There has been a lot of waffling and intuitive conversations in the past few months on Coronavirus and Covid-19 pandemic. Memes on times were before corona and how they are now incorporate the daily tweets and chats. A lot of people have expressed their grievances while an amazingly large number of people have showered motivational thoughts and ideas. One way or the other, social and digital media has been loaded with conversations since the virus broke in. Some said that it will take years to fade away, while the others kept their optimism alive and started presuming that we will resume normalcy soon. A lot of people have even declared that living with coronavirus will be the new normal just like cough and cold. Youngsters are often heard expressing their shock on the current situation as they only read in textbooks or heard from the elderly about revolutions or pandemics happening in historic times. Witnessing something like this could never have been in someone’s imagination in contemporary times. Nevertheless, it is very much prevalent, holding the entire world to its clutches, letting us realize that some things can go beyond control.
Speaking of history, it made sense to look up some of the past catastrophic events and how exactly did we cope up with them. How much time did they take, how much did we recover, and how did we reach to the state we had before corona that we desperately crave for now. Easing up the anxiety, let me reveal that we have had really bad times not too long ago, and yet managed to reach the time we call BC, Before Corona.
Let us not go long back in the past and start analyzing the times since 1900. Assume that you were born in the 1900s, what all would you have witnessed?
- In 1914, World War I began stretching up to 4 long years, killing millions of people. Around 22 million reported cases died leaving several families in a devastating condition to completely start over. Millions of lives taking shape died in the wombs. Many were scarred with disability and ill-health. This period, therefore, was a testimony to the loss of lives, diseases, mourning families, social and economic dislocation, geographical displacement, homelessness, smashed communities, and a lot more. By the time the war was over, what survived was termed as postwar societies. After a great deal of devastation, came the golden age of capitalization.
- In continuation to the wreckage, a global pandemic, known as the Spanish flu wiped out not less than 50 million people infecting 500 million people, which was nearly one-third of the world’s population. The pandemic took place between 1918 and 1920. Another hard strike on mankind. It was caused by the H1N1 influenza virus. Quite similar to the present day Covid-19 pandemic, Spanish flu was spread out fast, with no immunity or vaccination or medication available. Times were much worse though, as people had only started to cope up with the after-effects of WW1. Societies were disrupted, dislocated and there was absolutely no organized way to deal with it. Those who survived were the ones who developed immunity against it themselves.
- Worse situations were to come in 1929 when the New York stock exchange collapsed, leaving the entire world in an economic crisis. What came as offshoots were inflation, unemployment, and famine. It led to the Great Depression that lasted for 10 long years affecting almost every country in the world and forcing people to strive for the basic necessity of food. Several financial measures were taken to begin recovery, leading to rapid growth in the mid-30s and returning to its long-run trend path by 1942.
- Another strike in the history of global events was World War II in the year 1939 lasting until 1945 killing off 60 million people. It started as a result of the disputes left unsettled during world war 1 and ended leaving huge swaths of Asia and Europeshrunk down to ruins. Recovery began with the Marshall plan contributing to the restructuring and rebuilding of Nations.
- Several other tragic events lined up in the course of time between 1940 and 1980. Most atrocious ones are the Holocaust, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. People then drifted to an overall development to reach the state just like before corona.
Someone witnessing and surviving so many lethal affairs within a span of 60, 70 years, just like our grandparents or even parents, definitely would have led a tough life. Synchronized and statistical recovery procedures that are as effective as today were never prevalent. Many events were unprecedented and one of a kind rattling with the human head. Facilities were not as organized and planned to overcome the condition with precision. Besides, it was a continuation of a series of major destructions that could leave many with the hopelessness to ever reach a state that we were in before corona. A state of vast global development, economies growing and living standards rising at all levels.
Yet, people survived and took to the level of advanced technological development. We can thank them for relieving us from the horrendous situations they were facing at various levels. Today it has come down to an individual level of protection and precaution rather than an imposed rivalry and ignorance of those in power. Survival is still a challenge for many on the streets, but, there are millions of helping hands that can be extended to relieve them of the misery.
Maybe it was necessary to look back at the power the humankind possesses. The passion to move forward and protect those who are a part of our society. An idea to allow every living being as small as a child or as experienced as an elderly to survive and emerge being more powerful than ever. Life starts with a mission to coexist with the millions of unique faces and share every beautiful or sorrowful moment with them. It must end with a sense of accomplishment to have saved as many such lives as possible. Let us make life After Corona even better.
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