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January 24, the second day I spent in this house.The sound of celebration came from the neighboring house.According to Chinese tradition, this day is New Year’s Eve, and it is a day for families to reunite for dinner.The family next door sounded like a native of Wuhan.The voices of the child and the old people were intertwined, full of joy.
It was lunch time in a blink of an eye.I’m not good at cooking, and I spend most of the time in different Chinese restaurants.I thought, forget it, don’t get into trouble, let me cook some food by myself.
I went out to the store and bought a lot of vegetables.In addition to eggs, flour and rice, I also specially purchased some onions, garlic, and potatoes, which are the main ingredients of Arab cuisine.I noticed that this shop has stopped selling fish.This may be due to the requirement of the local government to keep people away from live animals; it may also because that the big markets were closed and the shops had no channels for purchasing goods.
As soon as I got home, I saw a WeChat message from my Lebanese friend Naeem.The title is “Announcement No.2”, which is a notice issued by the Moroccan Embassy in China to Moroccan nationals in Wuhan.The announcement read, “According to the previous announcement regarding the outbreak of the Coronavirus in China, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Beijing appeals to all Moroccans living in the territory of the People’s Republic of China, especially Moroccans living in Wuhan,Hubei Province, to send the following information through E-mail...”
Naeem told me that he heard that the Iraqi Embassy in China will also purchase plane tickets for Iraqi citizens in Wuhan to help them return to Iraq.He then asked, “Does Lebanon have no embassy in China? What should we Lebanese do in China?”
Good question.I told him, “Let’s see.”
Discussions about the possible evacuation of overseas citizens from Wuhan had begun to spread, especially among students studying abroad.The protagonist of the initial rumor was the U.S.Consulate General in Wuhan, and then the Japanese and Australian Consulates.
There were not many Lebanese in Wuhan.In addition to Naeem and me, all I knew of were two other students.One of them returned to Lebanon at the beginning of the winter vacation, and the other had not been in contact since I picked him up at Wuhan Railway Station a year ago.As for the remaining Lebanese students in China, I met some during the summer vacation when the Chinese Embassy in Lebanon invited us to have lunch.After the lunch, the cultural commissioner of the Lebanese Embassy in China established a We Chat group to maintain communication with us.
Through this group, the cultural commissioner got in touch with me.He asked me if there were any Lebanese students returning from Wuhan recently, and I answered yes.They identified all Lebanese citizens in Wuhan one by one.I have a friend who works in the Lebanese Embassy in China, and he can speak Arabic.We knew each other long before he started working in the embassy, and he also contacted me to check if I was fine.I asked him if he had any information about the epidemic.He replied firmly, “The situation is very serious, don’t leave home again.”
The situation was still unclear.In addition to the information obtained from the university, we also needed to get information from the government.I thought it was necessary for me to communicate with the Lebanese Embassy in China and let it tell us what the embassy was doing and what was the situation in our country.Although Naeem and I both tend to stay in Wuhan, it is unacceptable that no one pays attention to us.So, I tried to communicate with the Lebanese Embassy in Beijing through Facebook.I wrote on my Facebook homepage:
Many of us Lebanese are stranded in Wuhan, China, where there has been a very urgent public health situation for about two weeks.Four days ago, the city was locked down completely and all public transportation in the city was suspended.
Almost all embassies have made contact with their citizens.For them, this is the most basic expectation.Some embassies are already organizing the evacuation of overseas citizens, such as the Moroccan embassy.
As for our Lebanese in Wuhan, in Shallah, we don’t know whether there is an ambassador in the Lebanese Embassy in China.Don’t torture us, call or send an e-mail to ask about our situation.
In contrast, the Chinese Embassy in Lebanon has contacted us three times from the day before yesterday to today in order to reassure me and other Lebanese students.
Go Wuhan! January 24, 2020.