid-19 induced lockdown has shown, we learn how valuable they are and should therefore begin to appreciate and value them more. The views expressed in this article are of the author.
