The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed global vulnerabilities and challenged individuals and nations to wake up from slumber and take actions that recognize our planetary limits. The responses to the pandemic have revealed a high level of unpreparedness across the world. Lockdowns and other measures crushed the poor and heightened their exposure to the virus. The informal sector, already unsupported, got thrashed by repressive response measures.
Total lockdowns in societies with a high proportion of citizens eking a living in the informal economic sector were simply suicidal. Imagine 70 percent of Nigerians doing informal work and earning incomes on the go having to go for days with nothing coming in. While the people struggled to survive, polluting entities were classified among essential services, although they served only their pockets and that of their shareholders.
The pandemic showed the huge and raw inequalities in our nations and the corporate capture of state structures.
Despite the challenges of collapsing state structures and economies, we took this as a time to think and find ways to overcome the miseries presented by the failed systems. We took this as a time to organise, even if we are/were physically isolated. We reminded ourselves that the virus will not change anything that we (the people) won’t change. In other words, the change that will frame the post pandemic era will come from humans, our relationship with each other and with Nature. The push for change will inevitably revolve around our interpretation of what is happening around us and our resolve to act. This revolves around the narratives that we frame, formulate and allow. Understanding that our lives are framed, powered and guided by stories, we sought the interpretation of the socio-ecological and health crises through the tales in this collection. We welcome you to the trip in the imaginaries.
Read. Enjoy. Share. Tell your tales. Organize. Act!
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