Lockown: Ghost Patrol

When a similar Flu like the Covid19 attacked Mother Earth in 1918 the world was very different. There were no planes or modern transport, people hardly travelled across the world like what we do now and medical science was not advanced. There was no lockdown or social distancing. What was the effect? 50 to 100 million people died. Today, we know that the virus came from some animal (bat?), and it came from China. Despite the medical and technological advancement, lockdown and social distancing, 200,000 people have already died and 2.6 million people are infected.

While most of us understand and follow the lockdown restrictions sincerely, there are millions who think that it is unnecessary and that they will not be affected as they are healthy. Today’s story is about one such village in Malaysia.

This small village has a population of just 10,000 people and the villagers are very traditional people. While they believe in God and his mercy, they also have a deep rooted belief in ghosts and magic. In this small village live people who scoffed at the lockdown measures announced by their government. Our hero, Kesuma also lived in the same village and was extremely disturbed to see children and grown up people brazenly violating the lockdown laws.

Kesuma knew that the deadly virus spared none, young and old, rich and poor, diseased and the healthy. He also knew that the virus travelled fast. Had it not started from Wuhan in China and travelled at the speed of light from there to the entire world? He was following the news regularly and was shocked that the mighty continents of Europe and America were the worst affected. He feared that everyone in his village could die if the virus was to come here, because there was no hospital or doctors available there.

Kesuma thought long and hard about warning people about the virus so that they would follow the lockdown, but he knew that he would not be heard seriously. He had to use some effective method which will hammer the warning in their heads, and after much thought, smiled to himself. He had found the perfect way to convey the message. Fear. People in this village will listen only to fear and Kesuma knew that they all believed in ghosts and spirits. What if spirits appeared in the village and told the villagers to stay inside their homes?

Kesuma gathered a small band of friends and told them his plan. They agreed to help him.

That very night, villagers straying out of their homes were shocked to see the spirit of an old man with a long flowing white beard, shouting at the top of his voice that the village was in danger and soon every single man, woman and child will die. He said that anyone who walked outside their home will surely meet death and there was only one way of avoiding this terrible fate. Stay home. Stay safe.

Similar spirits were sighted in various parts of the village by many villagers, and it soon became clear to the villagers that the spirits of their ancestors had come to warn them about the terrible danger of the virus.

The spirits could be seen everywhere, everyday. Soon the villagers locked up their sons and daughters inside their houses and then they themselves stayed put inside.

After a few weeks, someone found out that the spirits were not real and all this was a hoax. Kesuma was identified as one of the spirits and apprehended by the villagers. Angry with him for having played a bad joke on them, they informed the nearest police station. Kesuma was arrested, but when he told the police about how the villagers were not following the law and how he had disguised himself and his friends as spirits to put fear in them to follow the government instructions, they realized that he was innocent. Kesuma and his friends were actually helping the government in implementing the lockdown. The police released him and thanked him for his help. They also appreciated the efforts of the Ghost Patrol.

This is a true story and I wanted to share this with you all for the simple reason that even among us, there are many who are violating the lockdown norms. These people are acting in utter disregard for their lives and the lives of people around them. I am sure you have seen videos of such offenders being beaten or punished by the police. 

One wise man has actually suggested that people violating the law should be apprehended and given some work in hospitals, or assigned to social workers. This will be a fit and fair punishment.