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Here's the situation.
My housemate HMB recently lost his girlfriend Pat to cancer. Pat lived in Thailand.
Pat's funeral will take place in Bangkok late this month.
HMB feels compelled to go and attend her funeral. He has been asked by Pat's family and employer to be there. (Given that Pat's employer was the Thai government, this is not something you can politely turn down.)
However, with the rise of SARS atypical pneumonia, a new complication has arisen. HMB may be quarantined if he comes in on a flight with a SARS sufferer. If this happens, he will not be able to make it to the funeral and will instead be shut up in some quarantine. This means he will also miss his return flight (he plans to stay in Bangkok for three days only).
Add to this the fact that HMB is also studying at university, and most of his exams are in mid May. Even as things stand, he'll miss out a week's worth of lessons at the end of April. If he gets quarantined, then he'll stand to miss his end of term exams too. Plus he's supposed to be teaching undergraduates.
HMB's parents don't want him to go to Bangkok because they think it's too risky. However, they can't tell him this (two years ago, they refused to let him go see Pat when she was still alive - I think in some perverse way, HMB thinks the more difficult it is to get out there now, the more noble he is by doing so).
I think he should just not go. His life will be disrupted enough as it is, and there is a possibility that he will not even be able to attend the funeral (which is the primary reason for his going there). If he gets quarantined, there will be considerable disruption to his travels (he'll need new tickets home) and to his course, and to the course of the students in his care.
Balancing all this is the fact that she was his girlfriend and he evidently loves her very much.
What do you think he should do?
(He's got the tickets and everything already booked but I'm hoping by posting this, I can get some persuasive arguments to make him stay.)
My housemate HMB recently lost his girlfriend Pat to cancer. Pat lived in Thailand.
Pat's funeral will take place in Bangkok late this month.
HMB feels compelled to go and attend her funeral. He has been asked by Pat's family and employer to be there. (Given that Pat's employer was the Thai government, this is not something you can politely turn down.)
However, with the rise of SARS atypical pneumonia, a new complication has arisen. HMB may be quarantined if he comes in on a flight with a SARS sufferer. If this happens, he will not be able to make it to the funeral and will instead be shut up in some quarantine. This means he will also miss his return flight (he plans to stay in Bangkok for three days only).
Add to this the fact that HMB is also studying at university, and most of his exams are in mid May. Even as things stand, he'll miss out a week's worth of lessons at the end of April. If he gets quarantined, then he'll stand to miss his end of term exams too. Plus he's supposed to be teaching undergraduates.
HMB's parents don't want him to go to Bangkok because they think it's too risky. However, they can't tell him this (two years ago, they refused to let him go see Pat when she was still alive - I think in some perverse way, HMB thinks the more difficult it is to get out there now, the more noble he is by doing so).
I think he should just not go. His life will be disrupted enough as it is, and there is a possibility that he will not even be able to attend the funeral (which is the primary reason for his going there). If he gets quarantined, there will be considerable disruption to his travels (he'll need new tickets home) and to his course, and to the course of the students in his care.
Balancing all this is the fact that she was his girlfriend and he evidently loves her very much.
What do you think he should do?
(He's got the tickets and everything already booked but I'm hoping by posting this, I can get some persuasive arguments to make him stay.)
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