On the swine flu

The Minister of Education of Peru has ordered all public schools to close for two and a half weeks starting from today, July 15th. Private schools are strongly recommended to do the same. The order is a preventive measure to impede the spread of the swine flu. Up to now, 75 % of those who are down with the flu in Peru are under 18-year-olds. In Cajamarca there have been 7 confirmed cases so far, and the swine flu has become a cause célèbre and the most popular topic for small talk.

There has been talk that the closing of schools is a political manoeuvre by which the government seeks to calm down the protests and demonstrations against the ongoing conflict in the Amazon. Provoking panic is an excellent way of keeping people in line. One way or the other, the swine flu is a real threat, and I hope Peru is able to prevent it from spreading further. I must admit, though, that I am not really doing my share: instead of staying at home and avoiding public places during the two-week holiday I plan to travel to Ecuador.

Up till yesterday I didn’t think much of the swine flu; there seemed to be hoards of more serious and acute problems in Peru. A couple of weeks back I calculated that the number of under 5-year-old children who had died of cold in the past two months in the departments of Cusco and Puno was higher than the total number of deaths due to the swine flu. Yesterday, however, Zoila, a colleague of mine, said that several children up in Sexemayo had symptoms of the swine flu already. Their families cannot afford to pay 20 soles (5 €) for a doctor’s appointment, so they have no choice but to hope for the best. That was when I realized that the swine flu really is one of the serious problems facing the poor.

I am not the least bit worried for myself; I am strong and healthy and hardly ever even catch a common flu. Besides, I have travel insurance that should cover all my medical expenses, so if I do fall ill, I can afford the best care Peruvian hospitals have to offer. What worries me are the poor children Warmayllu works with. One in every three under-five-year-olds is undernourished in the Department of Cajamarca. Their resistance to any illness is bound to be low, and they may not be able to seek medical attention. Before leaving Cushunga yesterday, I told my students to take good care of themselves, wash their hands frequently with soap, and go see a doctor right away if they run a fever or get other symptoms. They listened through my pieces of advice before pointing out that “the doctor won’t see us”. I am growing more and more aware of how priceless social security actually is. We Finns don’t know just how lucky we are.