Wick man CHRIS McIVOR, regional director for Middle East and Eurasia with HelpAge International, tells of the challenges involved in raising awareness of Covid-19 in a region with high refugee populations

Last month I was sitting at home in Jordan planning my work schedule for the next few weeks, discussing the Easter break with the children and where we might go, and wondering whether we would return to Scotland in June, July or August for our annual summer vacation. A few weeks later, and like many other people throughout the world, I am now confined to the parameters of my home, reading up on common denominators and mixed numbers so I can supervise my son’s schooling, and organising my next foray to the local supermarket so we can stock up for the following week without having to venture outdoors more than necessary. Time horizons in terms of thinking about the future have shrunk from wondering about what to do in summer to wondering about what to do tomorrow. In the space of only a few weeks the world has changed from something relatively safe, routine and predictable to something more menacing and uncertain.

Here in Jordan we are on semi-lockdown, with the window period to venture outdoors for provisions starting at 10am and ending at 6pm, when the sirens announce the start of evening curfew. Although this time is primarily supposed to be for essential shopping, the authorities don’t mind if you take some exercise outdoors, so long as you keep the required safe distance from anyone else inclined to leave their homes. The numbers here of Covid-19 cases are considerably less than what we see in Europe and the US at present, but many of us are thankful that the government has had the foresight to close borders, restrict movements and impose quarantines so that we try to avoid the worst of what is happening elsewhere.

During these last few weeks, I think we have all tried to find our different ways of keeping our spirits up and maintaining motivation. To my surprise I have found some refuge in routine household chores that were previously a burden, like washing floors, cleaning the dishes and weeding the garden. Supervising homework for two children of different ages has been a challenge, although it has its moments when something you thought was buried away in some distant memory of your school years suddenly returns with clarity to transform you into a teacher.

Older people live side by side with others in squalid camps and shanty towns with no hope of being able to isolate or self-quarantine.

It is also a time when your patience with others becomes tested since there is no other company available at the moment than the three individuals I now spend my entire life with. But there are opportunities here to learn something new about how best to be with others. We have had to replace the noise of all the previous distractions that were available, such as cinema, shops and vacations, with simpler things like conversation, preparing meals together and exchanging memories of what the world was like before this virus happened and what we hope it will be like when it is over.

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I think for me one of the most difficult things about this pandemic is experiencing a sense of no longer being in control, as if something else has taken over our lives that will deposit us where it will. That is why I have valued my work with HelpAge International at this moment so highly, not just because it gives me something to occupy my time but because in focusing on the needs and vulnerabilities of older people, who are most impacted by this crisis, I find that in my own small and humble way I am doing something to fight back against this thing that is threatening us.

I mentioned earlier that the number of Covid-19 cases in Jordan is less than in other parts of Europe, such as the UK. But we are based in a region with high refugee populations, where older people live side by side with others in squalid camps and shanty towns with no hope of being able to isolate or self-quarantine when the pandemic reaches them. A few weeks ago, we managed to raise some funds to carry out some preventive work and awareness raising on Covid-19 inside camps in war-ravaged Syria. There is a huge amount more that needs to be done, of course, but what I have learned is that in thinking about people less fortunate than us, in helping others in whatever way we can, we can also help ourselves through this crisis.

• HelpAge International works to create a fairer world for older people so they can live safe, healthy and dignified lives.
• The project in northern Syria was funded by Age International.

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