Nouvelles

The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging the social, political and economic dynamics of the world. This global pandemic is forcing us to ponder our actions while changing the life of many people and raising a lot of questions for the future, especially for young people across the world.

 

Through these short stories, we aim to take you on a journey around the world through the eyes of young people facing the COVID-19 pandemic. From Bhutan to Zambia, youth are suffering the effects of the pandemic, but they are also working to tackle them by helping their communities. When facing the current crisis, young people are reminding everyone the importance of realizing that we all live in one same global village in which we are responsible for one another. While the novel coronavirus has disrupted entire countries, it has also brought people closer despite national, political or social boundaries.

 

This global crisis has also shined the spotlight back to the people and their most fundamental needs and rights. We are therefore facing an opportunity that we can all take advantage of in order to foster global citizenship at all levels with the hope of building a more sustainable and prosperous world.

 

If Not Now, When?

 

The isolated Kingdom of Bhutan was watching the world from afar when the effects of the pandemic ravaged through the economies and the social lives of people around the globe. Within days, it hit Bhutan as well. Bhutan was not prepared or equipped to deal with the pandemic when a 76-year old American tourist became the first to test positive for COVID-19. However, he was treated with the utmost care, and sincere prayers and messages flooded social media for his quick recovery.

 

This incident showed how important it is to consider one nation’s problem as another’s concern. The American tourist, despite having underlying medical conditions, fully recovered and now expresses his gratitude to Bhutan. This depicts the ideals of global citizenship and the importance of support and solidarity that extends beyond one’s border in times of need.

 

On the other hand, it caused a lot of panic among the country’s citizens with a heated blame game of neglect and irresponsibility. Gradually, people came together as a community to fight the virus.

 

Young people in Bhutan have played a significant role in these difficult times. Youths across the country are rendering their services as volunteers. The essence of global citizenship is realised locally as Bhutanese youth have united and are determined under a common cause. They have scattered around the country as volunteers with some raising awareness in rural Bhutan, patrolling the borders, and offering to work in the food sector and in every other area where help and service is needed.

 

All the positive cases in Bhutan are associated with the youth who returned to the country from abroad. They have been doing their part firstly by coming out on social media sharing their experiences and raising awareness. The Bhutanese, in general, have started stigmatising people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and foreigners in Bhutan with racism. Youths who have tested positive as well as youths who are volunteering have been advocating and addressing society -especially those in rural Bhutan - on the stigma and racism associated with COVID-19.

 

Sonam Zam is a 26 year-old high school teacher in rural Bhutan who has been volunteering to patrol the India-Bhutan border. She has been managing her time between online lessons and her service as a volunteer. Likewise, Kesang, a 26 year-old dentist is volunteering as a frontline worker. Meanwhile, another Sonam (26) is volunteering to serve the other volunteers with food and drinks. There is also Ninjay (21), who has been staying home, keeping himself updated with the latest news while educating and informing his family about COVID-19. When asked what motivates them to unite in these difficult times, a common response echoed, “If not now, then when?”

 

Their services have helped their communities remain calm and provide the country with hope and strength. The youth of the country make up the largest section of this landlocked country and the King of Bhutan, who is highly revered by its people, has always said “the future of Bhutan will depend upon the youths of today.”

 

Waving Flags Away

 

The COVID-19 pandemic has strongly affected Latin America and the Caribbean. Guatemala, the most populous country in Central America, is struggling to deal with the effects of what started as a sanitary challenge and evolved into a multi-source crisis.

 

With over 60 per cent of the national population below the age of 35, the country’s youth are both at the frontline of the efforts to tackle this crisis and also are some of the most affected. In addition to young people, people living in the rural areas, women and indigenous people are among the most affected by the pandemic in the country.

 

The Guatemalan government has failed to contain the spread of the virus and does not seem to have a clear strategy on how to deal with the negative economic and social effects brought on by the pandemic.

 

As of early June 2020, the number of new cases has not ceased and the very weakened public health system is on the verge of collapse As a result of the lockdown and curfew policies enforced in the country since late March, thousands of people have lost their source of income as they rely on informal economic activities that cannot be practiced in the current context; therefore the levels of poverty and extreme poverty are rising.

 

One of the most visible effects of the COVID-19 crisis is the widespread hunger that numerous families are facing. All across the country, entire families take to the streets to waive white flags at cars and pedestrians in a desperate call for help as they are hungry and do not have any more resources to feed themselves.

 

Due to the needs of the many facing hunger and the lack of effective actions from the local authorities, a group of young citizens created an initiative called “La Olla Comunitaria (The Community Pot);” an initiative that focuses on feeding all of those in need. This movement started in Guatemala City and was quickly replicated in six other cities across the nation and later in El Salvador as well.

 

For over two months, each Community Pot fed over a 1,000 people and provided supplies to many more every day. They use their own resources as well as donations given by many fellow citizens. Despite the high risk environment, groups of young friends would cook and serve meals and deliver supplies across the country. Unfortunately, due to their popularity, some Community Pots have been forced to close to avoid becoming clusters of infection. However, people are still hungry and many are now left alone on the streets to fend for themselves.

 

The Community Pots are a very clear example of global solidarity being raised by young people across Central America and beyond. The COVID-19 crisis has allowed people across the world to better understand the desperate need to foster global citizenship due to disruption of people’s everyday lives.

 

This experience has made it very clear that we are all vulnerable and are not that different from one another when facing adversities. Therefore, the best and only way to ensure a sustainable future for all is to come together as a global community, leaving all pre-existing tags and flags behind.

 

This pandemic is a call for more caring and empathetic communities. It is a call for tolerance and solidarity. It is a call for critical thinking citizens and, above all, a call for individual actions to have a global impact.

 

“Let’s take advantage of this crisis to transform ourselves and realize that it’s possible to have another type of humanity,” said Byron Vasquez, founder of La Olla Comunitaria.

 

A Place to Call Home

 

The pandemic that the world is facing today has brought back many nationalist ideas that challenge the way people and countries interact with one another in today's globalized and connected world.

 

Shortly after China first announced an outbreak of COVID-19 in the city of Wuhan, many Chinese and Asians around the world became the target of prejudice and different forms of violence. Citizens of different countries started blaming China for the spread of the virus believing that all Chinese people were virus carriers.

 

Later on, as the virus spread around the world, each country started applying containment policies. Regions with high levels of cooperation and exchange such as Southeast Asia, Europe and South America have gone back to more traditional nationalistic approaches to preserve the wellbeing of their own. Therefore, the institution of the traditional nation state has regained importance as today’s citizens rely on their governments to assist them in weathering this crisis.

 

However, many people around the world cannot count on any government since they do not have the legal requirements to be considered as a citizen of the territory in which they reside. This is the case of thousands of refugees and displaced people around the world, particularly coming from conflict areas and currently seeking to locate themselves elsewhere due to violence, war, natural disasters, etc. Although we do not hear from them during this global crisis, they are also suffering from the effects of the pandemic in ways that few people can imagine.

 

This is the current situation affecting many Syrian refugees. To be a refugee means to be away from home, away from families and friends. It also means that they struggle to adapt in a new country with new cultural values and norms. To have to go through this while quarantined can be a very challenging task that can have a strong impact on their lives. In light of this, a group of young Syrian refugees in Turkey have created an innovative platform for Syrian refugees around the world to connect and accompany each other during these difficult times. This initiative is called “My Home is Your Home” and it is based on the principle of solidarity.

 

This initiative consists of an online volunteer-based platform that facilitates open spaces for dialogue and exchange between Syrian refugees. Through this platform, people can access sessions facilitated by experts in fields such as civil participation, psychology and other areas of expertise that are relevant to overcome the effects of isolation brought on by the confinement and lockdown policies in many countries.

 

In Syria, the COVID-19 situation is very complex and diverse between regions. There is an overall lack of resources to deal with the pandemic as the health system has been decimated as a result of almost a decade of civil war.

 

In late April, the United Nations called for a nationwide ceasefire in Syria in order to focus on the pandemic. However, the war is still ongoing. As of 10 June, the government controlled areas reported around over 150 cases of COVID-19. However, young people in Syria believe that the authorities refuse to admit the gravity of the situation and are not doing enough to support the population.

 

This initiative showcases the potential that individual experiences can have when transformed on a collective community action, therefore highlighting the importance of all forms of diversity in our societies and the importance of cooperation. At the same time, it is a clear example of how today’s young people around the world remain connected regardless of the physical distances that separate one another. Even when being away from the place that was once called home, a sense of community and belonging will remain strong when supporting one another regardless of where they come from and where they may end up in the future.

 

Together, Apart

 

Zambian youths are piercing into their power like never before and demanding a space to make their voices heard. They are the front runners of their generation and are working towards a more successful and compassionate world.

 

As a young person involved in making a meaningful impact through driving social inclusion movements for underrepresented communities, I (Zanji Sinkala) believe this should be an opportune time to reach populations that the market and governments are unable to account for.

 

To my dismay, certain factors such as lockdowns, have hindered and restricted my efforts inevitably. As a solution to this, I write journalistic articles about the diverse ways youths have been responding to COVID-19 to highlight their voices and foster solution-based action plans. It is to not only render help where it is needed, but to ensure that young people’s voices are raised alongside other communities’ voices in the roll-out of health and non-health interventions in response to this pandemic, because our reactions and responses have been often overlooked.

 

Typing furiously on her laptop keyboard, Kasuba Kaisa creates a petition for her college institution to introduce online graduation amidst the pandemic so that she and her peers can graduate. Without her degree, she can't get a stable job anywhere.

 

"I don't know how long this will go on for or how long I will be jobless," laments Kasuba, "Even if they sent my degree via email, I wouldn't mind. I just desperately need it." Kasuba hopes that this petition can speak for the potential graduates countrywide who feel like their lives and dreams have been put on hold abruptly and indefinitely.

 

Mulenga Chileshe, a young professional Zambian tennis player and coach, stands on an empty court in Roma Park in Lusaka. In his 12 years in the game, he has never experienced a significant plummet in business like this.

 

"I went from having 13 consistent clients a week paying me per one-hour session, to three vacillating clients I wouldn't even be certain would attend," he said.

 

Aside from his tennis job, Mulenga helps run his family's restaurant in downtown Lusaka. However, the crisis has pulverized his business, leaving his five workers unpaid and uneasy.

 

"It hurts me that there's nothing I can do to help them right now," he noted. "I am equally struggling."

 

To combat the economic effects of the unprecedented retrenchments countrywide, Victoria Hospital, a private medical institution, with the help of youth volunteers, recently donated bags of corn flour ? Zambia’s staple food mostly known as Mealie Meal ? to individuals who lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 crisis and could not secure a single meal. Speaking of meals, a youth initiative called “The Lab Lunch,” created by Orange Tree Public House, pulls their weight by providing free lunches for the scientists and healthcare workers treating the numerous people infected with the coronavirus.

 

In the midst of the devastation and distress, a sliver of hope manifests through the selfless acts of young people in Zambia who have chosen to rise to the plate and cushion the tangible impact of the virus on their fellow citizens.

 

Lusaka Helps is an initiative run by youths in Lusaka, which supports the efforts of young people making a difference in their communities during the COVID-19 crisis. This includes highlighting even the simplest of gestures made by young people, such as letters of encouragement written to healthcare workers or phone calls made to people suffering emotional breakdowns.

 

As the country learns to live in this “new normal,” it continues to work ‘together, apart’ proving fierce solidarity and a strong sense of togetherness in the face of uncertainty.

 

- Diego Manrique from Guatemala is a Core Team member of the GCED Youth Network. He studied political science and currently works as an international development consultant.

- Tshering Zangmo from Bhutan is also a member of the Network’s Core Team. She is a former TV producer in Bhutan and currently a master’s student in communication.

- Zanji Sinkala from Zambia, a member of the Network, is an investigative journalist currently working with Reuters to report the COVID-19 crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. She is also a human rights activist.

- Hadi Althib from Syria, a former member of the Network’s Core Team, works as a program manager of #MeWeIntl based in Turkey. He helped Diego with the article by providing information on the COVID-19 situation in Syria.

 

For Previous Articles:

(APCEIU Insights 1)

- “What Changes Do We Want in the Post-Coronavirus World?” by Dr. LIM Hyun Mook

- https://gcedclearinghouse.org/news/apceiu-insights-what-changes-do-we-want-post-coronavirus-world

 

(APCEIU Insights 2)

- “Reflecting on Global Citizenship Education in the Era of the Pandemic” by Prof. PAK Soon-Yong

- https://gcedclearinghouse.org/news/apceiu-insights-reflecting-global-citizenship-education-era-pandemic