As humanity finds itself in unchartered waters trying to steer away from an invisible enemy, our interconnectedness as human beings has never been more apparent. We are living at a time when a pandemic is sweeping across the planet at unprecedented pace, reshaping the post-modern world as we know it. The incubation period of many viruses which would have elapsed during travel in the olden days seems to be long enough now for these to cross continents in a matter of days. The speed of travel and the pace of life that we have become accustomed to is now coming back to haunt us.
This virus is not a great leveller, those who are considered to be at the bottom of the heap by society are paying a high price during this pandemic. Reports are showing us that wealth and privilege play a great part on deciding who lives and who dies. As I see this pandemic emphasising the inequality of societies around the world, I cannot help but draw parallels with scenes from the epic movie Titanic. First class passengers being the first to evade the sinking ship with guaranteed comfort whilst the lower classes are left to perish in the cold waters.
This pandemic has brought out the worst in people; we are seeing how companies are profiteering in trading with people’s lives by hiking prices of essential life-saving equipment, how air piracy has become a norm with world leaders literally stealing medical equipment destined for others, and how the blaming fingers of politicians are trying to find a scapegoat to divert attention away from their utter failures in dealing with the crisis.
Amidst all this heinousness, the planet is now breathing, neighbours are talking to each, families are getting to know each other and society is already thinking how to make the world a fairer place where the next pandemic will be easier to handle.
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