I had tears in my eyes when Ahmed, with no arms or legs, said: "Everyone should grasp life with both hands."

Then, with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes, said: "Gee that is a bit hard for me!"

I had the misfortune to speak to an anti-vaxxer and was left gobsmacked. His main reason for not getting vaccinated was "I'm not going to have the government tell me what I can and can't do".

Firstly, the government is not telling us what to do, they are telling us what we should do. Using this person's logic we should drive on the right side of the road and not on the left because the government tells us to. We shouldn't wear seatbelts just because the government tells us to ... really! If this person caught COVID and then passed it onto others, who is that person going to blame ... certainly not himself.

In a lighthearted moment, I have been contemplating the excessive number of infringements that have been issued as fines - some very expensive for breaching COVID-19 restrictions.

My thoughts drift towards the many people such as protesters, along with those who can least afford to pay such fines, actually meeting their obligation to pay the said fine or having the matter dealt with in court.

I then imagine that the new quarantine hostels that are being built could then be used to house those that may be imprisoned for their stand to have the matter heard in court and are subsequently imprisoned.

All the while wondering if the government has considered the consequences of such an excessive number of non-payers and protesters for their stance and beliefs.

Should my imagination come to fruition and then in turn understand the true meaning of isolation.

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I share concerns about the plight of women and girls in Afghanistan despite the Taliban in its press conference assuring them they would be safe. The proviso on their safety, of course, is that they abide by Sharia law. Such law can only be described as mediaeval and an offence against women.

Afghanistan has a very high population growth rate and the country is likely to expand from its current nearly 40 million to 82 million people by mid-century. To its credit, great strides were made by previous governments in bringing down the fertility rate from 7.5 children per woman to 4.5 in the past 20 years. For the sake of the recovery of its country, let us hope the Taliban does not obstruct efforts to lower fertility further and lift modern contraceptive prevalence from 20 to 30 per cent.

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