who were they? by Makgosi Letimile
Content note: mentions of police brutality, ableism. Covid-19 has brought the world to a standstill, but has also managed to shake the world on its very axis. As we are forced to experience a pandemic, both on and offline, I have no doubt that if we didn’t have the internet, we all wouldn’t be here —and that includes the creation of this zine. In different ways and to varying extents, most of the world is experiencing this virus and its effects at the same time -- thanks to digital media, we are witness to each other’s chaos and crisis. And with all this access comes the constant heartache of seeing Black and Brown people being subjected to never-ending brutality — like I said, the world just keeps on moving, even as it feels like it might be ending. With a number of countries instituting lockdown measures to curb the spread of Covid-19, it also means that the Disabled are imprisoned by a virus, and by society as a whole. Society tends to forget about the Disabled. It’s not a new experience — there are homes where the Disabled have been left by family and friends, never to be seen again. History has repeated itself many times over and it still has to change. Until then, the Disabled have to see to it that the world doesn’t also forget them online.
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