The Malaysian Insight

A GROUP of volunteers started an online memorial today to remember those who lost their lives to the Covid-19 epidemic.

Covid-19 Memorial Malaysia went live at 10am and currently has around 300 monuments, according to a statement by the group.

The site allows loved ones to contribute their recollections of the departed.

To date more than 22,000 individuals have died as a result of the Covid-19 epidemic, and the figure is expected to continue to rise as time goes on.

“While some of the memorials are from information gathered through news reports and public social media postings, since August 31, the public has been invited to share their own memories to create their own memorials for loved ones lost.

“In this way, the memorial website is a platform for us to remember how the ones we lost have touched our lives, and to share our love for them with others. The stories speak for themselves, showing that the (22,000) and more lives lost are not just numbers,” the group said.

The group also set the 19th day of each month as a day of remembrance, in addition to asking individuals to create online memorials for loved ones who have died as a result of Covid-19.

“We invite Malaysians to join us to share stories of their loved ones on social media on that day, too, with the hashtag #c19memorialmy and mention us at @c19memorialmy on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

“We hope the memorial is a contribution towards eternal remembrance of the lives lost to the Covid-19 pandemic, so each person is not a number but a loving memory,” it said.

To guarantee that the website is accessible to as many people as possible, the volunteers worked with the disability rights organisation Bolehspace to ensure that the design is dyslexia-friendly, colour blind-friendly and user-friendly for the visually impaired.

It also contains resources for mental health and grief, as well as information on how to seek help dealing with the epidemic.

A collective of 22 volunteers who had never met in person built the website.

The project began when journalist Aidila Razak put out a request on Twitter for collaborators to work on a project commemorating Covid-19 victims.

This happened on August 6 when Malaysia crossed the dreadful milestone of 10,000 Covid-19 fatalities the day before.

By the time the organisation conducted its first online conversation on August 10, more than a dozen members from diverse professions and expertise had signed up.

The Ministry Health reported 422 Covid-19 deaths as of midnight, last night, taking the nationwide toll to 22,009.

According to data provided by the ministry, only five of the victims succumbed to the disease yesterday. The remaining 415 deaths were backlog cases previously unreported. – September 16, 2021.