Interviewer: Siena Iwasaki Milbauer
As COVID-19 has spread across the globe, each country’s experience with the pandemic has been unique. We at AAOP wanted to hear from some folks living outside of the United States about what their 2020 has been like. Today, Adhitya from Indonesia shares his story.
Adhitya Yusuf, he/him, Indonesia
COVID-19 statistics for Indonesia (as of December 16, 2020): 636,154 cases, 19,248 fatalities
Since the first case in Indonesia was officially announced in March 2020, my family and I have shifted all activities online. My wife and I work from home and we limit our activity outside, only for groceries and other important stuff.
In Indonesia, the government has applied semi-lockdown restrictions, which are called ‘Large-Scale Social Restrictions’. The restrictions are limited to certain activities that gather crowds. [These policies have] been applied on and off. However, the restrictions seem inconsistent and were only enforced at the beginning [of the pandemic]. After a while, the enforcement was loosened and we started to see a lot of infringements happening in public. There are no clear consequences for violators. Although people are required to conduct health protocols everywhere, we can only truly rely on ourselves.
I see the Indonesian government [as being] indecisive towards the COVID-19 situation. At the beginning, they were in denial. [There was] a lack of transparency about the number of cases, the [government’s] measures, etc. I perceive the response as not being that effective, as the number of cases keep increasing. And at the same time, a lot of people are still ignorant about health protocols.
The way people behave and how the government has handled COVID-19 in the US [is] similar to what has happened in Indonesia. Both countries have large geographical areas with diverse backgrounds. [Therefore] people handled COVID-19 [differently] in different areas and local governments. However, as an advanced country I think the US should be able to handle it better [than they are], as the country has the capacity to do it.
The change that I felt the most [during COVID-19] is [the lack of] socializing. It is very common for Indonesians to socialize. Usually we always regularly have time to catch up with friends and relatives, but since COVID-19, [we can’t do that]. Even for Eid, where we used to have festive celebrations, this year we had to spend it at home. It is sad, but I am grateful that my family and I are safe while a lot of people are not as fortunate as us.
Sources:
Johns Hopkins University, “COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU)”, Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html. Accessed 16 Dec. 2020.