A Wake-Up Call
Reporters in Isolation 2020
By Fatou Touray
I must admit, it has been the toughest time for everyone these past months. But also a wake-up call for the privileged to see that life could be tougher, and some people have been living in that tough world all their lives. The crisis of the Coronavirus only made it worse.
The crisis found me in Leiden, Netherlands, where I was stuck inside all the time having online classes. That was not a problem for me, because I could still have online classes efficiently and I am thankful in that sense. Of course, my part-time student job was interrupted, which got me worried because I was using those earnings to help finance my study and living expenses in The Netherlands. Nonetheless, I was fortunate enough to get a job from my boss in the coffee bar where I work in Amsterdam– not to make coffee this time, but to help with renovations such as painting the interior of the cafe with my colleague. Have I ever painted or attempted any painting job before? Absolutely not, but the only time you get to realize how fast you can learn and adapt is when you are left with no other choice. I am proud of myself having seen the outcome of the job I never imagined I could do. Therefore, I am not only fortunate, but also thankful I had the opportunity to earn something during these times of uncertainty.
However, I couldn’t help worry about the greater effects this crisis will have on both a short and long term basis. I had to think about the less privileged in terms of finances and financial securities, the likes of me who live and study abroad but have families as far away as Africa; in which during these times you would have preferred to be with your family and loved ones, and fight together to face whatever the future holds. My concern was mostly for people that lived on hourly wages, and how they can survive and support their families, which the coronavirus interrupted. While these people are mainly foreigners or immigrants who live abroad in search of a better life in terms of education and employment, the questions I kept asking myself and worrying about is: How do we expect them to survive? How do we expect them to pay their accommodations, feeding, etc.? For unlike others, not everyone is privileged in having food stocked in their houses that they could live on for months. Not everyone is privileged with a permanent job contract. Some of us live from “hand to mouth” meaning you survive based on the work you do– no savings or financial support from the government or family members– in fact sometimes your family depends on you. Yet the media, as usual, is focused on mainstream stories regarding the Coronavirus. It is often centered on developed countries, while the impact in developing countries is in fact ignored or hidden by the spotlight of developed nations.
In a nutshell, whether we like it or not, we live in a globalized world where an impact in one part of the world spreads globally. The people that are more likely to suffer are the people that live every day of their lives on a survival basis; no financial securities, no support from the government, no wealthy families, no assets, no savings of any kind. Therefore, I think it is about time that we get out of that comfort zone and face reality as it is and look out for each other regardless of who we are, where we are from, and what our living status is, in order to make the world a better place for everyone.