The day we closed the borders.
Look, I am going to level with you. I didn’t take it seriously at first.
I made jokes. Teased people. It’s the flu. Whatever. Have you ever heard of papalomoyo (available on the border of Costa Rica and Panama in the Bri Bri indigenous reserve), the flesh eating bacteria that will eat your face off? In Togo, we had to constantly be on alert for a strand of cerebral malaria that will kill you in 24 hours. Have a fever? Yeah… you might die tonight. Let’s talk about cholera, and why it shouldn’t be a thing… or the time I had to cover myself in Vaseline to get a maggot (TseTse Fly) living in my back out.
Then there were the Facebook posts.
I thought, shit man. People need to stop believing everything they read on the internets…
Well, that escalated quickly…
Then came the deaths. And my friends and family became worried. My staff was worried. My first vacation home in two years got cancelled. Concerts were cancelled. Hospitals closed… Italy… China…
The Response Plan
It became abundantly clear very quickly that I needed to change hats, drop the snark and fall back on my training. I am accustomed to hoping for the best and planning for the worst. For two years, I have been attempting to put into place policies and procedures at my office to ensure operational continuity in the event of a catastrophe. In 24 hours I made the call, drafted and published a response plan. It wasn’t what I like to call… fun.
Too little, too late.
As soon as I published my response, announcements were made that the president of Cyprus was to address the nation. Rumors swirled of what he was going to say. I don’t have traditional TV, so I had to find the stream online. A friend came over to watch with us.
I don’t speak Greek. The address was in Greek.
The stream dropped and I had to quickly find it on the radio.
The borders closed.
Oh shit. This thing just wrecked the economy.
Is my business going to survive?
How much cash do I have stashed?
How am I going to feed my newborn daughter if what I think is happening is in fact happening?
oh shit…
The Real Response.
Fearing the worst, I had very frank conversations about the state of play with my family and colleagues. I have found in my years of riding this rock that it is the worst of times that reveal who is with you for the long haul. Everyone was in. It was a reality that warmed my heart.
Shit man, Let’s do this thing.
The sun went down the day we closed the borders… yet still came up the next day.
***
Yovo? Tu-est là?
[Post Mortem]
Natasha and I became friends living and working in Togo where she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
I don’t actually know what to say here other than, what (and I can’t stress this enough) the f*ck. I fear this is going to be a longer ride than we paid for.
Rest in Peace, Nacho. Save us a table.
