Fireworks lit up the sky at the Shuiwan 1979 residential community when the lockdown measures were lifted in several control areas in Shekou and Zhaoshang subdistricts, Nanshan District on Sunday. Raj Oswal, a resident of the community, took his dog Coco out for a walk around the block, enjoying a breath of fresh air after 10 days of isolation.
Oswal, who currently owns a tech company in the Shekou Net Valley area, recalled that it was his first time to experience quarantine and lockdown since April 2019, when he came to Shenzhen from California, the U.S.
“During the lockdown, [my community] let us go into the big garden on the fourth floor of our building,” Oswal said, stating that the lockdown made him realize that he lives in a tight-knit community and got him to think of its importance.
“Just like all of a sudden, there were people playing badminton, there were kids rollerblading around and all the dog owners were hanging out in the garden for a picnic,” he said. “I really like that feeling of everyone being together, because it doesn’t make me feel lonely and I actually get to know my neighbors.”
Oswal added that on normal days, people just lived in their apartment and left for work or other daily matters. “Nobody really hangs out [in the community],” he said.
The lockdown, which made Oswal recall the big fires in California when many people were forced to evacuate from their homes, also gave him a new perspective in understanding things.
“We basically realize that these big life problems are actually the most important, all the small problems we think of every day may seem unimportant,” he said. “Like everybody else, I got worried, anxious and uncomfortable in the beginning, wondering how long the lockdown would last and how I could work from home without my main computer. But then, I started to appreciate the sense of community. We could stay together with our neighbors in the fourth-floor garden — talking, playing games and sharing some wine.”
Oswal thought highly of and expressed his gratitude toward the community workers who went all out to curb the spread of the virus and to help him out in face of difficulties.
“My dog had a fever the day before the lockdown. Its illness worsened with time and it coughed a lot,” he recalled. “I was so anxious that I didn’t know how to handle it during lockdown. Our community workers were super considerate about my situation and helped us get Coco treated.”
For Thomas Edison Harvey, another expat from the U.S. living in a residential complex in Shekou Subdistrict, the first thing he did after the lockdown ended was to take a walk on the street with his camera, taking photos of everything interesting he saw.
Lockdown at Harvey’s building started Feb. 28 and ended at midnight Sunday.
As a photography enthusiast, Harvey didn’t stop taking photos during the lockdown. “I was able to find some interesting things to photograph from the roof and in the courtyard. And through the photos, I could learn the care and friendship between neighbors during lockdown,” he said.
In Harvey’s photos, children are rollerblading hand in hand; young men are playing cards together and giving peace gestures in front of his camera; girls are playing badminton on the terrace; and kids are blowing bubbles in the complex’s small garden.
“I was also able to make many new friends and even gave some photography lessons on the roof to some interested residents in our building,” he said.
“I was fine with the lockdown and there was no problem with our life. I can see that the COVID has been under control,” Harvey added. “Yet, it is still great to get out and to enjoy walking around.”