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In time of distress, count on a good neighbour to lend a hand

A street art graffiti mural, showing the logo of the NHS (National Health Service), and an image 100-year-old veteran Captain Tom Moore who raised over GBP 30 million for NHS charities, is pictured in east Belfast on May 5, 2020. PHOTO | PAUL FAITH | AFP

By  Jenerali Ulimwengu

Columnist

The ongoing Covid-19 devastation (medical, economic, political, psychological, ethical and cultural) has revealed to us the heroes and villains among us, and it has reminded me of a small linguistic point.

The word villain, which in English we usually associate with the ‘bad guys’ in a Hollywood story, actually means ugly in French. Which, of course, is proper.

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