The situation has been evolving very rapidly around the world, so fast that it has been difficult to write about it. A month ago feels like another lifetime. The first shock, for me, was discovering there was an outbreak of COVID-19 in the geriatric ward of the hospital where my grandmother was a patient, in the North-East of Italy, where I come from. It was still at the beginning, when we had not starting using the world ‘pandemic’ yet, and people in Italy could not imagine how their lives would change in a matter of days. I called my family regularly and saw the chaos and confusion with which the situation was handled. Then, the entire province of Treviso was suddenly sealed off as a one of the ‘red zones’. Then the whole of Italy, and then more and more regions and countries all around the world.

There was tension in the wait here in New Zealand. In the week before the lockdown, parents were already keeping their children at home, and many demanded measures to be taken. We understood the gravity of what was happening, and we knew what we had to do. But by the time it was our turn, we were much more prepared. A couple of weeks before the lockdown was announced, I took my children to have an ice-cream in the city centre. I took my time to take it all in, to register the sight of relaxed people enjoying each other’s company, the sound of their voices. I tried to picture it all empty, like I knew it would soon be, just like my Italy.

I felt lucky and privileged to have had the time to do this and prepare myself and my family. I feel privileged for living in a place with a low population density, to have a house with a garden where my children have the chance to get fresh air and move around. I feel privileged to have the possibility to make choices that allowed me to look after the needs of my children, to still have an income and also being able to take time off work to be present with them. So far, it has not felt like a punishment at all. And it feels like there is already a shift in the mood here in a New Zealand, some optimism while ‘the curve’ looks promisingly flattened.

 And yet, the implications are heavy, and the future uncertain. Of course, we know that there are concerns for the economy. There are already people who are losing all their sources of income. There also are many more invisible costs not grasped by the GDP. I think for example, about families with children, students, people with disabilities or mental health conditions who struggle in closed in environments; people for whom ‘home’ is not a healthy or safe space; people suffering in isolation without the comfort of their loved ones; people who are separated from their families, partners, or friends; immigrants who are blamed and scapegoated.  

There is a collective mental health crisis, because while facing this time of uncertainty, the things that people would usually turn to to take care of their needs, wellbeing, and feeling of safety, are now not available. Social interactions, outdoors activities, cultural events, sports, spiritual gatherings, wellness activities, are all things we need to cope and take care of our wellbeing. The emotional side of the emergency may not be included among the official priorities, but these needs need to be taken into account if we want the response to the crisis to be a sustainable one. In Italy, where the lockdown has been in place for so long already and the end is not at all in sight, and the lockdown is now killing, too. It is killing all around the world. 

There are two dominant kinds of responses to fear and uncertainty that I have observed. One is to call for more coercive measures. People feel threatened, and they expect to be rescued by the authorities. Security forces are given more and more power to restrict people’s movement and activities, decide what is a ‘necessity’, where is acceptable to go, do, and buy. Yet, there are still people breaking the rules. Is coercion really the solution? It could be a way, but a really costly one, particularly at a time where our needs are so high.

There is a collective mental health crisis, because while facing this time of uncertainty, the things that people would usually turn to to take care of their needs, wellbeing, and feeling of safety, are now not available. Social interactions, outdoors activities, cultural events, sports, spiritual gatherings, wellness activities, are all things we need to cope and take care of our wellbeing. The emotional side of the emergency may not be included among the official priorities, but these needs need to be taken into account if we want the response to the crisis to be a sustainable one. In Italy, where the lockdown has been in place for so long already and the end is not at all in sight, and the lockdown is now killing, too. It is killing all around the world. 

Moreover, we do not observe rules just because we are scared of sanctions. Coercion increases our feeling of insecurity, and the need to break those rules. We observe rules much more when we internalise those norms. When we are asked something that involves a personal sacrifice, we do it if we believe that this is what we need to do.

In fact, the other way of responding to fear, is through social responsibility and solidarity. Before I could put together this article, I have started seeing so many expressions of what I call ‘everyday peace’. People are coming out to help each other, offering resources to get through this situation, keep themselves and others motivated. We are already creating new norms to face this very new situation. Alongside fear, there is love. It reminds me of what a woman said during a fieldwork interview in a remote village in India in a post-conflict environment: she said that during the conflict, people were more united than ever. It was as if there the same blood running through their veins, as if they were all one body.

What people need, in times of crisis, is to be able to support each other, to find new ways to be more united than ever despite physical distances, to nourish souls and motivate each other through new collective meanings. I have been seeing heaps of this in our community. I do not think that the challenge is over though. If we look ahead, the future is uncertain. We do no know when and how we are going to go back to ‘normalcy’. This wave of enthusiasm for mutual aid may fade soon once we adapt and accept this new reality. Will we go back to focusing on our own individualised struggle then? If we do, if we stop looking at what our neighbours are going through, this time we could all get really dangerously isolated, no matter how much time we spend on social media. What we are experiencing now is still an expression of this high collective emotion of fear but also excitement and togetherness. But we need to convert this energy into more long term social structures so we can prepare for the future making use of our collective resources and capacity for social innovation.

This is a good time to realise that we simply cannot afford responding to the crisis on an individual basis. And yes, we still need to prepare. We are all interconnected, and we are all in it together. The good news is that this our strength, too. We do not survive when we are better than others at stocking up toilet paper. We survive when we have a strong community of people around us who would do anything to help.

It is difficult to have efficient communities and networks if our society is fragmented, this is why we need to heal our fractures and make sure that everyone is safe. Although we think of crisis as a sudden break from normalcy, a closer look will reveal many continuities and everyday crisis that people have been facing all along. Families who have a family member with health challenges or disability, including invisible ones that can be triggered by environmental factors like allergies, immunodeficiency, or even neurodiversity or mental health, tend to end up struggling their everyday struggles alone. The same goes for individuals and families who have to deal everyday with invisible struggles due to inequality, discrimination, structural and institutional violence. The more fragmented our society, the less prepared we are to stop or avoid any kind of crisis. We are merely calling for more. 

I am well aware that, though I am encouraging you to connect and build community, it is not that easy in practical life. I struggle with it myself, especially since I am immigrant in a country far away from my home and extended family. It is not easy because of many structural reasons. It is more and more difficult to have time and energy to think about others while we are exhausted coping with our own busy lives. Perhaps, we are no longer used to look after each other as a community. Even though we know that it would be good to invest in quality connection and relationships, to ‘self-love’, or even to look properly after our wellbeing, we do not always get to choose. For example, have you ever found it necessary to choose work over health? Were you even allowed to choose? Have you ever sent your children to childcare or school even though they were sick? Or perhaps I should ask, how often do you get to prioritize your physical, mental, spiritual, and social wellbeing? 

This crisis shows us that, living in a socio-economic system where the economy is prioritised over humanity, is a problem. Capitalist economy and its emphasis on production forgets that those who produce are human beings. Care is a cost – or a commodity.  Wellbeing is a luxury. Of course, the prospect of an economic crisis is serious as it will hit people hard. And this is exactly why capitalism is so fragile: because it does not take into account wellbeing, just as it has little regard for animals and the environment. Sadly, in many countries around the world, the approach set in place to deal with the current crisis is no different. 

This crisis shows us that we need deeper, long term changes. Self- awareness could be a good start: the next time you find yourself compromising on your wellbeing or the wellbeing someone you love, ask yourself why. Is there a broader, structural reason that forces you to make these choices? If so, keep it in mind, every single time it happens.

Perhaps, now we have a chance to pause and rediscover what really matters. We do not know what will happen next. But we can make choices to use this uncertainty as an opportunity to experiment new ways of living. We may use our position, passion, skills and expertise for change. Use our voices through the many platforms available to us. Talk, learn, and share. Always remember that we are all connected. This is for you, for us all, for the future generations. This is how we defeat fear: by standing together.

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