Hello, My name is Jaliah. N, A flight attendant with one of the world’s renowned airlines. I am originally from Uganda, currently residing in Doha, Qatar. The pandemic is like a horror movie, watching the scary and ugly unfold right before my eyes, not having the slightest clue on when, how, or what is happening next.

Lately, reporting to work feels like going to a war zone. The fear of being infected as the enemy we face now doesn’t discriminate. But then again nothing beats a thank you from a grateful passenger during disembarkation. Honestly, I underestimated this whole situation. Reality hit me first when two of my flights to China both scheduled in the same month were cancelled. From then on I experienced more flight cancellations, the introduction of travel bans, and strict health screening in and out of countries, the world crumbled so fast and this got me worried about my own health.

At one point in time, I had to make a decision between going back home to my family in Uganda or staying in Doha, The decision had to be so fast as airports were closing day by day and before I could even think, My president back in Uganda announced a 24hr time period before the airport could close off all international passengers flights. I couldn’t make it back to Uganda on time but I do not regret staying in Doha as it is extremely fulfilling to be a part of one’s journey to reunite with their loved ones even at the expense of yours.

With very few airports still open and quite a number of travel bans all over the world, I currently fly less and have a bit more time to rest and catch up on real-life around me. I get to appreciate life more as now is all we have. I also learned never to take the good moments for granted and mostly I do take my time to pray as we all want this to end so bad so we can have our normal back!