For some reason the Charles Dickens’ quote “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” runs through my mind. 2020 definitely didn’t live up to its clear-sighted ring. I suspect many will call it the worst of times but I am sure we can all agree it was the strangest of times.
Introverts, who love to just be on their digital devices along with homebodies who like to while away the day, crafting playing games and watching Netflix, may have had a good time. For me I felt like I had gone back to school, with so many Zoom trainings, meetings and cultural events near and far. I felt connected worldwide and learned much. I spent much time in nature and hung out with trees more than people. I love that they connect with each other underground and are communities. Maybe we have something to learn here.
On a personal level, the biggest thing for me this year was visiting a safe house for migrants in Mexico and truly experience feelings of privilege. For the first part of my adult life I lived and travelled in less developed countries. Although I always travelled on a shoestring, I was aware of privilege deemed by being accepted in other countries and cultures, with the ability to return to my birth country.
Most of all I think 2020 has been a huge wake-up call with plenty of time to reflect. It seems that so many things have reached crisis point and this is not the time to let things lie dormant. Like a volcanic eruption Black Lives Matter, reared up after the horrendous murder of George Floyd, crying “I can’t breathe.” This phrase turned into a mantra that was heard in protests and written on graffiti worldwide.
Sadly, one of the worst symptoms of COVID-19 is grasping for breath. “I can’t breathe” are probably the last words uttered before being put on a ventilator. Breath is life and this year so many lives have been lost. Certainly in the western world now, COVID-19 has brought to the surface more than ever, the inequality of many people of colour, Indigenous people and all marginalized people.
In reality all crises seem to be connected and in countries where pollution is high and the climate is warmer there are also more related deaths. In 2018 teenager Greta Thunberg started by sitting in front of the Swedish Parliament building each Friday protesting climate change. In 2019 she made a speech to world leaders at the UN Summit for Climate Change. Her words, “You have stolen my childhood and my dreams,with your empty words. How dare you,” woke up many young people to join her in protest marches worldwide. One can only hope that these young people will raise a ruckus with renewed energy.
On Jan. 9, I watched a livestream conversation between Thunberg and the Dalai Lama on the climate emergency. It was great seeing the Dalai Lama now in his 80s at his home in Dharamsala, India and the newly 18-year-old Greta conversing. He said, “Oh, there is real hope from our younger generation who really are thinking about the environment.” During the conversation Greta said she had heard a call to action and urged people to educate themselves on climate issues. There were also two scientists in on the conversation with clips from feedback loops, which showed how fast we are heading to disaster if world leaders don’t act. There is a recording of this conversation, put on by the Mind&Life Institute, on YouTube. It is worth watching.
I recently found the press tag I had when I covered the Indigenous International Grandmothers meeting in Nepal, it was called “One World, One Tribe, One Chance.”
It really is time for all of those who can to come together to realize that we really are just one tribe and we need to work together for humanitarian justice and the environment. If the pandemic has not taught us that, I don’t know what will. The wake-up call is loud and clear but we do have a chance. If we don’t work towards healing our world in whatever way we can, we may not have too much longer here.
