From Fez to Zurich: Distance between bodies, closeness between hearts (part 1)

My name is Mohammed Lghamour, a Moroccan PhD student visiting the Department of Earth Sciences at ETH Zurich as part of a scientific exchange that started in January 2020 and was scheduled to end on 17 May 2020.

The subject of my thesis is the impact of geodynamic processes on the river systems in Morocco, and the changes caused by tectonics and climate variations. I was very happy when my application was accepted, and thankful for the scientific assistance and university supervision. Neither would have been possible without the support of a person that I greatly respect: Mr. Vincenzo.

My ETH experience began on January 23, 2020; I was impressed by the positive energy that you can feel when you enter the institute. Mr. Vincenzo helped me to get settled in my office, and I was also greeted and welcomed by Mr. Sean, head of the Earth Surface Dynamics group. The administrative team was a hive of activity in hosting staff and ensuring the best conditions for their work. Ms. Katharina, Ms. Simona and Ms. Michelle all gave me unlimited support.

It’s February 2020, and after visiting Ms. Irka, who’s in charge of radiocarbon dating, I started work in the biogeoscience laboratory with Ms. Negar, preparing the charcoal samples for dating, in parallel to my office work.

On March 15, I received a shocking email from Mr. Vincenzo, asking me to return to Morocco as soon as possible. He confirmed that we are facing a pandemic, and countries can close their borders at any time. I was surprised, but after a few minutes began to feel the danger, so I tried to book the flight to Fez. Suddenly, I realised that Morocco had just closed its borders.

I was lost; what would I do? How was I going to answer my professor? I decided to tell him the bad news. He replied: “Don’t be afraid, you’re just going to stay in your room until the problem is solved, and in the worst case, you can stay with me.” Then Simona contacted me and said: “Hi Mohammed, I‘ve just heard that you’re stuck here, don’t be afraid, your wellbeing is our responsibility.’’After that, I received a lot of texts, and people showed me how important solidarity is in our life – for example, the HS-SO people gave me full support and contacted the embassy to alert them to my situation.

The next day, I woke up full of positive energy, turned on my computer and checked my mailbox; the first message was from Simona. I never expected that the situation would get worse – but you can’t run away from a pandemic.

In short, Switzerland was going to apply a partial lockdown, and all the universities would close. I became sad again, because I had hoped to continue my work at the ETH; I was also worried, for what would I do about my funding? The cash office would be shut from tomorrow. In the midst of this tornado, I found helping hands, my two protective angels, Ms. Simona and Mr. Vincenzo. Simona told me that I must just stay in my room and we would have to look for other funding because we don’t know how long the lockdown will last. Mr. Vincenzo confirmed that he would bring me the rest of money from the cash desk, and that he was looking for another place for me, since my room was small and shared.

Humans have always drawn on their creativity to save lives, and that’s why I wasn’t surprised when I watched ETH Rector, Ms. Sarah M. Springman giving her statement. Although sad about the situation, she was a source of positive energy to all the staff, encouraging the students to stay at home, and inviting the professors to adopt a new approach for distance education and research.

For my hosting team, Mr. Sean created a small virtual department to which he added all the team members. Every day, the researchers discussed different topics, ask for advice, or explained their discoveries; they even organised virtual coffee breaks to talk and exchanged their personal news. And innovation hasn’t stopped here: new ways of greeting have been invented – from arm codes to touching the feet or saying “hi” using the Indian greeting. Which proves that nothing can stop human interaction.

The thing that keeps me busiest at the moment is: My thesis work
My favourite app is: Duolingo
One book or movie I recommend: Book: The 25th Hour (La Vingt-cinquième Heure) by Constantin Virgil Gheorghiu / Movie : Super 30, an Indian Movie by Vikas Bahl
And if all else fails, my instant pick-me-up is: Classical oriental music, such as Abdel Halim Hafez, or Oum Kalthoum's songs