Thoughts of home

From inside locked-down Italy, reflections on family life in Verona

While Italy remains at the epicentre of the crisis (793 deaths in the last 24 hours alone), amongst the expat community, there is an overwhelming sense of concern for our homelands.
 
That’s natural, I suppose, given that we’re far away from friends and loved ones, locked in, with too much time to think and not enough to do.

Watching events unfold in the UK and America is a bit like re-watching a bad disaster movie in slow motion.
 
From the eye of the storm, we suppress our frustration that it has taken so long for others to grasp the enormity of the crisis.
 
We hoped that you would learn from our mistakes. But we’ve watched in disbelief as measures are delayed or introduced in a reluctant, half-hearted and piecemeal way. 
 
Italians can’t believe that kids in the UK have been at school, that pubs, bars and restaurants have been open until now. That life outside of Italy has been continuing more or less as normal for so long.
 
While we hope that our fears are misplaced and that the crisis doesn’t impact our homelands with the same force that it is now hitting Italy, we can’t avoid the devastating conclusion that it will. 

Despite the grim news coming out of Italy, we are safe and well. We remain strong. We remain united. Make sure you do too.