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40х40,
2022
Lately, our beaches have changed. Among the seashells and old plastic bottles, there are now disposable masks. People hurry to swim in the clear tropical sea and toss their masks right onto the sand. Then the waves take them away. One single mask can float around for hundreds of years, sometimes wrapping around coral or poor sea creatures.
I met this sea star while scuba diving in Thailand. It was lying on top of a coral, looking completely relaxed, as if nothing in the world could bother it. Next to it drifted a mask. That peaceful star looked so calm that I almost smiled, but then I felt sadness too. Even here, deep underwater, Covid had left its trace.
My friends, the pandemic will fade, but the trash will stay. Please be kind to this beautiful ocean world that gives us so much peace.
P.S. Underwater artist Olga Belka thanks the RuDiver dive club in Phuket and warmly invites you to enjoy scuba diving in Thailand.