#globalsolidaritymatters #covid19
Those of you who have been following me and reading this blog since it started know that I have been a Youth Advocate for OCIC’s Youth Policy-Makers Hub for several months now and as a Youth Advocate I am always voicing my opinion on certain issues that I’m passionate about and looking for ways to make an impact in the world. OCIC has recently launched a campaign called Global Solidarity Matters and for those of you who aren’t familiar with OCIC or their work, the Ontario Council for International Cooperation (OCIC) is a network of over 100 organizations, institutions and people that work towards achieving sustainable development.
OCIC poses a question every week as part of the campaign to get the conversation going around how Global Solidarity Matters to you and why. This week’s question is focused on ways in which we can increase support to global communities during and after the pandemic.
Looking at this question I immediately thought about the different types of support that we can provide to communities across the global such as economic and/or social supports. In terms of economic support, where everyone seems to be focusing most of their attention right now, we are seeing economies being put on hold due to the fact that businesses that have been deemed non-essential are being shut down which has led to layoffs and in turn small businesses, landlords and a large number of people worldwide are losing ample amounts of money. It is the government’s responsibility to ensure that the social welfare of their citizens is protected and that they have access to basic human rights such as water and sanitation, healthcare and education especially during this time when all of these things are at risk.
In Canada, in particular the government throughout all levels is heavily reliant on taxes (property and income) from its citizens to be able to provide social assistance programs to its’ citizens but since people aren’t working and payments such as rent, mortgages and property taxes are being deferred, the government doesn’t have money to provide these social programs but is still providing relief to businesses and individuals who are facing economic troubles therefore causing the government to go into severe deficits. We as Canadians are fortunate that the federal government is providing economic relief to a large group of Canadians who have been laid off as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic or who cannot find employment due to hiring freezes as a result of the pandemic. Globally, we have seen a number of issues being elevated as a result of this crisis particularly within marginalized and vulnerable communities such as those who are in extreme poverty who are being exposed to the virus more due to the fact that they have lack of access to healthcare, food, WASH facilities and are sometimes subject to living conditions where they are unable to keep a 2 metre distance from people they are not related to. We have also noticed that women are particularly at risk during this pandemic because they are being forced to stay home with their abusers and are being subject to domestic violence now more than ever.
I think now is the time to offer our support to these individuals (if we haven’t done so already). We should continue to focus our attention to these important issues that were exacerbated by the pandemic and will continue to be issues even after the pandemic subsides. We need to do better but how can we do that? How can we show our support at a time like this when we’ve become distant from everyone in the outside world? Just because we have been told to “socially” distance ourselves from others doesn’t mean that we have to isolate ourselves from the world completely. This is why I prefer to use the term physical distance because we are in fact physically distancing ourselves from others when we are outside of our homes but when we are inside our homes we are connected to others now more than ever.
Mental health is at an all-time low because a lot of the coping techniques that people have normally been utilizing have been exempt from being used and also there is an increased sense of anxiety driven by fear of contracting the virus every time you go outside and interact with other people in a physical space. I think that one of the ways in which we can provide social support is through offering free mental health resources to everyone who feels like they may need it so that any barriers that have been restricting people from seeking help are removed. Also, we should reach out to our friends, family and those in our communities and just make sure they are okay, that they are keeping well and safe during this pandemic and let them know that we will support them in anyway that we can. I see a number of volunteers offering their time to senior citizens who are extremely vulnerable during this pandemic and making sure that they have enough resources to keep safe during this time. I’ve also been having video calls with my friends occasionally to make sure that they are okay and I find that those calls have been helping us hold onto hope during this seemingly hopeless time.
We are lucky that we live in a time where we can communicate with one another via social media and through online outlets. This allows us to keep fighting and advocating for causes that are near and dear to our hearts and that are still very prevalent during this pandemic. OCIC in partnership with Results Canada has been offering a 5 week advocacy bootcamp that has been running for 4 weeks now and through this bootcamp I learned that it is possible to keep advocating during this pandemic because you can still advocate online by signing petitions, reaching out to your MP or to key decision makers and let them know what needs to be changed, who needs to be helped or who’s especially vulnerable during this pandemic. Another way, you can advocate is by joining movements or forging alliances with other individuals that are passionate about the same issues as you and I’m sure you will find at least someone who you can join in order to get the momentum going.
Lastly, there is one more thing that is crucial during this pandemic that informs policies and decision-making and that is data. I truly recognized the importance of accurate and quality data during this time and I think that we should make it one of our priority to ensure that data is being collected and that it is dis-aggregated in a way that showcases how vulnerable individuals are being impacted by this pandemic. Statistics Canada has been sharing numerous surveys focusing on the impacts of Covid-19 on different groups in Canada and we need to be sharing those everywhere we can so we can truly understand not only the socio-economic impacts that this pandemic has on communities but also so we can find solutions to the problems that these communities are facing as a result of those impacts.
Even though it seems like we cannot support one another during this trying time, we can offer our support not only through economic means but also though social means by offering free mental health resources to those who may need it, simply checking up on people in your community and making sure they are okay, continuing to advocate online or virtually, joining movements that focus on action areas that are of an interest to you and ensuring that the government and key stakeholders have access to accurate and quality data so they can make informed decisions that benefit the public.