There will be many heroes over the next few months, and equally warming stories of self-help groups working together to help the vulnerable and needy.
But as plans to restrict movement are rolled out, my thoughts centered on those who remain in the front line, from the essential and emergency services, like medicine, police and the fire service, to the staff of supermarkets.
The thought isn’t original and was sparked by a headline in la Repubblica, “Coronavirus, the cashiers in the trenches:"
"And then there are the other heroes.
Those who are not inside a hospital saving lives, but are not staying at home either. They cannot.
They do something that Italy in quarantine needs, to maintain at least one of the rites of normalcy and not to fall into the hysterical fear of being left without bread, pasta, milk, eggs.
The other heroes sit behind a supermarket checkout which the Coronavirus has transformed into an urban trench, they are afraid, and they say, 'so we don't feel protected, we have to reduce the opening hours'.
If we still do the shopping it is thanks to them, .... they beat receipts and give remains.
Everything as before, or almost. ‘Please ma'am, type in the pin", "please sir, stay one meter away’.
Real estate in the workplace while hundreds of strangers parade their neighbors, too close, and he is not even granted the illusion of being able to dodge the evil droplets of the infected breath. This too is a more exposed and less protected front. So potentially explosive”.*
There is more but that is it.
Location; Italy
Pictures; Esselunga shopping bag, courtesy of Esselunga,** and the produce from our nearby shop, 2019 from the collection of Andrew Simpson
*“Coronavirus, the cashiers in the trenches: CATERINA PASOLINI and FABIO TONACCI, la Repubblica, March 17th, 2020, https://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2020/03/16/news/coronavirus_le_cassiere_in_trincea_turni_troppo_lunghi_ora_abbiamo_paura_-251484180/?ref=RHPPTP-BH-I251489297-C12-P7-S1.8-T1
** Esselunga, https://www.esselunga.it/cms/homepage.html/
The thought isn’t original and was sparked by a headline in la Repubblica, “Coronavirus, the cashiers in the trenches:"
"And then there are the other heroes.
Those who are not inside a hospital saving lives, but are not staying at home either. They cannot.
They do something that Italy in quarantine needs, to maintain at least one of the rites of normalcy and not to fall into the hysterical fear of being left without bread, pasta, milk, eggs.
If we still do the shopping it is thanks to them, .... they beat receipts and give remains.
Everything as before, or almost. ‘Please ma'am, type in the pin", "please sir, stay one meter away’.
Real estate in the workplace while hundreds of strangers parade their neighbors, too close, and he is not even granted the illusion of being able to dodge the evil droplets of the infected breath. This too is a more exposed and less protected front. So potentially explosive”.*
Location; Italy
Pictures; Esselunga shopping bag, courtesy of Esselunga,** and the produce from our nearby shop, 2019 from the collection of Andrew Simpson
*“Coronavirus, the cashiers in the trenches: CATERINA PASOLINI and FABIO TONACCI, la Repubblica, March 17th, 2020, https://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2020/03/16/news/coronavirus_le_cassiere_in_trincea_turni_troppo_lunghi_ora_abbiamo_paura_-251484180/?ref=RHPPTP-BH-I251489297-C12-P7-S1.8-T1
** Esselunga, https://www.esselunga.it/cms/homepage.html/
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