A return to normalcy

A glimpse into the changes that happened in the last three years and before March 20, 2020 sends shivers down my spine. It is painful to reflect on the suffering, grief, and everything we went through because of Covid-19.

Within the two years of uncertainty, struggles to adapt to a new world order, and adjusting to new and sometimes unreasonable demands, surveillance, and possibly avoidable deaths, we found our weaknesses and strengths. Like me, hundreds of thousands of people have lost a family member, a friend, or someone we knew – and not been able to say goodbye or be there to give or receive comfort. We cried alone. We have mourned without being able to share our sorrow.

Covid-19 triggered new and different types of crises, exacerbated inequalities, and led to wide-ranging social changes. Social scientists will spend decades elucidating the consequences of the pandemic and the various government responses. It just goes to show how much power governments have over people in the name of security or public health! With that, during pandemics, public healthcare is a must for all; it is neither negotiable nor commercial, and no community should be discriminated against.

Just weeks into March 2020 lockdowns, when the global pandemic was declared, we all knew there would be big changes and implications, but we never really considered the consequences in all areas would last for years.

A peep into today’s post- Covid approach to fast and ambitious development projects gives the impression that we have forgotten about the challenges we faced over the past few years. People have returned to a semblance of normalcy. Have they? The reality is that all the changes, including the loss of privacy, continue to weigh on our minds and lives - not that we lived in a privacy haven before the pandemic.

What happens to all the data collected on citizens? I guess it will be hard for governments to let go of control over our lives.

Covid-19 was not the only factor changing the world at the time; the global oil market crash in the first half of 2020 also had an impact. The pandemic’s biggest winners were four thematic companies: pharma, cloud computing, e-commerce, and gaming. While the shareholders of these corporations became wealthier, workers became impoverished due to rising living costs and inflation.

We try to rebuild our lives, but distrust, misinformation, disinformation, and manipulation have all taken center stage. Furthermore, geopolitics are changing; the world is moving towards a multipolar system in which disruptions can affect a wide range of areas such as energy, food, and supply chains -particularly when depending on a single country- with people and capital suffering the outcomes. Trust has been eroded.

In all parts of the world, countries and people are looking for new opportunities. It has been a bit of a challenge with financial market ups and downs, the situation in Ukraine, and the changes in geopolitics in South America, the Middle East, and Asia. Will the invasion of Ukraine have a more lasting effect than Covid-19? International groupings and partnerships need attention. Alliances and committing to changes for prosperity, including changes in the international system, expose the big boys’ political games and the struggle for global leadership while people pay the price!

The chills on my spine are not disappearing as fast as illusion sellers paint the future. The world economy is shaken and fragile in the face of other instabilities around the globe. To rebuild society in new ways will require better integration and a shift in economic priorities. What about health before wealth?

The coronavirus may be gone or exist under the radar, but the consequences, like the unpredictability of international alliances, persist.