Indian Newslink September 1, 2021 Digital Edition is here for you
Venkat Raman
Auckland, September 1, 2021
As Aucklanders hunker down in week three of lockdown and therefore work from home, mood-swings occur, oscillating from a feeling of resignation to one of anger and frustration. Although we went through a similar experience last year, the fact that the rest of New Zealand have moved down to a lower level and can at least go and get their favourite food from a takeaway counter, soars their temper.
Aside from working virtually and binge-watching Netflix and Prime Video, Aucklanders are doing what they had forgotten many years ago- no, I do not mean playing scrabble, gardening or even cooking – I mean that they are now talking to their spouses, children and parents.
Some are keeping chickens, baking bread and knitting sweaters. Queues for the shops, recalling post-war rationing, are encouraging people to grow or cook their own.
In some families, young people have scarpered from megacity to lockdown with their parents, playing with younger siblings who are off school. Of an evening, they gather in their living rooms to make their own fun, just as it used to be. With gyms closed and people hungry for exercise, walking within the neighbourhood has become a common scene.
WhatsApp has become a major channel of communication- to share experiences, anecdotes, general knowledge and good humour.
Some negative factors
There are some negative impact too. Family Violence is reportedly moving up with people confined to their homes. Staying inside closed doors is foreign to modern living and hence tempers and patience run short and some people find the shortest excuse to go out to shop or just ‘get away.’ The worst victims of all are those who are unable to handle the situation. Mental Health is becoming a major challenge.
For those who have difficulty in complying with the rules in force, the Police are there to Engage, Explain, Educate and Enforce. For the most part, New Zealanders are a disciplined lot. They understand the need to cooperate and return to normal times as soon as possible.
Playing dirty politics
The worst behaviour comes from some politicians and from some sections of the media. Rather than uniting with the officials and law enforcers to kick the virus out, they relentlessly and virulently attack the government in the guise of ‘holding them to account.’
Opposition is important but not in times of war when the focus should be to halt the march of the enemy. Covid-19 is a vicious villain. Unity is the need of the hour.
Most of New Zealand, areas to the south of Auckland will also enter Alert Level Three from today, while Auckland will remain in Alert Level Four until at least September 13, 2021.
These and other related issues form the core of Indian Newslink Digital Edition dated September 1, 2021. Please read and share it with the members of your family, your friends and colleagues.
Scammers work extra time
We have also run two articles commemorating the ‘Scam Savvy Week’ being observed by Bank of New Zealand this week (from August 30, 2021 to September 3, 2021). According to a BNZ research, New Zealanders have lost more than $30 million over the past 18 months.
“Four out of five Kiwis have been targeted by a scam while nearly a quarter of us have fallen victim to one. In addition to the normal scams targeting New Zealanders, we also know from experience that Covid-19-related scams increase during lockdowns as scammers try to dupe people into paying for testing and vaccinations,” BNZ said.
The Bank also said that the Indian community is among the victims of scams. Immigration New Zealand has time and again warned people against phone scammers asking for money in lieu of being arrested. The Bank’s new research shows that about four out of five New Zealanders are targeted by a scam and nearly a quarter falling victim.
The research also reveals that one in five New Zealanders believe that organisations are not doing enough to keep their personal information safe.
There are of course our usual departments- Current Affairs, Education, Business, Opinion, Community, Entertainment and Sports.
We Aucklanders will remain under lockdown conditions for a little longer than our brothers and sisters elsewhere in the country. But we know that our compliance is for the good of everyone. There are of course conspiracy theorists and scare-mongers around but New Zealanders know better than to give them time and follow what they say.
All we know is to unite against Covid.19.
