While the Wuhan coronavirus has been affecting the lives of people all around the world, one visitor stuck in Wuhan took to Facebook to share the plight of their community.
Helen Chen, who is currently in Wuhan to visit her family, highlighted in her Facebook post that she's heartbroken about comments from netizens — especially those saying that people in Wuhan deserve the outbreak of the virus.
Millions of citizens unable to celebrate CNY with their families
Chen explains in her post the cultural importance of Chinese New Year, as it is the only time of the year where families get to reunite and bond over a home-cooked meal.
According to her, it is common that Chinese citizens from rural areas move to work in the cities to support their families back home.
This means that families do not get to see each other often, and usually reunite once a year during this festive period.
Stories of unsung heroes
In addition to not being able to reunite with their families, Chen also expresses appreciation towards the medical staff who has been working around the clock and have not returned home in weeks as well as other healthcare professionals who have flown to Wuhan to help with the virus outbreak.
At the same time, factory workers called back to work this CNY as the city ran out of protective suits and masks, even though some companies have donated masks.
Chen added that hotels in Wuhan have offered free accommodation to healthcare professionals, for those whose homes are too far away.
While convenience store chains are providing free hot meal to workers and hospitals, food delivery drivers have given up their holidays to deliver food to families who are unable to leave their homes due to the outbreak.
Construction workers are working around the clock to build a new hospital in Wuhan to meet the demand of the unwell residents. According to BBC, a new hospital is being built in Wuhan within 6 days.
Chen then questions if all the people who work so hard to save lives really "deserve" to get infected by the virus or death like what some netizens say.
Most people in China do not support wildlife trade
While she agrees that there are people "eat everything that moves", she mentions that most people are just ordinary folks who are as angry as everyone else about the exotic animal traders.
In her post, she highlights that exotic animal traders are selfish as they have taken away priceless family time from all those who are working to combat the disease.
According to her, people on the Internet have been quick to lump those who are doing everything they can to fight against the virus with those who have been participating in the wildlife trade.
Family's situation
For Chen personally, she wrote about the uncertainty around food supply after she learnt from her parents that many of the shelves at the supermarket were empty.
She added that she is not a permanent resident in Wuhan and was just visiting her family after being away for over a year.
As public transport has been shut down and most vehicles will not be allowed on the road, she is unable to return to her university abroad.
According to her Facebook profile, Chen has studied at Crescent Girls' School in Singapore and the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia.
Mixed reactions from commenters
While Chen shared her post in the hopes of telling her side of the story and those in Wuhan, the comments on her post were divided.
The post has since garnered over 16,000 shares and thousands of comments on Facebook since Jan. 26.
Many comments on her post can be xenophobic and critical, and some people were quick to judge her.
Having said that, a significant number of netizens were empathetic towards her plight and disgusted by the negative comments too.
Here's her full post:
Top photos by Petrick Liu/Pixabay and Helen Chen/Facebook
Content that keeps Mothership.sg going
✈️?
We compiled a list of food, flight and activities promos for you.
??
$1.50 unagi sushi?!? Don't say we bojio.
??
Technology can be scary for older folks, but it doesn’t have to be.