2020 AND COVID-19

On the last day of December 2019, many people believe, wish and pray that 2020 will be a great year and definitely a better year. However, it did not seem like that. The world was soon hit by the pandemic called covid-19, a deadly disease which makes the world suffer economically and importantly psychologically. Almost 5 million people are suffered from this illness and over 300 thousand people lost their lives (Worldmeters, May 17 2020). Many countries all over the world implement lockdown for their cities. People are restricted and banned to go out and do outdoor activities unless it is for emergency conditions. Travelling with any purposes are halted, events are cancelled, and people are left unemployed. Many people suffer not because they are contracted or infected by this virus but because they barely survive. Job sites and companies over the world fire the people. Irregular workers working in the informal sectors are devastated as there are no longer opportunities for them to work. Unemployment rate rises and the domino effect entails; the crimes are significantly over reported. It is said that economy may be collapsed as it is the worst downturn since the Great Depression. Now the government together with people are hand in hand to mitigate the harms. Government is trying to subsidize these unfortunate people in order for them to survive. Social communities and other people with enough income donate to these most vulnerable impacted people.

However, it is not only the economy which is badly impacted. This pandemic also marks the psychological scars to all people. People are all frightened, insecure, depressed and frustrated. Locked into a house alone separated with the loved ones is one despair. Locked with the partner but experiencing domestic abuse is another despair. Locked into a house without foods and seeing other family members starving is also frustrated. This despair and frustration are not exclusively experienced by the people who are obliged to stay at home. People who have to work and interact with many people are also at high risk to experience frustration.

Medical workers and hospital staffs are prone to be contracted by this virus through their patients. They are our front liners who sacrifice a lot of things for the sake of patients’ recovery. They must live separately by their loving family. They must bear this psychological pain for unmeasurable period of time. They are stigmatized and discriminated even after they risk their life. They see people dying one by one and somehow they can do nothing. Some of them even gave their lives for us as they are also infected and unable to survive.

Not only medical workers and hospital staffs, police officers, journalists, cashiers, shopkeepers, and other workers who have to work outside must be really cautious that they might put other family members in risk when they come back home.

People who lost their family members to this virus must experience the worst pain as they are unable to be on their side for the last time, as they are unable to conduct a proper burial ceremony, as they are even unable to even put flowers on their loved ones’ tomb. They must be unimaginably devastated.

Basically, all people are frustrated and depressed in 2020.

This article is written to remind us that Covid-19 have struck our life in 2020. It is to remind us that nothing matters in time of crisis than strong bounding of solidarity, care and love among people. Several years ahead, we will look back at this time that we make through this together, that we survive against this virus, that we rise again and come back stronger.

#2020 #corona #covid-19 #crisis