It was with a resigned shrug of the shoulders that I recently viewed the harrowing vision of workers forced back into employment crammed onto tube trains and buses in London, the beaches of Brighton and Southend full of irresponsible morons luxuriating in the sporadic sunshine and senior members of those who conjure the rules blatantly disregarding their own dictums, writes Glenn Maffia.

We are not blessed with many grey cells in our land of origin, if these are any guide. Though it did not surprise me one iota. For some, the pursuit of money and pleasure are the sole Utopian aspirations. Such shallow and vacuous sentiments, worthy of a child.

Foreigners but not tourists

Naturally, I have been observing Didim during these seven weeks of lockdown and have found it much more responsible to adhering to the guidelines, unlike the examples above.

Obviously, there have been recidivists here also, notably the number of children upon the streets and the belligerent over 65s who believe that age offers them some wave of the hand ‘wisdom’. Far from it.

Fortuitously, or by design, there are five or six restaurants/cafes/bars in close proximity to my home. Therefore, over the first week of the easing of the lockdown, I took the opportunity of having a quick look around to gauge not only the volume of customers but, more critically, the obeyance to social distancing.

Last Monday was not exactly a washout, though, obviously, the thunder rumbling and threatening in the skies was not conducive to venturing out too far. Many, not all, of these hostelries, needless to say, were devoid of clients.

I sat in one for a number of hours enjoying my meal and drink, and the pleasure of being out of the confines of my home after what seemed like an age. The thunder-ladened skies transpired to allow me the glorious solitude of being the only customer to arrive that day, as not another soul passed through the door.

The rumbling skies were replaced by a bright and sun filled sky the following day. My circular walk took me to many of the same venues and the improved weather had tempted out a greater number of persons.

As you can visualize, the customers were foreigners (i.e. not Turkish) and if they didn’t already know one another then they certainly didn’t take long in doing so. Cue the inane jokes, the racist remarks and the rightwing philosophy of many a pensioner.

Fine, that is expected. No change there then. What did aggrieve me though was the apparent lack of proscribed social distancing in some instances.

I witnessed, can you believe, some pathetic British woman attempting that cheek to cheek welcome kiss so prevalent in this country!!! I thought once again of Southend beach. These were the same type of people, with the same dulled mindset.

Keep in mind that these people may be foreigners but they are not tourists, they obviously live here, therefore they should know the rules. I am not alluding to all foreigners being so dense, but too many who are publicly visible are so. One never notices the quiet number.

Undoing all the good

The Government of this country has handled this pandemic with more success than any Western European country has been able to do so (possibly with the exception of Germany), and especially Britain.

Even though there are definitely recalcitrant elements within Turkey, the majority have conducted themselves with dignity and a regard of the protective rules with admirable adherence.

Now, as we let, supposedly responsible, people out of lockdown, are these foreigners (British, Irish, Norwegian, Danish, et al) going to flock in their little ‘ex-pat’ (so depressing a word) cliques, milling around in numbers, enquiring how one another are, catching the tedious gossip and basically speaking of the same thing over and over again? For their advanced years they remain immature and rash to the point of unacceptability.

I heard one of this motely ‘gang’ say to one owner of an establishment, “But the virus is going now, isn’t it?” No, it certainly is not, no way. It can return even quicker than it arrived previously.

I am no scientist, but I have read everything I can about Covid-19 to best protect not only myself but others too. If these seekers of pleasure fail to do so then they could be the source of the feared ‘second spike’. While if they cannot grasp such a simple concept then financially prosecute them again and again until they do so.

The Minister of Health, Fahrettin Koca, stated that Turkey is not expecting this potentially fatal ‘second spike’, if, and only if, people heed the proscribed rules and most especially social distancing.

Basically, the authorities have done an excellent job, now it is up to us to take this caution personally and seriously. Many people are doing so.

Act responsibly. Save lives.