Thu, Apr 9, 2020
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Cartagena Hub, Colombia
COVID19 has not only limited our freedom of movement but changed every plan we had for 2020. And change is not necessarily painful, but resisting it definitely is. What do you mean my trip to Brazil is cancelled? The first feeling I had was impotence. Aren’t people overreacting?
We live in strange times. We are constantly bombarded with information that makes us question every detail of our existence and the veracity of what we are being told. Everyone with a social media account can spread their beliefs in the ether, further perpetuating the problem. Are we all going to die? Isn’t this just like the 2009 swine flu pandemic?
In the specific case of COVID19, no one understood the magnitude of its implications until the local governments started to implement harsh measures and the news were scoring deaths in different countries. The closure of shops, airports, companies, cultural and sports activities and forcing people to stay at home makes it an unprecedented situation in recent history and has definitely taken its toll on life as we know it.
Who can look at anything anymore without imagining a deadly virus waiting to fasten itself on to our lungs? I certainly can’t! Every time someone comes to my house to deliver anything I become a quack epidemiologist and virologist, making the delivery and the person who receives it go through a strict sanitation process. And I am a composed person, I can’t imagine how nervous people are reacting to the measures.
On the other hand, this pandemic has increased all existing inequalities or at least made them visible. I am aware of the privilege that I have being able to stay home. I do not lack any basic necessities. This is not something the majority of my fellow citizens have. It has become evident that the government and the private sector’s big players are the ones who, together, can help fight these inequalities. Definitely something huge to think about if you consider that more than 90% of local companies are micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.
Now, it is also evident that nothing could be worse than a return to normality: normality got us here! We must imagine our world anew, from an individual and collective point of view. And whilst this sounds so difficult and stressful, especially considering we will all probably have to tighten up, the alternative seems worse. Our new normality must respect the planet and all of its living beings if we want to continue to evolve as species. The thing is… letting go of what we know can take our whole lives, and we know how stubborn we can be. I just hope this quarantine strengthens our willingness to try.