Chronicles of COVID-19

Title

Amanda, Skibbereen

Contributor

Amanda

Subject

COVID-19 (Disease)

Coverage

Ireland; Cork; 2020s:

Date

15 April 2020

Language

English

Creator

Cork Folklore Project

Rights

Cork Folklore Project

Description

GENERAL PHYSICAL LOCATION RIGHT NOW

Skibbereen

USUAL LOCATION

Same

Q. 1 STAGES

I feel this process has unfolded like a tsunami. Wave after wave hitting each country with an impact invisible to all yet felt by all.

Q. 2 EVERYDAY ROUTINE

My routine was fairly similar to what we are experiencing right now. I am not a social butterfly and often avoid people; this is due to certain experiences I have gone through in the last few years. Who would have thought my lifestyle would be the "norm". My garden is my sanctuary and I have a dog and three cats and a hubby so I am not alone. My children live with their partners; one in the UK the other Cork city. This causes me anxiety as a parent you want your children with you in times of crisis so you can keep them safe, but this is all out of my control and I have faith in their abilities to cope in times of crisis, yet it doesn't stop this "covid anxiety". My grand-daughter in the UK celebrated her birthday during this crisis and though she had no friends or family around the efforts her mum went to and the efforts of her school friends went to wish her happy birthday was brilliant and she said it was the best birthday.

Q. 3 GROUPS

Older people in my opinion have taken this in their stride; more mature folk seem to have more skills in coping as often they have survived other crises in their lifetimes. 25-50 have very different
ways of coping in this crisis, which involves a lot of tech, PlayStations etc., they also seem to be the age group that have a stronger interest in the conspiracies that have circulated which has resulted in the burning down of mobile phone masts and very bad science being quoted as fact the downside of internet I suppose. Anger and fear is very evident on social media platforms yet when I go shopping there are still a lot of smiling faces in our local supermarket. Folk I have spoken to seem to be doing a lot of reflection, they too have said the same of other friends. And grief, even though I have not lost anyone to this virus, when talking with family and friends sadness for those who have is very evident. Nobody relishes the thought of not being able to be with a loved one when they are suffering and the thought of a loved one passing on their own is an unwelcome one yet it is one many around the world have had to face.

Q. 4 WAYS WE TALK

In anger, sadness and frustration, helplessness and hope is how I hear folk talk about this time, often around the term "a time of change". I have heard spiritual folk talk of how this is "meant to happen", socialists discussing how this should be a "game changer" pointing out how capitalism has failed and conspiricists that it is the launch of the "new world order". I have read how some religious groups think they can pray the virus away so are not taking precautions...sigh...there is just no hope for some.
The word ‘unprecedented’ is a word that I now dislike and roll my eyes every time I hear it.
I don't hear people speak of a future other than in terms of hardship. A need for self-reliance to not have to go cap in hand elsewhere for goods, which comes as people realise how difficult it is to obtain basic health and safety items.
It is hard not to greet friends with the usual hug; it went from an elbow bump to a wave and a smile from 2mtrs away. It is something that feels alien and I do miss hugging people.
Having no unannounced callers to the house has also been strange and something for which I am grateful for as it means no unexpected drama.
My husband and I made a giant willow heart and wrapped fairy lights around it for the light up campaign for those suffering and grieving during this time was something very small we could do to add to the light. Many others around flashed lights, torches and put candles in windows, I even saw one friend online do her fire poi which was amazing.
Skype and Face Time and other such social media places have ensured that many people can stay in contact with loved ones overseas. I can speak to my granddaughter and see her every day, though it is a distant contact, I think without it I would be going out of my mind with worry.

Q. 5 COMMUNITY RESPONSE

All of our local supermarkets created special shopping times for older folks and for those working on the frontline. They all also followed the guidelines and provided disinfectant and sanitizer for those shopping. The closure of shops that sold "non-essentials" was also rigorously abided by, which must have been so difficult for those owners given the possible consequences of this. Huge sacrifices were made by small and medium businesses in W. Cork.
What has been annoying is the closing down of the plastic and cardboard recycling facilities; apparently the Chinese are no longer accepting it so I was told at one centre. We should have our own facilities for dealing with our own recycling. We should not be shipping our rubbish to other countries, if we had our own facilities this would not bite us in the ass as it will when the covid stress is off.

Q. 6 THOUGHTS AND PREOCCUPATIONS

Trump and his idiocy...god love him, that man must have hit every branch of the stupidity tree in a fall as a child, he must have as his idiocy is so gross it is obese...
Should I have planted more veg?
How can I stop my cat from shitting in my flower pots, the degenerate bastard! …whom I love of course...
I hope the feral pregnant cat that visits at feeding time doesn't have her kittens in my garden and why does she like my dog so much that she lets him nibble her like he is her massage therapist?...
Will the conjoining of FF/FG be a huge disaster for Ireland and her people?
Will people be stupid enough to gather in the sunny weather?
How much worse can this get?
I hope that world leaders do not take population surveillance to a new level...
The best place to be in a world crisis is right here in W.Cork thank god we moved here.
The sense of entitlement of the "well heeled" to be able to go where they want, when they want. A person who sailed down to an island off the coast here had to be taken by emergency services to hospital as she got very sick from covid-19 this was after the lockdown. Never let it be said that money equals sense...
How are those in domestically violent situations going to come out of this?, and what about the young people not being able to escape their abusers, there is a world of pain going on right now for some and silence will be the only clue...

Q. 7 SIMILARITY TO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

No Response

Q. 8 CHALLENGES AND COPING

No Response

Q. 9 THE FUTURE

It has brought our fears to the fore. Our fear of disease, disaster and death is on every screen daily, in fact our news is a 24 hour thing now so all day every day we hear of massive numbers of deaths and the sorrow that people in some countries are being stacked in churches as there is no room in morgues.
Countries will need to change how it does its trade, how it does in compassion and how it does what is right, for people that is, not profit.
This crisis has shown how fragile the world economy is, to continue on that path is to continue that fragility.
Surveillance and the companies that provide it are going to do very well out of this. Some countries now have "APPS" for that...pun intended. Data mining rules might be relaxed and once done it will never go back. "

Q. 10 IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT SPRINGS TO MIND?

No Response

Q. 11 IN A NUTSHELL

Local communities for a small while did not want non locals to visit. Some people felt so strongly that signs were put up to "stay the fuck at home". Some fuckwits ignored it but on the whole people did good at protecting each other.
If you are reading this from some time in the future, I do hope we did not royally fuck the world up by continually voting in imbeciles that squeezed the humanity out of us. This is a time of fear and fakery while world leaders scramble to hang on to the veil behind which they hide their bullshit tactics of economic and environmental failures, I hold on to a hope that in your future we have not decimated more than we have created.

age

36-50

gender

Female