Coronavirus in the media The global pandemic has spawned new forms of activism – and they’re flourishing Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the world was experiencing unprecedented levels of mass mobilisation. The decade from 2010 to 2019 saw more mass movements demanding radical change around the world than in any period since World War II. Since the pandemic struck, however, street mobilisation – mass demonstrations, rallies, protests, and sit-ins – has largely ground to an abrupt halt in places as diverse as India, Lebanon, Chile, Hong Kong, Iraq, Algeria, and the United States. The near cessation of street protests does not mean that people power has dissipated. We have been collecting data on the various methods that people have used to express solidarity or adapted to press for change in the midst of this crisis. In just several weeks’ time, we’ve identified nearly 100 distinct methods of nonviolent action that include physical, virtual and hybrid actions – and we’re still counting. Far from condemning social movements to obsolescence, the pandemic – and governments’ responses to it – are spawning new tools, new strategies, and new motivation to push for change. In terms of new tools, all across the world, people have turned to methods like car caravans, cacerolazos (collectively banging pots and pans inside the home), and walkouts from workplaces with health and safety challenges to voice personal concerns, make political claims, and express social solidarity. Activists have developed alternative institutions such as coordinated mask-sewing, community mutual aid pods, and crowdsourced emergency funds. Abridged from The Guardian, 20 April 2020, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/ apr/20/the-global-pandemic-has-spawned-newforms-of-activism-and-theyre-flourishing
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Coronavirus pandemic ‘will cause famine of biblical proportions’ The world is facing widespread famine “of biblical proportions” because of the coronavirus pandemic, the chief of the UN’s food relief agency has warned, with a short time to act before hundreds of millions starve. More than 30 countries in the developing world could experience widespread famine, and in 10 of those countries there are already more than 1 million people on the brink of starvation, said David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Programme. Covid-19 is likely to be sweeping through the developing world but its spread is hard to gauge. What appears to be certain is that the fragile healthcare systems of scores of developing countries will be unable to cope, and the economic disaster following in the wake of the pandemic will lead to huge strain on resources. “This is truly more than just a pandemic – it is creating a hunger pandemic,” said Beasley. “This is a humanitarian and food catastrophe.” Beasley took his message to the UN security council, warning world leaders that they must act quickly in a fast-deteriorating situation. He urged them to bring forward about US$2bn of aid that has been pledged, so it can get to the frontline as quickly as possible. “I was already saying that 2020 would be the worst year since the second world war, on the basis of what we forecast at the end of last year,” he said. Added to that, earlier this year East Africa was hit by the worst locust swarms for decades, putting as many as 70 million people at risk. According to a report produced by the UN and other organisations, at least 265 million people are being pushed to the brink of starvation by the Covid-19 crisis, double the number under threat before the pandemic. Money alone will not be enough, Beasley added. It is difficult for relief workers to get through lockdowns around the world and set up air bridges when transport is paralysed. “We need money and access – not one or the other, both.” Abridged from The Guardian, 22 April 2020, www.theguardian.com/ global-development/2020/apr/21/coronavirus-pandemic-will-causefamine-of-biblical-proportions See also: World Food Programme report: www.wfp.org/publications/2020-global-report-food-crises Global Network Against Food Crises report: www.fightfoodcrises.net/food-crises-and-covid-19/en/ IPS, 22 April 2020, ‘Q&A: Continued Social Distancing and Hundreds of Millions More in Poverty - A New Normal for the World?’, http://www. ipsnews.net/2020/04/qa-continued-social-distancing-hundreds-millionspoverty-new-normal-world/ Chain Reaction #138
May 2020
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