New Life By Jeongwon Choi, 13 Hello, I am one of the many kids who are locked inside their houses. But not many of them might understand how I feel. I am from South Korea, and I came to India because of my dad’s work last year. Since I am away from home, I was kind of worried when I heard of a new virus and they still haven’t found the cure. Dad explained to me to not worry and that the virus is just in China. Besides, not all people die because of it. My mom and sister were all fussy about it and how they might get sick even if it has just started in China. That moment, I jokingly said that this virus is gonna take over the world and lead to WORLD DESTRUCTION . A few days later, well, that’s pretty much it I think. It’s spread all over the world, and it feels like nobody is interacting with anybody now. Life is… different. First of all, we’re all locked up. A lot of people are groaning on my email and chat about how boring this is and how they want to see each other. Well, I guess it’s similar to me… but I am kind of enjoying this stay-at-home lockdown. I am more of a house person and I like the online school, because I don’t have to wake up so early and get dressed frantically. Well, erase that school part. The first few days were OK, since we were just getting introduced and I could listen to music. But suddenly, my gmail started vomiting homework and meetings. I didn’t know how to use all these new apps, or to do any of that. Now I’m kinda used to this, but I like the original school better. The weekends are not much better. My parents make me do all this Korean work, saying that “India teaches differently than Korea” and that “you won’t get used to the Korean school if you don’t study these here,” and also, they make me exercise every day saying “the weaker you are, the higher the possibility of getting Covid-19” even if we didn’t usually exercise before the lockdown. Also, they feed me vitamin D saying that I don’t get much sun. We also didn’t see much sun before Corona, but I can’t argue with them. One of the things about Corona I like is… Korea. It says all over the news that Korea is doing a great job, and death rates are low compared to how many people are in Corona. I want to say that I am VERY much proud of my country! I wish other countries could do this way, and prevent as much damage as they can from this awful virus. Jeongwon Choi, 13 Mumbai, India
Silence, art and writing by Sloka Ganne, 11
Silence By Sloka Ganne, 11 Silence follows a gunshot Silence follows a scream Silence follows a song Silence follows a cry Silence will shroud the world one day COVID 19 Sloka Ganne, 11 Overland Park, KS
Should Wuhan Take the Whole Blame for the Novel Corona Virus? A perspective from China, by Ziqing Peng, 12
Should Wuhan Take the Whole Blame for the Novel Corona Virus? By Ziqing Peng, 12 During this winter holiday, most of the Chinese like me are stuck at home because of the virus outbreak. We all know that Wuhan is the centre of virus outbreak places and the residents there are more likely to carry the virus. But does it mean that Wuhan is scary? Do we need to criticize all the Wuhan people as someone spread the virus? In my opinion, the answer is no. We all know the virus was first found in Wuhan and then spread all over the world, but this is not a reason for discrimination towards Wuhan and all of the Chinese people. First, think of the real cause of this virus outbreak. The bats brought this kind of virus to us as we took over too much land from nature and a lot of bats lost their homes. After losing their homes, they flew around to find new homes. During their migration, the virus inside them was spread to other wild animals and finally to humans. So, the real reason for this virus outbreak is that we didn’t have enough respect for nature. Think of ourselves wasting energy, damaging the grass… The real ‘criminal’ of this case is us, humans, but not only in Wuhan or China. Secondly, this is a kind of warning sign from the great nature. It took place in Wuhan, as Wuhan is densely populated. While the worldwide population is growing, the Earth is becoming more and more crowded. The virus outbreak is a kind of natural way to balance the lives between humans and animals and plants. It is towards all of us, but not one of us, not some of us. Last but not least, in this fateful hour on Earth, we should be united. We shouldn’t criticize each other, and we shouldn’t discriminate against those who come from Wuhan or China. We should stay strong together. Be united and fight the virus! Stay strong Wuhan! Stay strong China! And stay strong all the world! Ziqing Peng, 12 Nanjing, China
