Recently, a certain event made its way around the world, into the news, and into people’s lives.

The coronavirus. 

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that were originally transmitted between human beings and various animals. The possible symptoms have a wide range of severity. Certain cases can even lead to death. But, for now, the virus has no known vaccine.

Sure, all these facts can sound unsettling, but what’s even more unsettling is the fact that we might be the root cause of the problem.

Every year, many tropical rain forests and landscapes teeming with living beings are destroyed. We cut down the trees, we kill the animals, and we ruin the homes. After these viruses lose their home, they need a new place to live. Who better to show up than us? Honestly, it’s painfully ironic how we unintentionally became the hosts to these microorganisms when we disrupted their lives.

Ever since the news of the outbreak caught wind, many videos started to resurface on the various social media platforms. They consisted of fairly recent videos and even some that dated back years. 

But they all had a common focus. 

The consumption of different creatures. 

Today, many scientists have discovered that the virus has often left traces in rodents and animals and that most probably, this virus was transmitted by the bats and live rats that people have been consuming. 

Especially with a virus such as the coronavirus, it’s very unpredictable. Wuhan pneumonia could soon be a mere memory or suddenly we could be facing a worldwide epidemic instead the next day.

At this point, there’s nothing we can do except to try and repair the damage that’s already been done whilst ensuring that others don’t get affected. 

But what I’m trying to wrap my head around is the fact that this situation seems a lot like ‘tit for tat’. It’s a cruel thing to do in the first place. Destroying a place that served as shelter to many. I mean, animals and plants are living beings too. When we take something from theirs, naturally (even if not with cruel intentions), we receive our own “payback”. 

I simply believe that we should treat these beings with more kindness and respect. It’s just human decency. We’re built in with a sense of sympathy towards other humans, so let’s direct those same feelings towards other species as well. This practice of destroying habitats for the benefit of humans has gone on for far too long and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. 

In retrospect, people are quite literally dying from this virus, but it is a situation that in a way we brought upon ourselves. That being said, my heart goes out to all those affected and I sincerely hope that we can move past this barrier that we as a united society created as a reflection of our choices.