The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-29)

A18 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.SUNDAY, MAY 29 , 2022

covid controls, and chaotic and inflexible management

that have left citizens helpless, frustrated and angry.

Shanghai-based photographer Raul Ariano document-

ed the experiences of some of the city’s residents by

photographing friends and acquaintances remotely

through video calls. Through journal entries written on

scraps of paper, and even masks, they shared notes about

the frustrations of living under lockdown and their

dreams of a post-pandemic life. The subjects shared their

stories based on the condition only their first names be

used due to concerns about security in China.

BY LILY KUO

AND RAUL ARIANO

Residents in Shanghai have been counting down the

days until June 1, when authorities will begin lifting strict

lockdown measures that have left citizens confined at

home and in quarantine centers for almost two months.

China’s most populous city has become a poster child

for the drawbacks of the government’s insistence on

pursuing a zero-covid policy. Residents reported food

shortages, struggles to get any medical help because of

The World

MEXICO

Agatha forecast to hit

Mexico as hurricane

Agatha became the first
named storm of the Eastern
Pacific hurricane season
Saturday, and it is forecast to
rapidly intensify into a
hurricane before striking the
west coast of Mexico on Monday.
Hurricane watches have been
posted for the southern coast of
Mexico from Salina Cruz to
Punta Maldonado. The storm
could bring torrential rains,

damaging winds and an ocean

surge that could inundate

coastal communities.

Conditions are expected to

deteriorate in the hurricane

watch zone starting Sunday

night.

— Jason Samenow

Stampede at church leaves at

least 31 dead in Nigeria: A

stampede Saturday at a church

charity event in southern

Nigeria left 31 people dead and

seven injured, police said. Many

of the victims came for the

annual “Shop for Free” program

organized by the Kings

Assembly Pentecostal church in

Rivers state, police said.

Police fire tear gas at

protesters in Iran: Iranian riot

police fired tear gas and shot

into the air to disperse an angry

crowd of hundreds of people

near the site of a building

collapse in the southwestern city

of Abadan, online video

analyzed Saturday showed. A

report by Iran’s semiofficial Fars

news agency also acknowledged

the unrest late Friday over the

disaster this past week that

killed at least 29 people, with

more feared still buried under

the rubble of the 10-story

building.

First monkeypox case in

Ireland confirmed: Ireland has

confirmed its first case of

monkeypox. A separate

suspected case is also being

investigated and test results are

awaited, the Health Service

Executive said in a statement.

About 20 countries where

monkeypox is not endemic have

reported outbreaks of the viral

disease, with more than 200

confirmed or suspected

infections mostly in Europe.

Seized Greek tankers’ crews

are safe, Iran says: Iran’s state

maritime body said Saturday

that the crews of two Greek

tankers seized by its

Revolutionary Guard on Friday

had not been detained and were

in good health and being cared

for on board their vessels.

Iranian forces seized the two

Greek tankers in the Persian

Gulf on Friday, shortly after

Tehran warned that it would

take “punitive action” against

Athens over the confiscation of

Iranian oil by the United States

from a tanker held off the Greek

coast earlier in the week.

Floodwaters kill at least 15 in

China: At least 15 people have

died in torrential rains across

southern China, state media

reported. Eight died in two

building collapses from

landslides in Fujian province,

near China’s east coast, the

official Xinhua News Agency

said, citing the Wuping county

information office.

— From news services

DIGEST

Marooned at home

Portraits of Shanghai’s lockdown

Thirty-fourth day of lockdown:

Just as the saying goes: “a near neighbor is better than a

distant relative.” Now I finally understand what that means.

Having someone who is a capable of buying for the group is

such luck.

— Fei, 28

Anxious, Angry, Depressed, Confused.

Puzzled, Dazed, And Hope!

— Z.Y., 27

A spring wasted to try to defeat mother nature.

A week spent in quarantine in a covid-19 isolation center.

Lights on 24 hours a day, no privacy nor shower. Too much

noise.

It reminds us that camping as scouts was a luxury in

comparison.

At least we will leave with determination and a desire to

reconnect with living.

Maybe it was something that most of us needed: a slap in the

face to understand that it is time to change.

— Alessandro, 34

The 34th day of the lockdown, I don’t know how many more

days I will be in lockdown. Many of my friends have left

Shanghai and China, maybe I should have made a decision to

go back to Xinjiang, without the least bit of hesitation.

Anyhow, Shanghai will never be the same after the

lockdown.

— Junli, 23

I got infected by covid-19 while lining up to get my test done.

I was taken to a quarantine camp for seven days, where I

slept in a swimming pool converted into a quarantine center

with 200 other people.

I recovered on my own after a week and was sent back home.

They did not give me even one single pill.

So far I haven’t felt any after effects.

Of course, I’m hoping the lockdown can end as soon as possible.

Because I just really, really want to eat McDonald’s!

— Man Chun Hin, 26

The new kitchenware I ordered recently has yet to arrive. Seems

like deliveries are resuming slowly. I don’t think I want to eat

anything that I cook myself, at least for the next half a year.

The floor is dirty, and from some angles, the white dust on

the floor looks like a layer of gauze.

The weather is looking good through the window, but last

night I killed a mosquito.

— Alvin, 34