Dr. Matiur Rahman & Shishir Reza :
Covid-19 has affected every aspect of life across the globe, from individual relationships to institutional operations to international collaborations. As societies try to defend themselves through severe restrictions on people’s movement and interactions, the disease continues to devastate families, upset government, crush economies and tear through the social sector. The interconnectedness ? and vulnerabilities – of the complex systems that make the modern world run have never been more apparent. Scholars described the impact of coronavirus to be potentially “as serious as a world war”.
The corona virus probably brought the flames of a world war. We are constantly aware of the dire effects of this through news updates provided by various health and government agencies. For now, the world is in turmoil with that direct effect. The number of infected cases and deaths is increasing day by day. Whose antidote is still out of control. There must be panic and anxiety about it. Its direct and indirect or subsequent effect is unmeasurable till date.
Adverse impacts of Covid-19 are exploring through many researches. However, even without being an expert, the matter can be understood only with common sense. Commercial transactions around the world are facing a terrible crisis. Tourism, air and rail services, the entertainment industry, small and large industries, all kinds of trades, all type of festivals in the international arena are all closed. The number of jobless people are increasing and income of people has dropped.
For a country like ours, where a large portion of people are already living below the poverty line, this is a sign of a catastrophe! Again, those who have no future capital, have to worry about the situation. Understandably, in such a context, the eternal struggle of working people is becoming more difficult. There is still some confidence among people who work in formal sector. But there is no doubt that those who work in the informal sector are going to face a crisis of overwhelming existence. The income of the people who earns every day and eat every day has stopped. Because they are now under house confined due to lockdown. There is no income for them.
In these context, Covid-19 is pushing us changing many habits including living philosophy. What is essential for survival, and what is not, the situation is teaching us that lesson now. Of course, not everyone is happy with this new lesson in life. However, the obedience of the situation at the moment is such that compromise is the only way. In fact, the biggest plight to survive.
Beside the economic decline, other organizations or institutions are not performing actively.Social, cultural, political and legal organizations are also not functioning properly during the Covid-19 period. Besides the organizational or institutional level?in personal level, thesechaotic situations seemed to pierce the darkness of our minds. In this case, the abnormality of the social environment must be transpired.The Covid-19 is probably going to write some new chapters there as well.
Moreover, applying the “Sociological Imagination” term of C. Wright Mills we may examine that during the Covid-19 pandemic individual life and the greater society are taking place in a new shape. Due to imposing strict lockdown to check the spread of Coronavirus, individuals are keeping themselves in isolation which hinders normal interaction among the people. On the hand, joblessness and less income have created anxiety, fear and worries among individuals and families. The other institutions or organization of the society are not functioning in a normal way. All these have a negative impact which may bring changes to the existing social structure.
History has shown that every time a broken economy has scratched the surface of society, every time people have turned their backs on the wall, huge changes have taken place in the society. And that’s how people turned around. It is civilization to turn around or stand up, to walk hand in hand, in this crisis. Everyone must come together to prevent this deadly virus.
Now the whole world is intoxicated with the lives of many people. But one day it will end. From then on new battle will be started. Covid-19 is the test of human survival. The silt left after the flood yields improved crops. In the same way, let the world see one day, humanity is winning over everything. May the existing social structure will not work further but society will work in another formation.
(Dr. Matiur Rahman is Research Consultant, Human Development Research Centre, and Shishir Reza is Environment Analyst & Associate Member, Bangladesh Economic Association).
