AWC Going Dutch June 2020

Surviving Two World Crises
by Sheila Gazaleh
It was late February and I was just back from a short family reunion in London for the
birthdays of my son and granddaughter. For this to be possible, we made the usual arrangements
for Albert, my artist partner (whose paintings still hang at the AWC Clubhouse), to
stay at his usual care home. We were unaware of what was about to transpire. I returned and
we picked up where we had left off and life was pretty normal. It was during the weeks that
followed that word of the then epidemic in China started to circulate and gradually increase.
Then came the lockdown and we mused on how things might have been, had it happened
while I was away.
We have the advantage over younger couples of being used to comparative isolation, for
health and age, and have a suitable and pleasant home with a small garden just big enough
for me to manage. Add to that the fact that during much of the lockdown, the Netherlands
experienced exceptional weather with constant sunshine and summer temperatures. One
can only say that the experience has not been unpleasant for us. However, I do not envy
those young couples in apartments, wondering when the heck it will be over, with little or
big kids wanting no more homeschooling, but to just get back to their schools and friends.
They would do well to remember that tunnels do have twists and turns.
The only other time of crisis and fear I lived
through was during WWII when we lived on the
outskirts of London. Below skies punctuated daily
by planes with V-1 and V-2 rockets en route to destroy
the city of London, we were not locked down.
Life went on with school, though lessons were often
disrupted by sirens, meaning we would have to make
our way to the underground shelters in the playing
fields behind the school and wait for the “all clear.”
My father was away in the air force, which meant
that as the oldest, I had to help my mother more
than most kids.
Before school I would feed the chickens, who
supplemented our diets handsomely, and after school
I would be available to queue with the family’s ration
books at the local grocery for a small amount of
whatever happened to have been delivered. It could
be just a shipment of bananas or oranges or butter or egg-powder. Despite eating less meat,
butter, fruit, etc., and having no luxuries, we didn’t starve and were physically fit. I should add
that this was also undoubtedly thanks to the daily spoonful of cod liver oil unceremoniously
spooned into our compulsorily open mouths and followed by a small glass of concentrated
orange juice to make it more palatable.
Our nights were often interrupted by air raids, when we would grab our “siren suits” (cozy,
hooded jumpsuits that mother had made), into which we could be quickly zipped, before
hurrying to take shelter underground at the private school at the end of our street. We would
sit there on wooden benches until the all clear siren signaled the danger had passed and we
could return to our beds. Sometimes we would hear a distant explosion but sometimes the
explosions were nearby. Similarly at school, a few times a week classes would be interrupted
42 GOING DUTCH
by the same siren which meant we would proceed to
the oftentimes muddy, underground corridor-like shelter
in the playing fields behind the school and wait for
the all clear. It was when the cumbersome, heavy gas
masks were distributed that my parents decided that
our situation had become too dangerous and that I
should be evacuated to the west country, where I would
be safe. I was there for two years and was reasonably
happy, though I missed my family terribly, and letters
and calls became precious.
During those years, like now, people were wrapped
up in their own family’s safety and well-being,
though then many were missing their spouses and
sons. Perhaps life is less complicated now with the
coronavirus lockdown. One major advantage today
is that we are witnessing the great improvement in
the air quality due to there being so few cars on the
road and planes in the air.
Perhaps all these changes will make us more resourceful and contented with our lives,
however they turn out. There are so many lessons to be learned from this experience. When
time permits, let us hope our leaders, scientists and thinkers will be seriously busy with this
and making the world a better and more equal place for everyone.
Coping with the Coronavirus Crisis
by Melissa Rider
In comparison to the trials and tribulations that many people
around the world are suffering either as a direct or indirect
cause of COVID-19, I consider myself and my extended
family very lucky. Thankfully, the only hardship we have suffered
is the inconvenience of social distancing and isolation.
My adult children are gainfully employed and healthy, so not
missing out on any important childhood milestones like a college
graduation, high school prom, or just the interaction with
playmates in the classroom.
My husband’s employment in the Netherlands will not end
because of the coronavirus, so our expat life will continue uninterrupted.
My elderly parents currently remain healthy and
active. My greatest worry is the uncertainty of the future and
when I will be able to visit family in the US again. I cope with my anxiety with weekly
phone calls to family members and, of course, daily exercise. I keep my anxiousness over
these unsettled times at bay by walking my kooikerhondje, Nienke, every day in the morning
and afternoon around the neighborhood, and then alternating days between cycling along
the dune path paralleling the North Sea and jogging about the canal paths in Wassenaar.
Not being forcibly imposed to remain indoors has been my saving grace. I am grateful for
my current circumstances because as many others know firsthand, it could be much worse.
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