The world was at a standstill and now it seems as though everything and everyone is trying to catch-up for lost time. So many events have occurred within a major event I feel as though I am living in Christopher Nolan’s Inception (If you haven’t seen this film please do). With all that has gone on and all that hasn’t been able to go on in the last three months I found myself asking the same question regarding many different topics.
What happens next?
Coronavirus has apparently ‘had its peak’ in the UK and as a result, the government has begun easing its lockdown measures. Non-essential shops opened on the 15th of June and therefore thousands of workers returned to work. Although it has been eased, standard measures such as the 2m distance rule and wearing face coverings on public transport have been implemented. On paper or in a virtual reality this sounds like a good plan, but having lived in London for most of my life I just don’t understand how this is supposed to work for the majority without resulting in a second outbreak peak. It’s estimated just over 9 million people live in London — the city is jam-packed. How are all the workers supposed to get to work on time when busses are only allowing 20 passengers on — less than ¼ of their actual capacity. Also, what happens to the millions of small businesses, how do you socially distance when 2 metres is not achievable? I have sat in some amazing restaurants and bars where, despite being on two different tables, I’m practically smelling Laurens shampoo and elbowing Sam’s food before he eats it. Places like Brixton Village in South London are littered with small independent restaurants like this and I wonder what will happen to them in this ‘new normal’.
There’s a similar uncertainty for young kids in London at the moment, as the government announced their plans to temporarily remove free travel for children despite their plan to reopen schools. In 2018, 64,000 London children collected free school meals. Maybe all of these families won the lottery over-night and I missed it. I don’t understand how these families are expected to cope with this added expense. More importantly, how will this impact their childrens’ education?
Education has definitely been affected by the coronavirus and perhaps the 2020 grad cohort will feel it the most. Final year of university is often described as the most challenging, students spend hours in the library, meetings with councillors and mentors occur more frequently and applications for grad schemes are prepped and sent off. This year final year was cut short, students completed online exams and attended webinars and zoom calls with graduation either virtual or cancelled. Companies have rescheduled or withdrawn graduate schemes; recruitment has frozen until the foreseeable future and in some cases some companies have cancelled their recruitment for this cohort altogether.
The class of 2020 faces one of the most difficult job markets since the financial crisis in 2008. Due to the unprecedented nature of which this came about many of these young graduates will be unprepared for this difficulty they are set to face. There is no doubt that a lot of qualified young people will be unemployed. So again, I found myself asking what now?
Lastly, the topic that is most dear to my heart as a young black woman is the Black lives matter movement. Like many, I am aware this is not a new movement but the tragic death of George Floyd acted almost as a catalyst to the movement. It is sad and beyond frustrating that it took the death of another black man to get to this point. People are waking up, rising up and speaking up and not just in America but around the world. Companies (some) were finally taking ownership for their responsibility regarding their black employees. People were donating, people with platforms were speaking up and more white people were taking the time to try and understand the issues that black people are facing. Black Lives Matter has been trending recently but I want it to be more than just a hashtag on social media because I cannot remove my skin colour when it is no longer considered a hot topic.
There are systematic changes that need to occur within the UK and the US, changes that don’t happen overnight or in a few days. Schools, governments and workplaces need to care and understand more before we start to implement these changes that are needed. The microaggressions need to stop. The blatant racism needs to stop. The gaslighting when the topic of racism is brought up needs to stop. The reference to black women as ‘So strong’. Needs. To. Stop. All of this contributes to unnecessary suffering of black people because they are disregarded, disadvantaged or disrespected.
The current attention to the matter is great but what happens when the media coverage dies down? What happens after the email your company sent out mentioning the need for change? What happens next?
Admittedly, I don’t have many answers to my questions and I am sure this is the case for many of us. However, it doesn’t remove the fact that we should still aim to find viable solutions.
What do you think happens next?
-BWSP
