Living in the region of Ningxia in Northwestern China since 2013, Basma Osama is a 28-year old teacher and student at the Ningxia University, where she is completing her PhD degree in Anthropology. After graduating from Suez Canal University in 2013 from the Chinese Language Department, she traveled to China to complete her Master’s degree in teaching the Chinese language for foreigners. Since the coronavirus outbreak, which saw all of China’s cities go under intense lockdown, she has been locked inside the university’s campus. Basma shares her own account of the events with Egyptian Streets below. Early January Before the Lunar New Year, the coronavirus wasn’t that well known. We knew there was a virus, but we didn’t know how contagious it was, so people went on their daily lives and travels as usual with little trouble. Everyone had already bought all their necessary food items and shopping lists from the supermarket because all the shops and restaurants close during the holidays. None of us were really scared or panicked. It was just like, ‘Oh, there’s a virus, we have to be careful’ and that’s all. There were probably only…
‘I Feel Quite Safe’: An Egyptian in China and Her Personal Account of the Coronavirus Outbreak
February 1, 2020
