The Pain and Privilege of Being an American Abroad During Covid-19

By Annie Mark Westfall — LETTERS FROM BERLIN

Being an American in Germany right now is heartbreaking. I sit in my enormous privilege here, and wonder when, or if, I will ever see my extended family again. When will be the next time that I can safely visit the United States? Even if the U.S. response to the virus remains so pathetically inadequate for another year, hopefully I will eventually see my parents, brother, nieces, cousins, aunts and uncles again. But Grandma Bea is 101 and has been in the hospital three times this month.

And again, I recognize that I type this in enormous privilege. For now, my own family remains fine. A college friend described spending eight hours with his family on speaker phone, saying goodbye to his unconscious father who died alone in a hospital room, from Covid-19. I was going to say that countless others have sadly suffered the same fate, but it is not countless. It is more than 180,000 Americans, which is three times the amount of Americans who died in the Vietnam War.

The Trump administration itself is like the Covid-19 infection, sickening a country that was already high-risk. The U.S., with its myriad pre-existing conditions. Vulnerable healthcare systems with millions un- or under-insured; no mental healthcare; no paid time off for many of…