coronajournal

It’s the Little Things

Jeanette Couvaras, Sunday, August 30^th, 2020

Life gets so busy in normal times, and we learn to go with the flow

And then something drastic happens, and all of a sudden, the flow as we know it is disturbed.

Everything is in turmoil and our lives feel shattered.

Life as we know it, has changed.

The Centre cannot hold and our reality is changing, faster that we can adapt.

But adapt we must, lest we lose ourselves

And adapt we will, because we choose to

And because of the little things, that matter in ways unimaginable

We keep going, because we choose to.

At first, finding myself in Australia during what became a global pandemic seemed to be a stroke of dumb luck. Until June, Australia’s coronavirus record was one of success. The Australian government assessed that the coronavirus would develop into a pandemic long before the World Health Organization made the same call. At the start of February, Australia imposed a travel ban on non-citizens coming from mainland China (within 24 hours, the first COVID-19 death outside mainland China would be reported). On 20 March, the travel ban was broadened to encompass the rest of the world. Only Australian citizens and residents would be allowed to travel to Australia, and each would be required to undergo quarantine in a hotel for fourteen days.

“Bogotá, el miedo y la pandemia”

Jimena Sierra, July 27th, 2020

A FG por sus palabras, que nos ayudan a entender-nos.

“Hoy y acá somos seres torvos, seres protegidos con cerraduras y candados, seres que se recogen temprano, que se mienten, seres que bailan un mapalé infinito donde nadie toca a nadie porque tenemos miedo del contacto, del contagio. Cuatrocientos cincuenta años de miedo. Quinientos años. En las próximas décadas tenemos que acostumbrarnos a ser domésticos, a pensar, a ser reflexivos, a abandonar este ansioso dolor que nos ahoga” [Garavito, 2007, 214].Así describe Fernando Garavito a través de su heterónimo Juan Mosca, cómo en Bogotá ya vivíamos desde hace tiempo como si estuviéramos en una pandemia.

The Life of a 14 Year Old during the Pandemic

Benjamin Zumbansen | July 21, 2020

I. Is “online school” normal? Is it even a normal word?

The last few months have been crazy for everyone. One went from complaining about going to school or being bumped into in stores to it being all one wanted and longed for. I had never realized how important touching is when communicating, and in everyday life. Not being able to hug someone when you see them or not being allowed to touch your friends when you’re hanging out with them can make such a big difference. It can make you feel sad and lonely even when you’re surrounded by people.

Hiatus – but “we’re open”

Priya Gupta & Peer Zumbansen, Editors, CoronaJournal

Note from the Editors:

The Summer offers a complex map of the virus and its varied densities and velocities around the world. We are sorry that the Journal has been a ‘quiet place’ in recent weeks. We welcome your submissions and are eager to share them with our readers. We are re-launching our summer interventions with a new diary entry by a High Schooler in Toronto. Worth a look.

An “autopsy of the corpse of neoliberal policy,” National Highway 1, and Parle-G Biscuits

[Priya Gupta with Kunal Chaudhury] Wednesday, May 27, 2020

As India entered into lockdown at the end of March, millions of people lost their jobs. In April 2020 alone, 122 million jobs were lost. Millions of people working as domestic help, as drivers, as day laborers, began a long journey back to their hometowns. Trains were stopped, buses were stopped, and for most people there was no choice but to walk. Anywhere between 300 and 1,000 miles, in 103 to upwards of 110 degrees Fahrenheit, 39 – 43 degrees Celsius.

The images from their journeys recall those of Partition in 1947.

Turkey Amidst Crisis: What’s New?

[Defne Sökmen] Sunday, May 24, 2020

Where Were We When The Clock Struck Midnight?

Two and a half months after the first case of Covid-19 reported in Turkey (11 March 2020, relatively late considering its neighbours on both sides were already recording Covid-19 related deaths), and as the month of fasting for Ramadan comes to an end with the holiday today, we are more confused than ever about what to think about life in Turkey. As was said elsewhere, every country was at a different point when the chaos and crisis of this pandemic came. Turkey’s economy was already in a tough spot, with unemployment at a worrying 13.4%, speculative currency attacks and a depreciating lira, combined with repeated attempts at slashing interest rates to revive economic activity.

Six Feet.

[Peer Zumbansen] Saturday, May 23rd, 2020

The Moon’s white beam is reflected
in the moist wooden boards of the fence
It is night, stars only dimly cast their
Light.
Who ever said that tipping a cow was a pastime?

From ‘Six Nations’ to ‘One Nation’, and What’s Next? Chronicles from Rome – 22 February-22 May

[Ada Fama] Friday, May 22, 2020

One day you find yourself in the middle of thousands of people, all packed in a stadium to watch a match, all screaming, all cheering. Next day a roaring silence.

In a few words, this is the summary of the start of my quarantine, twice as long as the forty days that the name would suggest.

Ghootar-goo Ghootar-goo #Kabutarhaha

[Kudrat Dev] Saturday March 28/ Monday May 18, 2020

Yes it is me talking to you.
Why so surprised?
The way you spot me in the sky
I spot you on earth