However, there
was a huge difference. Without mobile and internet we only got information via
newspaper, television or word of mouth recommendation. Today news go around the
globe to a much higher rate via internet – on the one hand it is of advantage
to alert, on the other hand it is vulnerable for false information and conspiracy
theories.
Back
to March 17, 2020, the last day I passed our city until now. It is comfortable
warm with 16 degrees. However I see only very few people outside, although the official
ban of going out didn´t exist at that time being. You see people only in front
of ice cream parlours and bus stops. Since
beginning of week (yesterday March 16, 2020) all schools and kindergardens were
closed. There are possiblities for childcare only for parents which work in indispensable
jobs in health, police, firebrigade and energy supplier. They need a
declaration from their employer that they need go to work. Some borders to our
neighbour countries were completely closed and only let through trucks with
delivery of goods and employed persons. On March 16, 2020 the German government
announced that it will be necessary to close all shops which are not essential
for life and to limit the opening hours of restaurants.
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| empty café in the park Herrengarten in the afternoon, Darmstadt |
Facing
the current ban of going out from Austria everybody is waiting in suspense if
only the closure of these shops will be sufficient. We are not surprised if the
ban would come. The covid-19-mortality in Italy in Bergamo is increasing so
high that they can´t bury the deads any longer. Coffins have been collected in
the church until finally several trucks of the Italian army picked them up and
bring them out of Bergamo. Awful pictures we will never forget. Many Italians live
here in Darmstadt since years and suffer with their families in the banned
cities in the North of Italy. Yesterday we saw Trump saying: „We are in war.“ When
hearing that I remember people discussing whether the German army Bundeswehr
would help in case of emergency as the Bundeswehr already did this during flood
disasters by helping people to build barriers with sandbags. Would they be able
to replace truck drivers and care for necessary deliveries in case the normal
truck drivers fall ill? Could they assist our nursing staff if many of them get
ill like in Italy?
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| Closed school in Darmstadt |
Nearby
I heard of first people who have symptoms and wait for a test. This takes one to
two days. In the office we were informed that a task force group was formed. They
inform us regularly with mails about the status on a different website and
recommendments how to behave. One morning every door of our toilets were covered
by a huge poster with operating instruction how to wash your hands so that no corona
virus can stick. Slowley like in a film people become sensitive. One of our
colleagues remembers a carton with desinfection bottles in a room in the
basement remaining from a former removal. Although everybody emphasizes that soap
treatment is sufficient to cope with the virus for some people the desinfection
possibility is a calming feeling. So our boss decided to install one bottle of
desinfection on a table directly behind the entrance. As we are working in a
pharmaceutical development department with laboratories everybody knows that
the bottle has to be shut after use, visitors don´t know it. Therefore I
designed the following sketch for the table.
Knowing
that desinfection bottles are already sold out in many shops in Germany we
looked for it that never a full bottle stands there over night. Even in a very
controlled huge company with 10.000 employes on our site such things disappear.
We hided the remaining bottles in one of our cupboards.
When
the business trips were cancelled one after the other since the beginning of
February. The number of "risk countries" increased more and more,
more and more returnees of that risk countries had to work in the home office
under quarantine for two weeks. The thought crept into all of us: will there be
a shutdown here in the company at some point? How can we maintain our business
capability? Rumours are going around: there is a suspicious case that is being
tested...in the other building. The next day it says: negative, not infected.
Everyone
seems to be waiting: when will he arrive, the first positively tested employee
in my own circle of acquaintances/colleagues? Can we push the cancelled
business events into June or is it still uncertain whether the event ban will
be lifted? Our head of department decides the week before last that we should alterate
in the office, where possible, only half of the team is present, the rest is
working at home, so that in the worst case of an infection, one half can still
keep things running.
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| Liebig Street in the afternoon March 17,2020, Darmstadt |
I
will never forget the face of my top boss when he suddenly comes into the
office with his mobile phone yesterday - I was already alone in the office and
the others working at home: "Is it really that bad already? Have you
noticed anything in the direction of shutdown, what the federal government has
just decided?" Result: together with the school closure, all
homeoffice-capable employees now really stay at home, including me. "For
the time being...", a colleague waved to me (we have long since given up
shaking hands): "We'll see when we meet again.“ - Feels somehow unreal: we
in this highly industrialized society are taking measures that otherwise only
occur in movies in disaster or war scenarios. Border closures with controls,
suddenly the border trees are not out of date.
Although
the partial shutdown will not take effect until tomorrow or the day after
tomorrow, Darmstadt is already emptier today than ever before at this time. I
can hardly see older people at all while I cycle the 4km into the city to the
dentist. Many people have taken the recommendation to stay at home seriously.
The song "Allein, allein" (Alone, alone) from Polarkreis 18 from 2009
comes to my mind.
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| One of the mainstreets in Darmstadt, normally full of traffic on March 17,2020 |
I
notice that the air is excellent due to the lack of normal traffic on the main
roads. Birds are chirping everywhere and that in the big city. There is a big
warning sign at the dentist's office that one should not enter the practice
with flu-like symptoms. There is nobody sitting in the waiting room, everything
is so unusually quiet as if one is in a wellness hotel. No drilling to be
heard. The patient in front of me leaves the practice. In the background, I
hear the news on the radio about the Hessian government's recommendation to
reduce social contacts. I read in the newspaper this morning that most of the
older people who have experienced the expulsion and world war II are not afraid
of the virus. The sight of empty shelves in the shops do not shock them, they
still know this from the old days after the war or from the GDR. You just buy
what's available. By the way, very interesting, the panic buys „Hamsterkäufe“
(engl. hamster buys) affected toilet paper, noodles, yeast and cans here in
Germany. I am curious what other countries will buy most in a panic.
I
wonder what the journalists in the sports section will write about if all
sports events have now been banned. The cultural section with missing
publications. Maybe there will be new sources for virtual culture, which will
experience a new heyday. Aha, Amazon is hiring thousands of new employees,
because people can't get out, but mail order will still be possible. The
asparagus farmers in our area are desperately looking for seasonal workers,
because only a part of them is covered by the East European workers and new
people would have to be trained in the technology in a time-consuming way.
Apart from that it is a heavy physical work.
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| closed playgrounds in Darmstadt |
I
learn that as of today the health insurance companies no longer allow personal
contact, the applications for dental crowns can only be inserted or sent by
mail. We learn patience. I am already very happy that the dentist is not sick
himself and can practice.
The
dynamic of the many messages is enormous, all people here in Germany have a
unifying theme, some are sceptical, others optimistic because they are so young
that they will probably not be affected or with few symptoms, another part can
be sprinkled with all the news. Personally, I wonder how one can go to sleep
after having spent the whole day dealing with all kinds of horror scenarios. It
has to be processed somewhere. I limit myself to one time a day, the rest I get
from my family and friends on the phone. Maybe we'll get back to the "not
the topic again" feeling when the journalists report about nothing else
for months, similar to the Greek crisis or England´s brexite.
Since
I live with a big family with house and garden, I am still very well, even if
the complete curfew would come. I am thinking more of the people who live in
apartments without a balcony and who would not be able to get out in case of
quarantine. And all those people who live alone and do not have the possibility
of virtual exchange. We may learn to bear ourselves, we will come up against
limits in some new habits and situations. On the other hand, people in
emergency situations are starting to get very creative ideas: you can enter
"Italians sing quarantine" on YouTube and see some of the millions of
Italians who are still under curfew singing together from their windows.
Emergency and crises obviously also cause helpfulness, here in our neighborhood
there are already some people who agree to walk the dog in case someone is in
quarantine and is not allowed to go outside.
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| Bismarckstreet, Darmstadt |
And
now here they come, the opportunities of this crisis: I am sure that the supply
chains will be reconsidered, whether the products will be sent back and forth
around the globe only because of the personnel costs. Whether consumers are
willing to pay more for a product that is regionally produced in Europe.
As
an accustomed "all-inclusive" society, we are also allowed to
experience what it is like to live with restrictions. Many adventurers tell
about their travels that getting clean water from the tap alone is pure luxury.
Only in such a situation we do become aware of what we really need. Similar to
a hike or camping: there we only take the most necessary things with us. And we
are nevertheless satisfied because we realize: man does not really need that
much.
The
social restriction, the lack of physical contact with others, yes, it is
difficult. I caught myself, how often I would reach out my hand at the
beginning, when I saw someone. A pity, actually. It's lucky that the digital
world makes video conferencing possible, it relieves the feeling of being
"isolated".
Interestingly,
I experienced a special effect of reduction the other day. The coming to rest.
Normally I film two to three light effect shows every two years at the Luminale
in Frankfurt with over 200 events, edit them for the YouTube channel. Besides
my normal work, editing the film as soon as possible takes a lot of time and
energy, quite a lot of pressure. A mixture of curiosity, pleasure in visuals
and sharing usually motivates me to do this.
This
year it was different. After the indoor events had already been cancelled due
to Corona, I chose the outdoor event, which I knew would be less crowded, I
wouldn't take the S-Bahn, but, unusually for me, take the car and walk the rest
of the way into town. I received the cancellation for the Luminale from people
who have a news ticker for the latest news on their mobile phones and who received
this message of cancellation only 6 hours before the big events started. At the
beginning I thought such a function was sensationalistic to want to be up to
date all the time. In this case it saved me from driving into Frankfurt
unnecessarily. What a pity, I thought on the one hand, for the organizers and
the much time that had already been invested over a year, and then this very,
very short-term cancellation.....And what costs must be involved.
Until
suddenly the disappointment gave way to another feeling: "Now you have
more time and you don't have to rush." Also the other events and social
meetings of the last days, which were cancelled, create more space to think
about "what did I actually always want to do here in the house? What
things am I putting off because of all the work outside? Procrastinating? Cleaning
out the cellar... when the older children move out or move house, there is
always one or the other thing left, should that be kept for the younger ones or
can that be removed. The many "can I possibly still use" small parts
that a creative person like me likes to throw into boxes. And with the mucking
out new ideas will arise again, which I can share e.g. on my instagram account imaginationriver.
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Sketch of February 20, 2020: restaurant Alter Schwede in Wismar, Baltic Sea, Germany
not yet completely empty as no restrictions yet |
How
are we going to cope with this, a state of emergency of fear of curfew and
supply chain disruption that could threaten with all the hoarding purchases of
toilet paper and pasta here in Germany - we personally did not hoard yet - the
external restrictions that are increasing? Are we going to get on each other's
nerves in the family when we all work in the home office? We are used to having
variety. Will we then feel trapped, restricted? Or will the famous inner
emptiness come over us? I remember another song from my school days:
"Thoughts are free, who can guess them, they fly by like night shadows, no
one can know them, no hunter can shoot them ...". In spite of all external
limitations, man is free inside. He now has the opportunity, through the
removal of the corset of obligations from his hamster wheel, to see what meaning
and values he is pursuing, to get to know interesting aspects of his other
emotional spectrum. He may learn to bear himself. He has the opportunity to
read a book again or to devote himself to a topic for which he has never taken
the time until now.
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IDEA ALSO FOR CHILDREN: cut out images of old magazines and
advertising leaflet and stick it to a collage |
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| ....something like that might be the result :-).... |
It
is my personal assumption that especially for the perfectionists the next time
will be very difficult, because the appreciation in work and society will
disappear and now the focus will be on oneself or on the family. Everybody may
ask himself, what really makes sense for me, what do I want to change in the
future. We have the chance to have a close look at what we let ourselves be
influenced by, what am I actually looking at all day long or am I being driven
from one little film in YouTube to the next and distracted from my actual
goals. What would be my perfect month, what would I like to do most every day,
at work, in my family, in my free time. The keyword for this: self-reflection.
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Sheep doesn´t care about this situation...found on the noise protection barrier,
Darmstadt-Arheilgen, March 17, 2020 |
If
you prefer to be active, you are also welcome to clean out at home. There is
certainly a corner, drawer or room that has served as a "temporary
storage" for everyone. You can also make phone calls, i.e. it's not
solitary confinement like in prison. I have already had several very intensive
and deep telephone conversations, which were only possible because of the
"more" time at home. I have been making many decisions for a long
time with the filter: "Nobody will die if I don't do it now or if I cancel
it.“ Setting limits is easier.
For
us personally, last Sunday was an aha-experience: it's been a long time since
we have seen so many people walking on the streets, fields and woods. The air
was better than ever, the silence a relief, as we are normally exposed to the
departing airplanes with the connected aircraft noise from Frankfurt airport.
Darmstadt has one of the highest pollutant emissions in Germany with partially
closed roads for older diesel engines. In days like these, this level will
improve so much that we could soon become a spa town. It is said that the smog
in Wuhan is already gone after the first weeks of closure and the city is
visible from space for the first time. There is no better example for more
measures to change people's mobility. Nature is flourishing, people are coming
to rest as long as they do not belong to the disease-related people who are in
continuous use or to the people who are trying to avert the consequential
damage to the economy.
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| Why we do all this... |
We
cannot thank people enough for their commitment. The queasy feeling of when and
if the fate of China and Italy will also fall upon us. To know that the
intensive care beds might not be enough and that an unworthy death awaits the
people who suffer from it without the company of relatives in the last minutes
as in Italy, where in the local newspaper L'Eco di Bergamo (as of March 18th)
the obituaries fill eleven pages daily instead of the usual one or two pages.
With
all the horror and fate with thousands of dead, Corona hopefully offers
opportunities from which we can learn for the future. We may have made one or
the wrong decisions, but we will gain important experience for the future,
which simply cannot be played through in theory. In which the decision makers
have so far seen no need for more investment. The process of obtaining
approvals can perhaps be accelerated, and the climate issue will gain even more
momentum. The economy can develop new levers to be able to handle such an event
differently in the future. Let us remember the stock market crash of 2007, when
a world almost collapsed. When the stock market was reporting massive losses in
the last two weeks, people were more inclined to say: "Okay, we know that,
we have losses now, we will simply get through them. Just don't panic and sell
anything. It'll recover eventually." The mind says, "It's only money
for now. Health comes first, we need patience." In a few years time, terms
like "back in the Corona period, during the corona holidays" will
enter the vocabulary, which we can still tell our grandchildren about. No
disaster exercise, no matter how good, is as instructive as a real experienced
event, even if it is a pure tragedy how many people have to die for these
experiences. Even if, in one case or another, young people find it difficult to
understand why the action and the appeal to reason are necessary, they will
later understand what it means to serve the social community, to pursue a
common goal.
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Many people go for a walk with social distance
and observe the sunsets in this week, Darmstadt, March 17,2020 |
And
at the very end it just occurred to me that two weeks ago two people in my
larger circle of acquaintances died, both with diseases of dementia or
Parkinson's, both over 80. Both of them were not tested for Corvid-19...the
dark figure will certainly be even higher. One of the affected sons wonders if
the funeral can take place as planned without other seniors becoming seriously
ill, it is the responsibility of the individual to attend the funeral, as well
as the decision not to hug the mourner because reason dictates it.....a
challenge of rethinking for the next weeks and months for all of us is
pending....
As
they say in the great blockbusters, "and nothing is ever the same
again." At some point the day of the Corona eruption will be a date in
future history books.
