Europe may have now become the epicenter of the “Corona” epidemic, as the World Health Organization said last week, but all the countries of the world hit by the virus see consolation to this old continent that when they have faced two options, either economic damage or human suffering, they have chosen The right choice.
The governments of countries across the European continent have attempted to prevent and contain the spread of the virus, from universal quarantine in Italy to the comprehensive closure of stores and restaurants in France. These measures sent a message that humans are more important than taking profits. The epidemic, with all its catastrophic effects, gave Europe an opportunity to reconsider its principles and to be reminded of higher values. Without good health, everything will be irrelevant, including the economy itself.
It seems that we feel in our depths that it is easier for us to recover from material loss than to be in a position where the choice will be between who will live and who will die. The fraud that humans accept, and adapt it to their new reality, attests to this human intuition.
Human solidarity with one another seems to be a contagious issue. In Italy, the people quarantined in their homes were singing together on their balcony. In Germany, youth organizations of various political parties have organized shopping trips to help the elderly. In Luxembourg, boy scouts helped all vulnerable members of society, from taking dogs for a walk, to dispensing prescription medications from pharmacies.
But this solidarity appears to be limited within borders. At a time when many European countries impose a travel ban and close their borders, it is more clear than ever where the European neighborhood ends in practice. The bitter truth remains that during our global emergency, and at a time when solidarity is increasing, the notion of "we." Of course, my country, which prides itself on being a key member of the European Union, and is also a major economic power, is not an exception to this fact, as demonstrated by Germany's method of dealing with automatic respirators, the devices that Europe desperately needs more than ever. Now is not the time for everyone to close the door on themselves. Europe must muster all its efforts, and Germany must be the leader in it.
Germany is the best
Compared to other European countries, Germany is by far the best equipped to deal with the spread of the Coruna virus. Not only because it has a large number of intensive care units, which amount to about 28 thousand units, in addition to 25 thousand automatic breathing apparatus. France has 5,000 respirators. As for the Italian hospitals, they are facing the worst conditions of the Corona virus, and as such, they are screening patients, as a result of their lack of resources, to make tough decisions about who will start treatment and when. By Monday, the death rate was equal to 11% of injuries, with the number of deaths reaching 2470, and in Germany 13 patients died.
Accordingly, Germany has enough automated breathing apparatus, and it can also produce more by submitting applications to local medical equipment suppliers, while other countries suffer from severe shortages of these devices. Therefore, does European solidarity not mean that Germany should provide at least some modern respirators to the countries that desperately need them most? When I asked this question on Twitter, the fastest response came to me from those defending the narrow “we”, where one of them answered me saying, “If one German person died as a result of the lack of these devices, how would you explain that to the people?”, While another answered me, “Did You want our parents and grandchildren to die? ”
Justified concern
Of course, some Germans' anxiety is justified. German Chancellor Angela Merkel had expected, last week, that 60% of the German population could be infected with the virus, and everyone is free to expect it. And if it actually happens that this percentage of the German people is hit, and it reaches 50 million people out of a population of 83 million, then the low death rate of 0.7% means that 350 thousand people can die. In other words, there are so many respirators out there that will be very few in the future, and we will suffer like others. But such concern deserves that Europe be in the event that every automatic breathing machine in the hands of the Germans means the death of more Italians or the French. At a time when the Germans stopped exporting medical equipment, China sent a plane carrying thousands of respirators and dozens of robots to Rome Last weekend. The European Union is struggling to reach an approach adopted by all its members, not to mention the mechanism for implementing such an approach, but it seems that the summit that will be held soon could correct such a mistake.
Protection section
It is true that Chancellor Merkel, like all of her predecessors from Germany, has vowed to protect the German people upon coming to power, but no one is expected to endanger the lives of German citizens. But as the most powerful and largest country in the European Union, it has an obligation to explore the best ways to distribute medical relief across all members of the European Union. It is entirely possible to protect the European Union, without doing so to harm Germany, even at this difficult time in the Coruna virus crisis. Of course, sending a military or civilian aircraft carrying automatic respirators to the countries most in need can be a good start, no doubt.
Thus, when this epidemic ends, Europe will be the most important "we" for the Germans, economically, culturally and politically, and then the inhabitants of the continent will remember who considered himself part of the continent in times of crisis.
Joshen Pettner: A New York Times opinion writer
Human solidarity with one another is a contagious issue. In Italy, the residents who were quarantined in their homes were singing together on their balcony. In Germany, youth organizations of different political parties have organized shopping trips to help the elderly. In Luxembourg, boy scouts assisted all vulnerable members of society, from taking dogs for a walk, to dispensing prescription medications from pharmacies.