Coronavirus Stories - Reaching Out From Isolation

Edited BY G P Kennedy Tassy - karachi, Pakistan  I woke up in the morning at 6 15 am, feeling rested. Before I get out of bed I usually spend a few minutes mentally going over the activities and chores that I had previously planned to do for the day. I got Mario out of my daughter’s room and took him out for a short stroll in the garden. Being a small dog- a Shih Tzu, and living in Karachi where walking outside the walls of your house is not the norm, a quick run for him around the garden usually suffices.   I drank my customary hot water with lemon and started with morning chores such as running the washing machine, planning meals for the day, and pottering in the kitchen. As normal I then rolled out my yoga mat and did my early morning practice of pranayama (yogic breathing exercises) and yoga. These days as I have fewer yoga students, I can enjoy the luxury of a longer yoga practice of my own. This sets the tone for my day, and energizes me. By this time my husband was...

Edited BY  G P Kennedy   GEOGRAPHY IS DESTINY  In Turkey we often say: “Geography is destiny’.  Here is the place where everything and anything is possible. Between economic crisis and corrupt politics our destiny hasn’t changed a bit.  In Turkey, the virus is still here but our domestic political conditions shape our daily life and seems more important than a pandemic.   Mabel Matiz Turkey’s gay community fights homophobia alongside COVID-19 for example. Recently, the director of the state run religious affairs claimed homosexuals are spreading the virus.  And now, a question of last weekend’s university entrance exam is being called ‘scandalous’. A question involving lyrics of a singer Mabel Matiz has caused a lot of problems and now an official investigation has been started. The authorities and supporters said the question was set a bad example for young people as the singer is known for his open support of LGBT and some immoral institutions. ...

Edited BY G P Kennedy Peace - Lagos, Nigeria   "Man is made up of spiritual and physical elements. At the same time, he has essential qualities that should make him desire to be in tandem with God, a spiritual entity. He strives for self-mastery and an awareness of himself. This self-mastery, to man, is most primary foundation for his existence which helps him to ask certain vital questions necessary for human existence and moral virtuousness: Who am I? From whence am I? What am I here for? Whither goal from? What is my place in the cosmic eternal scheme of things? What is life? What is death?" Emmanuel O. Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe, my Father    This week was a bit gloomy as another prominent politician died in Nigeria from the Coronavirus, One of my “sons “ Babajide has been his Special adviser for social Media for the past 6 years, Senator Ajimobi was a jolly good fellow, He was Governor of Oyo state till last year, but he died in a hospital in Lagos as his as his case need ...

Edited BY G P Kennedy Simon - Perth Western Australia   Well here we go again folks! I hope everyone is safe and well.    Life goes on pretty much as normal in Western Australia. My family and I are well and the kids finish term 2 of school tomorrow. Espe and I have both been working as normal although we are taking the usual precautions.    As this pandemic continues it seems more than ever that there is such a massive divide between how different countries and even regions of the same country are doing.    The situation globally and especially in the US is never out of the news with the figures there being on a scale that we simply cannot make sense of here. The other day America had around 40,000 new cases in one day. 40,000.    As things stand right now we have had less than 8,000 cases here since the outbreak started. Around 700 are still active and we have had 106 deaths. By contrast the US have had 2.6m cases, 1.8m still active and 128...

Edited BY G P Kennedy Sally - London, UK  This week has really, really gone slowly for me, but the world seems to be moving faster and faster.  Non-essential shops have started to re-open which means the roads and pavements are busier which people taking more risk and not observing the 2-meter (6 feet) rule.  Some of my friends have started to go back to work, which is great for them I guess; hopefully their employers have made it a safe environment.     Football (soccer) has started again, with no fans allowed in the ground, but the risk level hasn’t gone down!!  My colleagues who film the matches say its very surreal to be there when you can actually hear what the players and managers are shouting to each other instead of the deafening cheers are 50,000 fans.    Mané and Salah - two key players for Liverpool FC  Liverpool FC won the Premier League, which is brilliant as the last time they won it was 30 years ago. Unfortunately it broug...

Edited BY G P Kennedy Peace - Lagos, Nigeria  HUMANITY NEEDS A LARGE DOSE OF LOVE  As numbers reached 20,000 and Lagos state having more than 9,000 of the COVID-19 patients the Government this week started enforcing the use of Masks in public spaces and face shields to try to flatten the Curve many people don’t understand that COVID-19 is increasing in our communities as local transmission rates are at 50%.    The Black lives matter BLM around the world continued to make a point of asking Governments to realize that all humans are equal. The world over color, religion and tribe are issues. Tribalism is a big issue in my country Nigeria as well, Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa being the predominant tribes have deep issues amongst themselves.    The world needs a load of love, the whole world is at war with itself, the lockdown brought out a lot of pent up anger triggered by the killing of George Floyd and that seemed to spark the anger that many people had decided it wa...

Edited BY G P Kennedy Today we have a feast of photos to support and illustrate our Stories from Tokyo, Japan ands Milan, Italy. It is interesting to see Ian and Minako's experience, from a place where the virus has been well contained, side-by-side with Ellie's perspective from a virus-ravaged Italy as it starts to emerge from its deep lockdown.                                                       Ian & Minako – Tokyo, Japan   We are both very well, sheltering from the rain and trying to stay cool in this muggy season !     The number of daily reported cases for Tokyo has increased slightly as society has opened up more to a 7-day average of 18. A significant proportion of the new cases can be traced to nightlife destinations in Shinjuku. In total, there have been 314 deaths in Tokyo so far.    Nationally there have been ov...

Edited BY G P Kennedy Wish You Were Here?  Hi – I hope you are staying safe and well. Week 11 marks a shift in the way we are doing things here at Global Village 2020.    We are going to start focusing more on individual and pairs of stories. To do this we will publish one or two Stories each day, starting each Monday. I hope you had the opportunity to read Peace’s moving Story Monday.    There will still be the occasional weeks when we decide to focus on a topic or single issue. Look out next week for our contribution to the current global conversation about equality and justice.    Our brave New Week continues with contributions from Simon and Espe in Australia, and a very differently appointed Gul, in Turkey.     Simon and Espe – Perth, Australia  Hi everyone, I hope you are all well and traveling ok.    So its week…something…of the pandemic and it looks like its showing no signs of slowing down globally.    I am w...