Back To Basics

Back To Basics by Lily Hewes

Day 3 in quarantine March the 13th 2020, and we are living a live version of 28 days later here in Italy. I’m going to tell you about the surreal events that have occured in Italy over the past 2 weeks. As a Brit I first had a ‘get on with it’ attitude towards the virus, this quickly changed during the night on the 7th of March when a government protocol was leaked to the press at around 11.03pm. The protocol was to shut down the region of Lombardy for one month, I had already endured 2 weeks without work due to the virus circulating and thinking about 16 million people being quarantined and unable to travel around seemed ludicrous. Those who got wind of the news fled to the south during the night, those who didn’t woke up to a devastating reality the following morning. Italy has officially pushed the panic button and couldn’t go back. 

A year the italians would call ‘Anno bisesto, anno funesto’ which means a sad year, a fatal year it is a well-known popular saying that dates back to the time of the ancient Romans; It’s a term that stands for leap year; the saying therefore wants you to remember that leap years are harbingers of misfortune. It could be just superstition however so far 2020 has brought us a global pandemic, an almost recession and a rise in fascism. So quarantine it is, first it was the schools, universities, bars, newsagents, cinemas and then all gyms, shops and parks. One by one they all shut up shop, living has been officially banned. All public events cancelled including weddings and funerals, which is ironic due to the fact we have a rising death toll. Not to mention the stock of food and medical supplies plummeted after panic buying. Is this really what we have resulted to over a flu? 

Day 2, a document was released the next morning which was to be printed and carried around at all times. You have only 3 valid options to leave your house being food, medical supplies or urgent work. I printed out the document for me and my housemates and set off outside with my document to buy food from our local supermarket. As I approached the supermarket I could see a long queue forming outside into the carpark, 2 policemen were guarding the entrance. One of the policemen was ushering people in one at a time whilst the other one was stepping in between the queue and taping 3m apart chevrons across the car park floor for personal space and hygiene. 

Varese the small, italian town I once knew had become like the video game ‘Fallout’ with the animalistic characters to go with it. The stereotypical Italian that we all know and love no longer kissed me twice on the cheek and invited me over to try their families ancient ragu recipe (even if I refused twice), but instead kept a distance of at least 3m. It is almost like we have been conditioned by the media to fear one another despite wearing masks and gloves to protect ourselves. There is an anxiety in the air that you could cut through with a knife and people are becoming hostile. Pandemic influenza has triggered an automatic learned response between communities here in Italy. As a country we need to be systematically desensitised to this pandemic in order to heal our economy and to move forward in our interactions and consumption of food.

In my 23 years of living I have never experienced anything like this. I can say it is a modern version of what happened to the people during the WW2 when they had to ration food. In 1940 the government ordered the rationing of food, The Ministry of Food was responsible for overseeing the rationing. Everyone was given a ration book with coupons and as shortages increased, long queues became commonplace.

The government had encouraged people to grow vegetables in their gardens or allotments. The scheme was called ‘Dig to Victory’ with respect of the community and workers who needed calorific foods in order to sustain heavy laboured jobs which lasted until 1952. However like in all situations of emergency you have the select few who go by the black market book and bargain with shopkeepers to keep special supplies back for petty criminals. By March 1941, 2,300 people had been prosecuted and penalised for fraud and dishonesty.

In 2020, we are at witness to an outbreak of a virus much like the common flu and unlike war countries that don’t yet have a death toll are panic buying in greed and making everyday life harder for the vulnerable. I suppose time does not change our instinctual attitudes or behaviours as people, So back to basics it is. It is now day 7 of quarantine in Italy as a country we have to get used to this new lifestyle. Switzerland has now partially closed its borders to Italy and as we watch our cases of the virus sky rocket whilst the economy fades, Can Italy ‘Dig for Victory?’