April 12, 2020 - With as many Croatians living abroad as in the Homeland, what are the diaspora experiences of self-isolation? In the sixth of a new series, Corona Voices in the Croatian Diaspora, here is Ana at the centre of the pandemic in Queens, New York City and originally from Dalmatia.
Last week TCN started a feature series called Foreigner Self-Isolation In Croatia: Do You Feel Safer? I can honestly say we have never had such a response or so many incredible contributions. The countries of origin of these expats in Croatia literally from all over the world. So far we have had submissions from expats from Romania, USA, Ireland, UK, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Singapore, Holland, Canada, India, Hong Kong, Venezuela, Latvia, China, Honduras, Hungary, Moldova, New Zealand, Japan and Germany. You can see all their stories here.
Given the success of the series (still going strong) and large interest, it made sense to expand it to look at this from another angle - how Croatians abroad are coping where they are. If you would like to contribute your story to Corona Voices in the Croatian Diaspora, please find the submission guidelines below. And now, the view from the very heart of the pandemic. As Croatians celebrate Easter as best they can in these difficult times, spare a moment to think of Ana from a Dalmatian island, currently in Queens, New York City.
Firstly, how are you? Are you alone/with someone? Tell us a little about your situation and sanity levels.
I am a 65-year-old retiree who planned to split her time between New York City and a Dalmatian island. But that was before the coronavirus.
Ever since New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued the “Stay at Home Order”, only delivery people ring my doorbell. I am used to being alone. Arguments with my TV and laptop are common. I still do not need a direct line to a shrink, thank God.
Most of us are overdosing on coronavirus information, with news channels devoting 24 hours to COVID-19. Sometimes it feels like a bad movie. Last week, a local politician announced we may have to temporarily bury our dead in city parks. This was later revoked, replaced by expanding the City’s
potter's field on Hart Island, by The Bronx. There are not enough funeral homes or crematoriums in the City to handle all the dead. And viewings of dead are not allowed. You can only FaceTime with your family members' dead body. We recently heard in addition to the makeshift medical facilities in a large convention center and naval hospital, coronavirus patients will also be treated in St. Patrick's Cathedral.
This is real life. I can hardly believe what I am typing.
When did you realise that corona was going to be a big issue?
I did not know much about what was going on in China. Then a nursing home Washington state was hit and subsequently 35 people died. I am an older woman with comorbidities, so this was a bit unsettling. The spread in Washington was contained, and we all thought it was over, until it hit New York City.
When did you realise that corona was going to be a big issue in New York in particular?
It was not a “9/11 moment.” Most of us did not think about it until it got close to our neighborhoods.
In New York City, it started at the end of February and the beginning of March. First, a 39-year old woman who returned from Iran tested positive. Then a man from New Rochelle spread coronavirus to his family, friends and his religious community. That is when I realized that the community spread will be a big issue in my borough.
Queens is a borough of immigrants with large families living under one roof. Most of them also work in service industries, and rely on the subways to commute to work. it’s the perfect recipe for a virus to grow exponentially.
Now, Queens has the most infected, and the highest mortality rate of all of New York City’s boroughs.
Give us a timeline on when and how life changed.
My retirement in 2019 started on the wrong foot and it's still going that way. I came back from Croatia in December 2019 to file my tax returns, planning to go back the first week in April. As the saying goes, (wo)man makes plans and God laughs. I should have been in Croatia by now.
I am stuck in Queens for the foreseeable future. The cost of health insurance for ex-pats in Croatia is prohibitive. I could not possibly risk to return and get the coronavirus while there. I would probably not survive given my heart and lung conditions anyway. So I plan to say put until the vaccine or a cure is available… or I get the virus.
Tell us about your day. Do you/can you leave your apartment?
My days revolve around food and information.
I live in a co-op complex with old oak trees and manicured lawns and gardens. I love gardening and belong to our gardening club. Back when I still could garden.
In the first week of March, I pruned my roses and fertilized the daffodils. Now I can only look at them from my window. It may be too risky to go for a walk or garden, so I stay home.
Almost all residents, more than 3,000 of us, comply with the Stay at Home Order.
I am mostly at my dining room table, on my laptop. I have Johns Hopkins, IHME, WHO,
NYC.gov, CNN,
index.hr, Financial Times, Washington Post, and New York Times homepages open all the time. I look at the numbers of coronavirus cases worldwide.
Now I only notice the numbers that stand out — extreme movements up or down. The rest is a blur.
I text my friends in other boroughs, and my neighbor from across the hall. I listen to Governor Cuomo’s daily press conferences.
Last time I was outdoors was to go to a butcher and a supermarket on my block. The receipt from the butcher says March 18.
Since then, I have been ordering my groceries online.
I do not know what compelled me to order an exercise bike in January, but I did. I started an exercise routine designed for my heart and o-arthritis conditions, and I put 5 miles on my exercise bike every morning (I just crossed the 500-mile threshold).
I am not a good cook but I make something every day. My recipes are from the Dalmatia I left 38 years ago. A small portion of meat or fish, rice, Swiss chard, cabbage, or cauliflower with potatoes, olive oil and salt. Everything is "lešo" (boiled).
How are the authorities doing at handling the situation?
The governor and mayor are doing the best they can. Although President Trump declared a national emergency, states have to fend for themselves. Not sure if the definition of “national” still means what it used to.
The co-op management in the complex where I live drops fliers at our doors, informing us of what is happening in the complex. Here in NYC, if you have coronavirus, you do not go to a hospital unless you have difficulty breathing.
They do not even test you for the virus unless they have a reason like contact tracing or symptoms. If you’re sick with mild symptoms, just isolate at home. We have infected people who have the virus in some of our buildings.
Because of privacy laws we do not know who they are.
Yesterday, an ambulance picked up a person from a building next door. I only saw a gurney wrapped in some kind of white insulation. It looked like a lot of white bubble wrap.
You obviously keep an eye on your homeland. What is your impression of the way Croatia is dealing with the crisis?
In Croatia, the coronavirus seems to be under control. It is not as widespread as in NYC. Given the low number of infections, I am surprised that so many healthcare workers in Croatia are infected or in self-isolation.
Compare and contrast the responses of Croatia and USA. Who is doing what better?
The main reason why Croatia may not be affected as badly as the NYC is its population density. Brooklyn and Queens cover 500 square kilometers with the combined population of five million people. In Croatia, four million people live on 56,000 square kilometers. It is easy to keep a distance there.
Here people live, work and commute in crowded spaces. Apparently, in Croatia patients are also hospitalized even if their symptoms are not that severe. That is why the mortality will probably be lower in Croatia. That’s the advantage of having universal health care.
Here, we can call 911 only if we have symptoms that include shortness of breath. Rumor has it, because I did not call 911, that emergency dispatchers test how labored your breathing is. You have to say a few words so that the emergency dispatcher can decide whether you need to be hospitalized.
Most of the time, patients go directly to the ER, and it is too late because their lungs are too scarred to recover. Hopefully, the US government will step in because treating only coronavirus patients will bring New York City’s private hospitals close to bankruptcy. All expensive surgeries are postponed, and treating coronavirus patients is not that profitable.
My doctor is affiliated with the Mount Sinai hospital. The hospital is tracking their patients via a daily survey that is texted to all who want to participate. I am asked to report if I have any coronavirus symptoms listed in the text, if I went out, and if I had coronavirus. Mount Sinai is also working on the convalescent plasma treatment, so they are able to track all recovered patients that may become donors.
What about official communications from the authorities, compared to your home country?
Other than Governor Cuomo's daily press conferences, I do not listen to official communications from other authorities.
What's the one thing you wish you had taken with you into self-isolation?
I feel like I have too much. I am watching grown men on TV cry.
They lost their jobs, have mortgages to pay and children to raise. I see doctors cry because they can't help their patients or protects themselves. I learned what “
PPE” means. It would have been better if I did not.
I am even trying to buy less online so that delivery persons do not get infected while delivering my groceries. Then again, maybe I should place orders more often. Many people deliver groceries because they lost their regular jobs and depend on this income and our tips.
One thing you have learned about yourself, and one thing you have learned about others during this crisis.
I noticed that I can be disciplined, I can stay at home, look through my windows and enjoy solitude. I see women on TV screaming and having panic attacks because they have to isolate.
I used to watch some TV shows regularly. I can't do it now. American news anchors have built-in smiles.
I see their pearly white teeth while reporting on how many people died, and then crying because someone donated $5 million. Shouldn't it be the other way round? Strange how some things can be off-putting.
If you could be self-isolating in Croatia, where would it be, and why?
A winter season on my island is perfect for self-isolation. Very few people there.
Thanks, Ana. Stay safe and see you on the other side. You can see all the stories in both this diaspora series, and the one on expats in Croatia on this link.
TCN is starting a new feature series on Croatian diaspora experiences of sitting out COVID-19 abroad and comparing your experiences to the situation in Croatia. If you would like to contribute, the questions are below. Please also include a para about yourself and where you are from, and a link to your website if you would like. Please also send 3-4 photos minimum to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Corona Diaspora
If you would be interested to record a video version for our partners www.rplus.video please let us know in the email. Thanks and stay safe.
Self-Isolation Voices from the Diaspora
Firstly, how are you? Are you alone/with someone? Tell us a little about your situation and sanity levels.
When did you realise that corona was going to be a big issue?
When did you realise that corona was going to be a big issue in New York in particular?
Give us a timeline on when and how life changed.
Tell us about your day. Do you/can you leave your apartment?
How are the authorities doing at handling the situation?
You obviously keep an eye on your homeland. What is your impression of the way Croatia is dealing with the crisis?
Compare and contrast the responses of Croatia and USA. Who is doing what better?
What about official communications from the authorities, compared to your home country?
What's the one thing you wish you had taken with you into self-isolation?
One thing you have learned about yourself, and one thing you have learned about others during this crisis.
If you could be self-isolating in Croatia, where would it be, and why?
TCN has recently become a partner in Robert Tomic Zuber's new R+ video channel, initially telling stories about corona experiences. You can see the first TCN contribution from this morning, my video from Jelsa talking about the realities of running a news portal in the corona era below. If you would like to also submit a video interview, please find Robert's guidelines below
VIDEO RECORDING GUIDE
The video footage should be recorded so that the cell phone is turned horizontally (landscape mode).
There are several rules for television and video news:- length is not a virtue- a picture speaks more than a thousand words
In short, this would mean that your story should not last more than 90 seconds and that everything you say in the report should be shown by video (for example, if you talk about empty streets, we should see those empty streets, etc.).
How to do it with your cell phone? First, use a selfie camera to record yourself telling your story for about a minute and a half. Ideally, it would be taken in the exterior, except in situations where you are reporting on things in the interior (quarantine, hospital, self-isolation, etc.). Also, when shooting, move freely, make sure everything is not static.
After you have recorded your report, you should capture footage that will tell your story with a picture, such as an earlier example with empty streets.
One of the basic rules of TV journalism is that the story is told in the same way as a journalist with his text. Therefore, we ask you for additional effort. Because we work in a very specific situation, sometimes you may not be able to capture footage for each sentence of the report. In this case, record the details on the streets: people walking, the main features of the city where you live, inscriptions on the windows related to the virus, etc.
The same rules apply if you are shooting a story from your apartment, self-isolation, quarantine. We also need you to capture footage that describes your story.
When shooting frames to cover your reports, it is important that you change the angle of the shot (in other words, shoot that empty street from several angles). Also, when shooting a detail, count at least five seconds before removing the camera to another detail.
The material should be about 5 minutes long (90 seconds of your report + frames to cover your story).
After recording everything, send us to Zagreb, preferably via WeTransfer to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
