Dearest Everyone - Fatema, Shadman, Zakirul, Reefayat, Hadeid, Aamal, Raiyan, Taoseef, Afrida, Raisa, and Shomit. And Lit/Lang Students - Bianca, Tananze, Ifrit, Nabila, Uzayr, Tahmid, Ahmed, and Naqvi.
As we pass through the darkest of times, we need to reassess our LOCATION and ROLE among the state of things. 2020 seems to have been one of the most challenging time in my career as a mentor and student-counselor. We have our A2 GCSE cancelled and our scores and essays, and research papers have fallen flat on the ground. Even under such a stressful time, I was happy to see through two very good Research Papers. Yes I did not receive any other research paper and each cited their business over Exam Preparations, which is understandable.
I have been in touch with most of you intermittently. You have expressed your concerns, your anxieties. You have voiced how you feel being LOST, and all those mixed emotions that springs from a sense of being betrayed by the 'unknown.' Yesterday (Saturday, 28th March), one of the lucky students who was able to return to Bangladesh, immediately called to inform his arrival. He landed early in the morning and called to tell me his "encounter" with the Western Civilization. He has some very personal experiences to share - but he surely made a point that Capitalism is finally having it way down the lane when each and every person's live will be affected. His predictions are foreboding, but he is NOT the one who will give up and will hide behind the "Digitized Happy Life", which we see being projected everyday on the social media. I have been reading a few things related to current crisis and some of the conclusion reached by researchers and experts are compiled below.
- Social Isolation has laid bare the fact of huge INEQUALITY in the society.
- That leaving public health to the mercy of "Open Market" was a disaster because only a handful of people are under any 'institutional protection.'
- Nationalism has a NARROW call. Everything is global, including your home.
- Suddenly all the FALSE heroes are out of the scene and the true Heroes are here - scientists, data analysts, agriculturalists, crop producers, and even
- Religious leaders are suddenly more appreciative of Scientific solutions and have become more cooperative.
- Shakespeare's lessons during the time of Plague is again hitting headline - find the New York Times headline here = "What Shakespeare Teaches us about Living with Pandemics." Published, March 28, 2020.
- And - for the first time since the inception of FB - see LESS of the individual's fad being advertised and MORE of public matters being given space.
During my brief talk with Shadman, I asked him to develop a system through which young people who are now living in 'confined space', can feel that they are being respected, that they are NOT forgotten. In my Theatre group some of our members are routinely calling up others to inquire how they are doing so that you feel that you are not isolated. I also told Shadman that this is like a time of war - but unfortunately, I cannot ask him to go out and fight it because you have to do the fighting from where you are. I requested Shadman to keep in touch with others so that we can stay focused on what we can do when things are over and HOW we should prepare ourselves.
I will post a couple of Articles and Research Papers related to Global Issues by today - please check back after 6 pm.
Best wishes.
