African Entrepreneurship Record

February 18, 1920.

City of Cabinda.

In mid-February, the entire Cabinda was plunged into panic. As the bridgehead city between East Africa and Europe and the United States, Cabinda was the most severely affected by this round of plague.

"Now the whole city is in a state of turmoil. The once bustling pubs, restaurants, clubs and other business establishments are deserted, and there are few pedestrians on the streets..." a reporter from Cabinda Radio News in East Africa reported to the citizens.

Listening to the broadcast on the radio, Rabei, a citizen of Cabinda, said to his wife and children: "The plague is getting more and more serious now. Don't go out and wander around if you have nothing to do."

Because of the plague, schools in Cabinda extended their holidays, so Mr. Rabe's two sons and one daughter stayed at home.

The wife said: “Since the end of last month, we have rarely gone out, but going out is obviously unavoidable. Although we have enough reserves of firewood, rice, oil and salt, there are vegetables, fruits, meat and some other things that cannot be stored well. , all must be purchased regularly.”

Rabe said: "Even if you have to go out, you must wear a mask. At least it can play some role. I heard that European and American countries have also begun to wear masks. They used to laugh at us because of it. Sure enough, things have changed. Now they are in a dilemma. ”

"I heard from the news that the number of cases in London now reaches hundreds of thousands. Compared with this, the epidemic in our city of Cabinda is simply insignificant. This is still the most serious situation in our city."

As the most severely affected place in East Africa, Cabinda has only around a thousand cases, which pales in comparison to the hundreds of thousands of infected people in London.

Rabe said: "As for the current situation in London, I think it should be the most conservative data. After all, the British government has not done relevant prevention work before."

The wife said in surprise: "My God, hundreds of thousands of people are scary enough. If this is the most conservative data, wouldn't it reach one million? That is almost equivalent to the entire population of our entire urban area. "

The total population of Cabinda is close to one million, and it is really shocking to imagine that the entire city's population has been infected with the European flu.

Rabe said to his wife: "Don't make a fuss. I heard that many cities in Europe have been shut down. It's pretty good that we can maintain normal operations here."

"Even so, the hospitals in Cabinda are already overcrowded. I can't imagine what the situation in European medical institutions is like now. I think most people may be facing a situation where there is no cure and they can only get through it. If they can't get through it, , that would be very dangerous.”

In terms of medicines, East Africa is not in short supply. During the Fourth Five-Year Plan period, East Africa's pharmaceutical industry developed rapidly, at least in terms of production, which increased to the world's top level.

This was due to the East African government's prediction of the European war. After all, after the war started, medicine was a very important strategic material in the battlefield environment. This was also one of the most profitable products in East Africa at the beginning of the war.

Although the world war is over now, the pharmaceutical industry in East Africa has not stopped. Instead, it has accumulated a large number of production lines and workers, realizing the connection with epidemic prevention work. In the next few years, the pharmaceutical industry in East Africa will still be doing well. .

Ordinary people in East Africa like Rabe already have a lot of medicines stored in their homes, but most of them are basic medicines with functions such as cooling down, reducing fever, and improving immunity.

This is exactly what the East African government hopes to achieve. After all, it is now clear that the epidemic cannot be prevented, or that it is impossible to prevent it. In this case, more people must be able to get through it.

After all, the real frightening thing about the European pandemic is the speed of its spread. Its mortality rate remains at about 5%. If there are enough medicines, East Africa may be able to reduce the mortality rate of the European pandemic to 2%. Or a level of three, or even lower, especially in the early days of the epidemic.

Rabe said to his wife: "Now, we have enough food, the sanitation environment is better than many European cities, the population density is smaller than European and American cities, and there are enough medicines. Compared with Europeans, we are very lucky, but the most pitiful It should be those countries that are more backward.”

"Originally, this epidemic was caused by the war in Europe. Countries and regions outside Europe can be said to have suffered an unreasonable disaster."

"The worse situation is that many backward countries, their medical, sanitation and government organizational capabilities are far behind those of our industrial countries. It is conceivable that when affected by the epidemic, the common people of these countries will suffer How helpless."

"For most of them, the fate is likely to be to bear it through and pretend that this plague does not exist."

In fact, what Rabe said is indeed a solution. After all, the mortality rate of the European influenza pandemic is currently around 5%, which means that "at most" about five people out of a hundred people will lose their lives.

This is actually very scary in reality, but for those countries in backward areas, the price of human life is very low. After surviving the epidemic, they can quickly make up for it. It does not even need to be done after the epidemic. , the population of most backward countries is growing.

This can be seen from the world wars, which resulted in tens of millions of casualties, but the world's population is still growing.

From this point of view, the deterrent effect of the European influenza pandemic is actually far less than that of the Black Death. You must know that under the Black Death, the entire European population lost one-third of its population.

Of course, this is also affected by the times. During the Black Death era, human technology and medical standards were still very poor. At the beginning of the 20th century, human society had experienced two rounds of technological revolutions, and the medical field was also developing explosively. The modern medical industry also began to emerge and flourish.

Moreover, during the era of the Black Death, the sanitary environment of Europeans was, to exaggerate, not much different from that of a pig pen, so it is not surprising that the Black Death was rampant.

However, what Rabe does not know is that the current fatality rate of the European influenza pandemic may be higher than what he knows. After all, the statistics of the East African government mainly come from domestic cases, but the medical conditions and sanitary environment in East Africa are not so good. In the world, it is above average, or even the best level.

The wife said: "That's terrible. This plague is like drawing lots. As mentioned in the news yesterday, more than 100 people have died from this plague across the country, and there is still no specific medicine to deal with this epidemic. "According to government forecasts, the number of patients in the country is likely to grow exponentially in the next few months."

Rabe didn't care too much and said: "This is not something we can decide. As the old saying goes in the East, there is a time in life, and there is no time in life. Don't force it. We just have to do our own thing."

"If protection is in place, even if we are eventually infected, we will be the last batch. You must know that the country is also conducting research on this epidemic. Maybe in the end, relevant specific drugs will be developed."

Rabe's idea is actually more in line with the views of people in today's world, especially in industrially powerful countries. Because of the rapid development of science and technology, the mentality of the people in the early 20th century was somewhat inflated, and they inevitably believed that man could conquer nature.

After all, society has even initially achieved various incredible feats. The emergence of every invention such as airplanes, cars, ships, submarines, radios, etc., has directly had a huge impact on people's lives today.

…

After breakfast, Rabe put on his clothes and got ready to go to work. Although the plague began to spread in Cabinda, Cabinda's enterprises, especially large and medium-sized enterprises, were still operating normally.

Only some shops and workshops are not open, but even if they are open, business is not very good now. After all, many consumers are staying at home and not going anywhere.

Rabe is a worker at a furniture factory in Cabinda. The factory is located in the east of Cabinda. This is normal. After all, Cabinda itself is a city surrounded by rainforest, so wood processing is one of Cabinda's important industries.

Cabinda, as a big city, has good spending power, so the business of Rabe's furniture factory has always been good.

"Morning! Rabe." A neighbor wearing a mask greeted Rabe across the yard as he just walked out of the door.

"Good morning, Vlad." Rabe responded: "How is your work lately?"

Vlad frowned and said, "Forget it, the deputy director of our factory called me last night and said that Hans, a worker in the factory, was infected with the European flu and he has been quarantined at home."

"Our factory notified others to take precautions. I feel a headache when it comes to this. After all, there has been an infected person, so maybe other people in the factory may have been infected."

"This puts me in a dilemma. If I go to work, I might get infected. If I don't go to the factory, I won't be approved for leave."

After hearing what his neighbor Vlad said, Mr. Rabe took two steps into his yard without moving.

He said: "Vlad, don't worry. After all, the fatality rate of European influenza is not too high, only about 5%. If you take antipyretic drugs, most people should be fine."

Vlad waved his hand and said: "You don't need to comfort me. I feel that most people will not be able to escape this plague. After all, the epidemic prevention department has also said that unless communication with the outside world is completely cut off, many people will be infected. risk."

"However, for different people like us, this is obviously unrealistic. After all, we have to work and live, and we cannot hide at home and do nothing. Moreover, cities are densely populated areas, which is more conducive to the spread of European influenza. spread."

"Speaking of which, the countryside is safer and can be self-sufficient. I almost want to return to my hometown village."

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Rabe also fully agrees with this point: "The countryside is indeed the safest now, but unfortunately our job is in the city. If I had the financial means, I would definitely take my family to the countryside for a while."

At this time, Conrad said: "Mr. Rabe, your children should have stopped by now! In that case, why not send them to the countryside first and let their grandparents take them with them for a while."

Conrad's suggestion made Rabe's eyes light up, and he said: "If you don't tell me, I really forgot about this, but my parents have passed away long ago, but I can put the three children with my brother."

Most East Africans have relatives in the countryside. After all, East Africa's urbanization has accelerated in the past two decades. Many new citizens who have poured into the cities used to live in rural areas.

They came to the city and obtained new household registration, but their relatives might not be so. For example, Rabe's brother lives in a village in the east.

Rabe said: "I will send them there in a while, and let them experience my life back then."

Conrad said: "I hope this plague will end soon, otherwise we won't be so worried."

The two chatted briefly and then ended, after all, they still had to rush to work.

Rabe came to his parking lot, opened the door of the car, and squeezed in.

The so-called parking lot is a cement ground built with cement in Rabe's yard. Because of the developed automobile industry in East Africa, many ordinary families can afford to buy cars, and Rabe is no exception.

Before the war, the automobile industry in East Africa was already very developed. During the World War, the armies of European countries purchased vehicles produced in East Africa on a large scale, and orders from non-European overseas markets exploded, which made the automobile industry in East Africa even stronger.

By 1920, the car penetration rate in East Africa had even reached 60%, which means that most East African families have a car.

Now, the price of cars in East Africa is cheaper than before, mainly due to the end of the European war, which left East African car companies with a batch of inventory.

Rabe drove out of the door. Due to the impact of the epidemic, there were fewer pedestrians and vehicles on the street than usual. At this time, most of the people on the road were like Rabe, rushing to work.

East African cities have always been generous in traffic construction. Unlike European cities, the roads are narrow and the road conditions are complicated, so Rabe quickly arrived at the factory smoothly.

"Morning! Mr. Rabe." The factory security greeted Rabe.

"Good morning, Cruz." Rabe replied: "Still the old rules?"

The guard named Cruz said: "Of course, at this stage, everyone has to be responsible for themselves! Especially in crowded areas like us."

As he said, Cruz took a spray bottle and sprayed Rabe, which was mainly filled with alcohol.

Then, Rabe skillfully took out a thermometer and measured the temperature in front of Cruz.

"36.8 degrees, normal, congratulations to you, Mr. Rabe, for another healthy day." Cruz took a pen and recorded on the registration form.

Obviously, East Africa's detection methods for European influenza are much more backward than in the past, and even thermometers need to be prepared by the public. There is no way around it. After all, there are no temperature guns in this era, and mercury thermometers have to contact the human body.

So it is difficult to share, so Rabe and others can only bring their own thermometers to measure body temperature. However, for industrial countries like East Africa, thermometers are not expensive and everyone can afford them. During the period of European influenza transmission, East Africa has made it a must-have thermometer for every household to check whether the body temperature is normal at any time.

"Next..." Cruz said to the people behind him after Rabe entered the factory gate.

In order to deal with European influenza, this has almost become the norm for various factories in Cabinda City. Factories and enterprises of a certain scale will do a good job of prevention.

However, this only lasts for a period of time, and only when the number of infected people is small. If most people are infected with the European flu, there is no need to carry out such a complicated procedure.

So in the early stage of the European flu outbreak, it actually had the greatest impact on the normal production and living order in East Africa. In the later stage, when everyone was infected with the European flu, there was no need to take these preventive measures. However, at that time, the power of the European flu also decreased a lot.