I'm Holo Zheng. I manage an innovation center in Tel Aviv. I live in Kiryat Ono with my Israeli boyfriend and his two kids. As a Chinese studying and working in Israel for the past 6 years, I consider this country to be my second home.
The first quarter of 2020 witnessed an epidemic all over the world. I have been active in fighting coronavirus, co-leading three initiatives with friends who believe in humanitarian values.
In February we launched #StandwithWuhan, calling for medical suppliers to help with the medical equipment shortage in China. We worked with Chinese individual donors and Israeli NGOs to source globally and solve logistical problems.
Altogether, we helped to ship hundreds of thousands of masks, suits and goggles to cities including Wuhan, Nanjing and Yantai. We made sure that all supplies would go to people on the frontline who took the most risks in this battle.
Now that China has gradually returned to normal, we want to do the other way around.
We started #ProtectIsrael in mid-March and gathered a list of Chinese medical suppliers for the Israeli Ministry of Health. We also helped Israeli hospitals get tens of thousands of masks and thermometers from China and extended our help to US and Australian hospitals.
Supplies are important, but knowledge is powerful. We believe that in every crisis there is a learning curve and that sharing wisdom can shorten it.
We launched #ChinaProtocol, gathering Chinese medical workers' know-how to help other countries fight coronavirus. We downloaded the English version of the official coronavirus diagnosis and treatment protocol by the Chinese government and encouraged Israeli media to use them for their upcoming coronavirus reports.
Meanwhile, we connected Chinese medical workers to Australian doctors in Sydney to share experiences treating patients in the field, especially in how to protect doctors from getting infected. We hope to do the same for Israeli hospitals.
We want to help the public to learn as well, as we recall that during the outbreaks in China it didn't take long for people to become knowledgable about the virus by learning from experts. Here in Israel we translated the protection and diagnosis part of the protocol into Hebrew, which is now proofread by Israeli doctors.
Personally, I was rather concerned how the "mask culture" in Israel might affect the escalation of the situation, because people outside of Asia may think that whoever wears a mask must be sick. But in Asia we consider wearing masks the first step in protecting ourselves. I was glad to hear that the Israeli government has instructed people to wear masks in public. Some cities in Germany and US have started to do the same.
As the country is locked down little by little, it's clearer and clearer to us how connected we are on a macro level and how similar we are in our daily lives. While half of my Chinese/Israeli friends became chefs on another level, half of my Israeli/Chinese friends with kids went completely nuts – the TikTok video of an Israeli mother talking about her three kids taking an internet course from home went viral in China.
As in all crises, there are also finger-pointing. However, I think it's important to remind ourselves that impulsive reaction out of fear and anxiety is understandable, but not useful. And sooner or later we need to put ourselves together, pool our resources, and turn anxiety into actions that actually solve problems.
In short, I believe this epidemic will create some real changes. It's a serious public health issue, but also a once in a lifetime social education. It is a very challenging economic crisis, but also a straightforward invitation to cooperate. It's an admission test for a government, but also a reflective journey for every individual to step out of their comfort zones and connect differently with the world.
