Life post-Covid: New ways of coexisting

 Laura Huertas (6th semester Social Communication - Journalism student, Lessons and reflections post Covid-19 elective)

In front of the panic and ignorance that caused the arrival of the pandemic in most of the population, an endless number of situations, dynamics, feelings and reflections emerged worldwide, transforming what was previously known as normality or at least its perspective. This, pressing in our lives and appeased in our daily routines, was affected  with an abrupt change after the vulnerability of the human being, making our  selfishness,  despotism,  cruelty and  strong destructive capacity  increasingly visible.

At least on this side of the world, south of the American continent, the confinement brought with itself an opportunity for analysis that we will find ourselves. This is because the confinement made a context strongly crossed by the great social gaps: the excessive exploitation of the worker;  the implicit violence in almost any area of Latin American countries;  the lack of respect or empathy for the persons around us.    In essence, it made each citizen from their different positions feel part of the same society that suffers these and many more problems.

The latter being a factor that I consider differentiating for the construction of new ways of understanding ourselves as human beings, because as I have made known in prior  reflections , I faithfully believe that understanding ourselves as social beings, and not purely individual,  is an emancipatory act and it corresponds to the same path of social justice, of friendly, democratic and peaceful citizenships.

I speak of emancipating ourselves to refer to that critical position or act that does not allow the detachment of a system, in this case violent and not very inclusive or in terms of Freire a liberating act of the oppressed. The latter addresses the importance of collective decision-making in the search for equal conditions and opportunities, an idea that works perfectly for what I want to give meaning in this writing; understanding that as well as my acts of control over territories and living beings with which I live and that the acts around me will have the ability to affect me or, on the contrary, contribute positively will be the way to delimit a responsibility for these new ways to coexist after the pandemic.

Until now I have dedicated myself to writing the characteristics that arise in the pandemic that, in my opinion, are the bases for the perception and construction of new ways of coexist and living after the pandemic or at least from my life experience and stories. of people who permeate my contexts, both local and global, and as the factor mentioned above is the basis or origin to define a responsibility or contribution on these

To make it more explicit, I will then focus on expanding one of these new ways of coexisting, although I have already broken down its characteristics previously, seeing when faced with confinement, sectors of the population that have   been excluded for decades became visible from the general interest or from public debate to broad lines.

In the pandemic, although many of us lost our jobs and had to move to different, ineffective spaces for our work for a while, people with disabilities are constantly faced with this type of situation, as they are stigmatized. In fact, very few people with disabilities  manage to access a job since the general belief is that they are disabled people who can not do anything and are viewed from a deficit-based perspective.

Additionally, their personal development is strongly affected by structural situations in the country -  I reiterate  at least in Latin America.  This is so since the vast majority of structures do not have access roads for them, and platforms and ramps are in terrible condition or   are not effective because they end up with a pavement wall in front and so on.

Also, the mobility situation is very complicated. In the pandemic, transportation was almost impossible for people with disabilities, not only because of the fear of contagion but because public transportation is not designed for their needs. process because they do not often have the means to enter the classrooms or recreation spaces, which makes their personal development have a strong disadvantage.

The forgetfulness and exclusion practiced by citizens in general, ends up taking away the right to their free development and to obtain a dignified life, which, in turn, is a reflection of the lack of respect, recognition and listening to the needs of citizens. citizens. the people we live with, that is, it is the consequence of selfish and increasingly individualistic citizens.

When the doors of different spaces are closed to a citizen by companies and institutions and the civil population in general judges them and separates them by their physical appearance, they contribute to the general backwardness of society and is a  reflection once again of understanding ourselves as mere individual beings.

In front of this quite hostile and violent way of coexisting, it is necessary that from our different positions we contribute, I believe that we can contribute by soaking up other realities, giving ourselves the opportunity to put ourselves in the shoes of other people, wondering what would happen if we did not feel the same  outrage and considering the different benefits that  having respect represents for everything that surrounds me.

The above  means   working in search of justice for life and the right to dignity.  A first step, to be specific, could be understanding that as I address and treat the person next to me, they will treat me the same way. This includes my taking into account that before speaking, giving an opinion or taking action, I am part of a community and that I have the responsibility from my position to find a development or a backwardness of the conditions for everyone.

Carrying out social immersion activities that are proposed either by the district, by popular groups, by the ideologies to which it belongs or from the same labor or educational institution to which it belongs, will allow this approach to new realities and experiences to be felt in the other person's place.

On the other hand, it is about seeking personal growth in respect for the other.  This implies taking into account the opinion and perspectives of the other  as  an act of empathy because although this will permeate our subsequent actions, it will also allow  Recognizing the other.  Hence, even if you do not agree with others´ ways of thinking?  it does not mean that they are not valid or wrong because of that simple fact.  It is about understanding that our opinions are being built and growing with debate, discussion and listening in general. On the contrary, it will fall into violent biases. 

Being willing to make our opinions known as well as listening to other positions even outside our sphere of comfort, is the main way to contribute to these new forms of coexistence. This is particularly important because it is from there that interest will be sought. for information on public policy issues for people with disabilities, and a genuinely respectful treatment towards them.  For example, helping or giving them directions  when we meet a person with a certain disability on the street or in any other space may be little, but important, acts. 

For example, public policies in Bogota for people with disabilities exist, however they are not fulfilled, a situation that should be immersed in the general public debate in the country. In other words, it should be part of the concerns and demands not only of the directly affected sector but the entire city in general.

A very common mistake is to relapse into preaching or presenting a speech so as not to feel guilty and in practice do the opposite.  Our opinions must be supported by our actions, which are being sought to be increasingly respectful and empathetic.  Worrying about which is the situation of certain people before giving an opinion is another way to contribute.

To return to the new way of coexisting and living previously exposed, supporting projects of people with disabilities, such as the Paralympic games, Paralympic sport pages, content on social networks about what it is like to live with a disability, taking them into account without any Prejudice for our projects, seeking their recognition in a certain situation or social spaces mark the?  and are actions that allow a direct different contribution.

To conclude, my position assumes that it is essential at first to support, seek and create ways for the idea of understanding ourselves as a community to arise from our different positions or privileges in order to seek fair, friendly and peaceful societies. This would be followed by a second moment where  we become agents of change from small actions through greater sensitization for the recognition of all as people.

The above given through the search for spaces of social immersion, an argued debate, a class consciousness, the willingness to listen, the search for the mechanisms of action that are established in the institutions, either for reporting cases of abuse as a good to develop a direct impact that responds to the needs of people with disabilities.

Our experience in the volunteering project "Para todos":

Laura Monroy & Juana Neyra (8th semester FIGRI students, The World in English elective)

“Para todos”, is a civil movement in which you can get involved to help people in need by delivering them some food. It's kind of like working as a delivery guy but with social work, which makes it so much better because you do it to help others! La Movida is a civil movement that started in the middle of the pandemic crisis. The owner of the movement, Cecilia, is aware of the amount of wasted food by restaurants, for this reason, she asks the restaurants if they can pack the rest of the food left and give it to us, so we can deliver it to people in street condition. The thing is, we don't have too many restaurants that help us in that social work, that's why she asks for chefs or people who know how to cook to volunteer in this beautiful work. 

We want to share our experience in volunteering in "La Movida: Para todos" because we consider that showing this is important. We want to encourage you and to invite you to do some social work, in which you will face the needs and the real situation of the communities. We want to show you a sneak peek of our journey in this volunteering, how we felt, and our reflections about this beautiful job. As a result, this blog will be divided into 5 parts. We will begin with the first outing of our volunteering in La Candelaria, second, we will describe the second outing in La Movida that was in the National Park in Bogotá, the third will be one of the most exciting that was the Big Movement called #UniversalPlate, the fourth is a short explanation of the Big Movement, and last but not least our conclusion about our experience in this volunteering. Let's begin! 

The main point of La Movida is to give nutritious lunches

First outing in La Movida: La Candelaria

Through these weeks of volunteer work providing food to those most in need, we have reflected on many things. During the first outing, we learned roughly how all of La Movida works. We went to a restaurant called "Quinoa & Amaranto" in La Candelaria, near Externado University. The main point of this volunteering is not only to deliver food to those in need but to know their stories, talk to them and have a big picture of the situation of people that lives in the streets. 

La Movida Team!

Quinoa & Amaranto packing the lunches!

We took our bicycles and started to deliver the lunches around La Candelaria, which, is one of the places with more people in the street condition in the city of Bogota. We were able to see how many of the people, street dwellers, felt very grateful for the help provided, which shows how beautiful this work is. Thus, we could see that this was a fairly important situation because it shows the current situation in our country, and above all, of this community. Likewise, we felt helpless not to have enough lunches for everyone, we only had 20 lunches for a big community. Nevertheless, we were so satisfied with the volunteering work that we kept doing it the next weekends. 

Here are some pictures of our first journey!

Showing me his artwork! 

Second Outing in La Movida: National Park 

During the second outing in La Movida, we went to the National Park, in which we have been told that there was an indigenous community out in the open, and they need food and clothes. Again, we went to Quinoa & Amaranto to pick up the food. We ride from La Candelaria to the National Park. 

Personally, I thought that we were going to help some indigenous community that was demonstrating against the national government. Nevertheless, we found a bigger issue, there was a big number of indigenous communities who are displaced by the armed conflict in Colombia from different departments like Cauca, Chocó, Arauca, etc. We had the opportunity to interview some of the leaders of the indigenous communities to have a big perspective of what is going on. His name is Alirio Velasquez, he came from Chocó to Bogotá in February of 2021, escaping the armed conflict. He told us that in Chocó the Paramilitary groups and the dissidents from the FARC guerrilla were fighting for the territory. As a result, he and his family had to run away and leave their crops, house, and life to escape violence. They arrive at Bogotá and the Mayor's office gave them every month a subsidy to pay the rent and to buy food. Nevertheless, in September the Mayor's Office stop giving them the subsidy. Thereby, they end up sleeping in the streets. We were shocked, because as a group, never thought that we would be facing some of the important internal issues of Colombia. 

Third Outing in La Movida: #UniversalPlate

During the third and last outing, was the Universal Plate. It was something very special and fun. Our group met in the Plaza de Bolivar for a massive day, where we delivered up to more than 8000 lunches for all those street dwellers. 

#UniversalPlateTeam

It was a very beautiful job; we had the assistance of many people willing to help. We were at the Bolivar Plaza. This place was chosen because in this area there is a lot of homeless and street workers who might like to have a free lunch for the day. We were so happy, to make them happy! but I'm not going to lie, it was hard work, really hard work. Every tent had a chef, that was the leader, and four assistants or helpers, we were helpers. We had to serve the soup, arrange the cutlery, and deliver the soups. It was an exciting experience, but very exhausting. In the middle of the day, we realize that the street workers couldn't move because they can't leave their business. As a result, we took a plastic box to put the soaps and started to give them to them. 

#UniversalPlate What is that and why is so important?

International Universal Plate is recognized for imposing the challenge for zero hunger in Colombia. On Saturday, October 16, during World Food Day, this gastronomic solidarity day was held where more than 8 thousand dishes of food were served to those most in need. This is a global campaign of Social Gastronomy, which integrates communities around the world through rich and nutritious dishes for free. The goal this year was to deliver 1 million dishes to the world.

Other similar projects internationally: Acción Contra el Hambre: 

Action Against Hunger is an NGO that supports local populations and refugees in their most basic needs and the most dangerous regions of the planet, providing nutrition, health care, hygiene, and food safety, teaching populations to be self-sufficient. Thus, food security projects address production, access, and income problems, help prevent and anticipate future outbreaks of malnutrition. For this reason, this NGO is in charge of developing projects designed to boost agricultural production and the activity of local markets, supporting micro-business initiatives to improve a vulnerable community's access to sustainable sources of food and income.

By telling you about other projects at an international level, we want to show you how this type of project can change a person's life. It is thus a universal project whose purpose is to be able to eradicate the ha, famine in certain areas of the planet. This type of project has advanced and prosperous, they allow to show the good results of this type of dynamics and thus, to be able to create new ones in other departments of the country and also encourage people to participate more in this type of events. 

In addition, there are many more projects of this type around the world. Not only by non-profit organizations but also by the States themselves, which decide to include this problem of hunger within their government programs due to its importance when it comes to guaranteeing fundamental rights. Likewise, these projects are located more in continents such as Africa and Asia, where poverty and social inequity prevail. The most affected are children, many times they do not reach their pre-adolescence and die of malnutrition. 

Spanish and American chef José Ramón Andrés Puerta temporarily converted his restaurants into community kitchens to provide lunches to support low-income families, the homeless, and the elderly. He created a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing meals in disaster areas and has also asked the government to do more to help the most vulnerable.

Conclusion: 

As you might notice, our experience was incredible! I'm very happy with all the work we have done and the love that we have spread. If you are those people that are helpful but don't know how to help or don't know any volunteering near you, I introduce you “La Movida: Para Todos”, a wonderful civil movement in which you can get involved with different communities by helping them to calm hunger among them. Our experience was incredible, we didn't expect to get involved in so many different communities, but also, we didn't expect to be with them and talk to them to find different solutions on how we can intervene to visualize the issue to the rest of the Colombian society, to spread the news to get more helpful people. We think that this movement is fighting an enemy that has been among us since the beginning of humanity, something that nowadays we ignore. We are very grateful for the knowledge that we acquire and the amazing time we spend with the members of La Movida and the people we helped. Our hearts are full of love and empathy towards the communities that we brought food and a little bit of joy.

The 'Para Todos' Project

 Do you know about 'Para Todos'? This wonderful video made by Social Communication students Mauricio Roa, Zaira Sofia Ariza and Danna Rocha for our The World in English elective tells us all about it!