#BTEditorial – This Christmas, be thankful

“This Christmas, be happy, remember your fellowman; This Christmas, be helpful, to those who need a hand” – Ivory/various artists, 1985

2020 has been a year unlike any other in recent history. The year started off with a sense of optimism. The economy seemed to be getting back on track after years of decline; we were looking forward to the We Gatherin’ initiative that would bring our loved ones residing overseas back to the island in some cases for the first time in decades, and we were hoping that some would be willing to invest in the country or get involved in community projects. As usual, during the 2019 Christmas season, we “shopped till we dropped” and “swept through the supermarkets”, enjoyed quality time with our families and friends, and rang in the New Year with the usual parties and gathering on Bay Street and in other locations to watch the fireworks displays from the nearby resorts.

Then, in March, our whole world changed. A global pandemic, COVID-19, touched our shores, resulting in a complete disruption of life as we knew it. Schools closed and classes went online, which created some dilemmas of its own, the format for the CXC examinations changed, a situation that still has not been fully resolved, and many people lost their jobs as businesses closed or scaled down their operations. Wearing face masks in public, something only reserved for those working with hazardous materials or “bandits” in the past, became an everyday requirement, with some innovative designers making them into fashion statements, and we got into a practice known as “social distancing” at banks, supermarkets and other public places.

“Lockdown” also became a reality for us over a three-month period, where we were only allowed to leave home certain days of the week based on the first letter of our surnames and those of us who managed to keep our jobs had to get used to the idea of working from home, and in some cases, sharing our devices with our children as they did their online classes. Google Meet and Zoom conferences became a way of life for organisations staging media events and also for television programmes featuring interviews.

Then the We Gatherin’ exercise was cancelled outright, as well as the Crop Over Festival and the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts, two of the major cultural events on the local calendar. Thankfully our entertainment fraternity did not remain stagnant, but continued to produce new material and stage virtual concerts. Some even managed to do amazing collaborations with their contemporaries in other parts of the world.

We commend all the health care workers, supermarket attendants, bus drivers, security officers, police officers, sanitation workers and all of those who kept the country’s essential services going over that period, as we successfully managed to contain the spread of the pandemic. We are also grateful that the measures implemented by the original COVID-19 task force, who kept us updated on a regular basis, were taken seriously for the most part.

In June, we returned to relative normalcy but naturally with some caveats in place. We still had to wear masks everywhere and have our temperatures taken as we entered business establishments. Some places that closed during the lockdown period reopened, but others did not, or they did so with reduced numbers, which left many more people on the breadline.

Some used this period to launch their own businesses and we commend them for ‘taking lemons and making lemonade’ during a difficult time. However, on the other hand, there were many other workers who were left in the lurch awaiting their severance pay and other compensation owed to them, and adding to the frustration was the fact their employers did not inform them of any challenges they were facing in meeting their obligations to them.

This holiday season so far has been slightly different, in that we are not really seeing the crowds in the major shopping centres, which can be attributed to the fact that people’s spending power has been cut drastically, given the number of people that either lost their jobs, are working reduced hours, or are in the throes of getting a business off the ground.

There may be fewer family gatherings, especially among families with older members since senior citizens are among the more susceptible to COVID-19, and while some promoters are planning their usual Christmas and Old Year’s Night events, their protocols this year will have to go beyond “please drink responsibly” and ensuring patrons are safe from any lawless activity. We are aware it might be difficult to keep a mask on when getting over-exuberant at a party, but please make an effort to do so when in close proximity to groups of people.

During the lockdown period, people were asked to limit their social gatherings to a certain amount of people, and such regulations have gone back into force in other parts of the world currently experiencing a “second wave” of the disease. Do we still have those restrictions in place, and will we penalise promoters or even homeowners who breach them?

We understand it would not be possible for the COVID-19 Monitoring Unit to pass through every party, church dinner or other social event to check, but that is where the patrons will come in. As is often said, “if you see something, say something”. We presume the hotline number given during the lockdown period is still in place, otherwise one can alert the Ministry of Health.

We must also appeal to visitors to “lie low” until they have served out the necessary quarantine period. We understand their ‘cabin fever’, especially those who are coming from countries where the impact has been much more severe, but we would advise them to endure it a bit longer before they create unnecessary difficulties for themselves and people on a small island that does not have the capacity to deal with hundreds of cases. In fact, if their own countries are having challenges handling their numbers, do they expect to see miracles in a smaller place?

As we conclude 2020, we are also aware that there will be many people missing from holiday gatherings who would have lost their lives to COVID-19. Our condolences go out to those families, and let us honour those who lost the battle by ensuring we stick to the protocols and contain this virus as far as possible.

This Christmas, let us be thankful that we are still here, and in recognising that the number of people facing difficult times would have grown tremendously over the past few months, where possible, let us reach out and help someone in need so that we can all enjoy this festive season.