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The city of Wuhan had begun preparations for its lockdown,but no one knew how long it would last.I didn’t know what it meant to close the city.Is it just isolated from the outside world? Will the access of the airport and city be closed? Are our activities within the city included? If it is included, how will it be achieved? This was beyond my imagination, I had never had a similar experience, even if I come from a country where various wars, conflicts and disasters have occurred.
In a blink of an eye, it came to the morning of January 23．I was not sure whether my guests would participate in the celebrations I arranged for the Chinese New Year, but I still prepared to decorate the room as planned.Afterall, Mei and other friends might come.However, it was obvious from the news that the decree to lock down the city included the suspension of public transportation, and they couldn’t take buses or subways.I contacted my friends and informed them that today’s event was cancelled.Mei suggested that I go to her home in Hankou to spend the New Year with her family, and asked her family to pick me up in a private car.But when I considered that the current epidemic in Hankou may be the most serious, I decided not to go.
Well, since I had no reason to stay at home in Nanhu, and the celebration had been cancelled, why not go back to the university? I contacted Perry, the head for foreign students’affairs at the college, and asked him whether I should stay home or return to school.He answered without hesitation: stay where you are.I stayed, well, I can only stay.
Staying was not a simple matter.This is different from the university dormitory; I didn’t know anyone.In addition, I was not familiar with the neighborhood.I had only been there a few times.In addition, when I came, I only had three pieces of clothes and a pair of trousers in my washing machine.This is how I was then...I didn’t have any trousers, and the outdoor temperature was below zero.
This day was also the first day where rumors and fake news started spreading about Wuhan.I remember exactly the rumors that began to spread, for example, “Chinese military aircraft will spray a certain special substance into Wuhan from the air because the epidemic is out of control.” For another example, “the medical department moves the infected people everywhere, which causes the virus to spread everywhere.”Social media also circulated a fake video with a photo of a girl allegedly eating a bat at a Wuhan restaurant.The video spread widely, and it seemed to be deliberately leading perceptions of the origin of the virus in a specific direction, ignoring any other possible causes.
I got this news through the student dormitory WeChat group.Most Chinese students in Wuhan left school before the crisis and returned to their hometowns.At the same time, there were still a large number of foreign students stranded at the school in Wuhan.
I asked my Zimbabwean friend Rodger to help me buy some food in an Arab store.In the university, there are two shops that provide special products for our Arab students, such as Arab flatbread, canned bean paste,chickpeas and many other Arab specialties, which are not found in other shops.I heard that this shop would be closed in the afternoon.There should be many Muslim students panic buying, because all the products there are halal food.
I thought I would return to university soon, so I just needed some food.Through the video call, I guided Roger to the products I wanted.He is not an Arab, does not know the importance of bean paste, does not know that we are happy to store it.The store was quickly filled with students, and Roger immediately understood.I asked him to buy as much as he can get.
▲ During the epidemic, Adham made Lebanese breakfast (left) and bread (right).(Image source: author)
He asked me, “Why do you buy so much bean paste?” I explained to him that I am not good at cooking, bean paste is easy to store and cook,and I didn’t know how long the lockdown will last.In any case, all these foods would not deteriorate when stored.
On the second day, January 24, the closing of the city began to expand.Some major bridges and tunnels connecting the two banks of the Yangtze River had been closed.In just two days, public transportation, taxis, and shared bicycles all ceased operations.By the evening of January 25, Wuhan had been completely closed.This included closing access to and from the city, suspension of public transport in the city, and taxis.Therefore, it was no longer possible to have any activities beyond walking distance.