The Abraham accord and Covid19
This year 2020 will be remembered by generations to come just like the Spanish Flu of 1918 (see pic below). Man set foot on the moon many decades ago, flew a plane faster than the speed of sound and connected the whole world thru the internet but could not contain the spread of a Virus killing millions around the world. Sitting in the thought bar this week it’s all about how 2020 has changed all of us
What a year this has been – 2020 will always be remembered for a pandemic that changed our lives – and lifestyles – forever. When it started early this year – and we saw all those scenes of people panic buying food, toilet paper (seems funny now, right?) Cigarettes and liquor (priorities differ) , heard the word “lock-down” and "social distancing" a lot, and were firmly told no more traveling for now , Covid19 did not spare even the most powerful man on Earth the President of the USA.
WE MADE FACE MASKS FASHIONABLE
Until this year, the only people we knew who wore face masks were dentists and doctors, then COVID-19 came along and we all had to wear masks But unlike Batman’s nemesis, who only used one design, we engaged our creativity and became mask fashionistas Skin care companies saw an opportunity in this crisis and launched cream to protect the skin when wearing masks, We converted our home to an office and kids classroom, one of the most sold items in India when the locked down started was curtain cloth to show as background design ( hide the mess behind) . This reminds me of a song by *Dolly Parton* (1980), which may not be a hit in future.
Tumble outta bed
And I stumble to the kitchen
Pour myself a cup of ambition
And yawn and stretch and try to come to life
Jump in the shower
And the blood starts pumpin'
Out on the streets
The traffic starts jumpin'
With folks like me on the job from 9 to 5
Working 9 to 5
What a way to make a livin'
We zoomed and Netflixed , went crazy shopping and binge watching , Lazada, Amazon Shopee became even bigger buzzwords than before. Some of us became Chefs, while others became Artists and Gardeners.
While all this sounds good 100s of people died walking to their home town from their places of work in India. In the first 3 months of being locked down there were 600 accidents recorded with 400 deaths till July. There was this 15 years old girl, Jyothi Kumari who took her father, a disabled man in a cycle 1200 KMs to their hometown ( See pic below). Most countries had negative GDP that means loss of jobs, loss of income, pawn shops saw bustling business people begin to pledge their assets to get liquid cash.
Politically too the ABRAHAM ACCORD signed between Israel and UAE will have ramification effect with Bahrain, South Sudan joining and more to follow. This year was the first time Saudi Arabia allowed Christmas decors to be sold and displayed (see pic below).For the first time Israeli plane flew over Saudi Arabia and El Al flights were welcomed in Dubai (see pic below). The Abraham accord is the first step towards peace between the Jews and the Islamic world, President Trump would have lost the election but he is a strong contender for the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
This year exposed China on how they were getting the poorer countries into a debt trap, and with ban on TIKTOK and many more apps in India the digital strike really hit the online world.
