“. . . I just wish that those divisions- the ‘us against them’ would lessen . . . We’re all related. We’re all human beings, we’re all Earth beings.”
Photo by Eduardus Pradipto on Unsplash
Just as many states began easing restrictions and businesses started reopening, we now hear of a near-eminent second wave of coronavirus. Fears about the long-lasting economic effects of the shutdown, as well as concerns about healthcare access and deepening societal divisions, fill the air. This anxiety is only worsened with the suspicion that the virus will come back stronger and last longer than before.
Yet, amidst the fear and uncertainty, people strive to imagine a post-COVID world. They hope for an end to discrimination and injustice. They dream of greater understanding and collaboration, so that all of us, as humans, can come together to fight this pandemic.
Amy (64 years old) and Peter (68 years old) live in the small town of Rio, Wisconsin. Amy is a retired lunch lady at the local elementary school and Peter works at a contract research organization. Because they live in a rural, sparsely-populated area, where cases of the virus have remained low, Amy and Peter’s greatest COVID-19 concerns regard the economic effects on the local small business owners and the dairy farmers in their community. Amy says, “There’s a little bar just a couple miles from our house out in the country that used to be packed out on Friday nights. Everybody used to be there for fish fry and now they do carry out . . .” Peter adds, “They’re only open two days [of the week] right now . . . just for carry out, so you can imagine what little business they are getting, it’s not nearly enough to support what they have been doing.”
Amy reports that as fewer people go into grocery stores, milk sales have plummeted. Some dairy farmers are now selling their cattle because the cows are producing more milk than the processing plants can take in. Peter laments, “Milk is being dumped in some cases just because there’s an oversupply for the demand right now and . . . it’s a real tough situation for those folks to see all their work in a river of milk . . . those folks are really struggling to make ends meet.”
Will (25 years old) is an American from Fargo, North Dakota who works with refugees in Malaga, Spain. Like Amy and Peter, Will worries about how the economic impact of the shutdown will affect his community, especially the North African and Sub-Saharan African refugees he works with. He points out that refugees have been hit especially hard in Spain, as many of them work in the tourist industry, which has come to an abrupt halt. Will is concerned that the virus will have a long-lasting impact on the Spanish tourism industry, which will make it difficult for refugees to make ends meet.
“It’s been hard. A lot of them [refugees] don’t have jobs in Spain or they have jobs that are very seasonal, so they’re stuck inside. A lot of other ones have jobs in the tourist industry and with the tourist industry being completely cut off, they’re stuck inside. Many of them have a number of people living in one house or multiple generations.”
Will further discloses that he has heard about an increasing number of domestic abuse cases among the populations he works with as family members in unstable home situations are stuck inside together 24/7.
Kate (30 years old) is a disability advocate from British Columbia, Canada. She is also worried about the after-effects of the virus, but especially for personal reasons regarding her own health. Kate regularly receives injections for chronic pain but has been unable to receive them for months because elective health procedures in Canada have been stalled. She worries about how this may affect her health long-term.
“I’m a lot more unsure about the future in relation to my health. My chronic pain procedures that I normally get have been canceled until further notice, and the first few weeks I felt like, ‘Okay, I can get through this,’ but now my physical pain has gone up quite a bit because I don’t have access to my normal treatments and that isn’t going to change. My productivity is down and I need to rest a lot more. In the long term, this could really personally affect my health.”
Kate knows there are others in a similar situation to her, since many "elective" procedures are really essential for managing pain and maintaining a decent quality of life. For example, she raises concerns for cancer patients in need of chemotherapy and people in severe pain from overdue oral surgeries who must wait an indefinite amount of time to get treated.
For Laura (65 years old), who lives in Breckenridge, Minnesota, the social divisions and hatred that the virus has brought to light are just as frightening to her as the economic and health impacts. Laura notes how while coronavirus has inspired instances of community collaboration, it has also sharpened already-festering divisions and deep-set discrimination in the US.
“A lot of people have been more compassionate and caring of others, but I think we’ve seen the opposite too, like somebody shooting a black man . . . I’ve heard of Asian people being treated like it [the virus] is their fault and it’s just insane . . . I just wish that those divisions- the ‘us against them’ would lessen . . . We’re all related. We’re all human beings, we’re all Earth beings.”
Laura identifies as Anishinaabe and recently retired as Director of Native American Programs at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo, North Dakota. As a retired person, she has had more time to reflect and focus on her art. However, the stress of the rising animosity in today’s world makes it difficult for her to get things done. She knows this chapter in history won’t ever be forgotten. It will be something she shares with her grandkids for years to come.