Opinion – Cirenia E. Esquivel

Covid-19 hit the world fast, and our reality quickly became virtual. Many people are working or studying from home, but this is not the case everywhere. What happens when you close down schools in areas where children have no access to computers or an internet connection?

Picture taken by Proyecto ConcentrArte, an association that works with kids in marginalized areas in Mexico. Photo: @proyecto_concentrarte

These past few weeks, Covid-19 has had us thinking deeper and further into what type of future we want to live in or if this is the future already, do we really want it to be like this?

In just a few days schools and businesses were closed down when Covid-19 became a threat. The Norwegian government took immediate action to smooth consequences for its population. I was impressed. In just a few days we went from seeing and interacting with each other physically to doing exactly the same but online.

It’s hard to talk about the interactions we’ve been having lately without thinking of a computer or a smartphone, which really puts things into perspective for me. We stopped, but the world didn’t. People were still working, but from home. Students were having classes through apps on their phones, iPads or computers. The only way to see or “hang out” with friends that live minutes away was inside this non-place.

But this is not the case everywhere. The crisis hit the world fast and without warning. As I see it one of the biggest disasters is how the quarantine measurements are being applied everywhere in the world, even in parts where people lack basic human needs.

No internet, no education

Our reality became virtual. Virtual worlds and tools became something the majority of us shared and immersed ourselves in (even if you didn’t want to) to be able to speak with other humans and keep our daily activities going. It became our only reality. Even before Covid-19, it was definitely the non-place where the world finds each other and learns from each other. But one cannot avoid the exclusivity of it all.

Covid-19 made even more evident the social and economic differences the world is suffering from. Parts of the world are in extreme risk, without water or electricity and even worse, without recognition. Not having access to a network or digital tools, takes them out of the collective shared voice that is being created within virtuality. The internet gives reach to people’s voices and knowledge. The educational benefits achieved from it directly contributes to the human capital of the states. The U.N. itself has stated that to combat situations of inequality, it is important to ensure that the marginalized and disadvantaged sections of society can express their grievances and that their voices are heard. All of these gets lost in a crisis like the one we are in now, harming generations of the youth within these communities.

The absence of the basic things a human needs, tends to decrease the importance of education for the youth of these communities. Education is a human right that should be free and secular, but times like these make it difficult for that right to be a possibility for the kids of marginalized communities.

Governments in every country of the world are taking the same sanitary measurements, closing schools and forbidding spaces where people gather. Closing schools in places where a child has no access to a computer or a connection to plug into her/his/their “online classes” gives children that are already living under poor, threatening conditions an even bigger disadvantage.

A New World

We could argue that network connections are indispensable, and in a situation where the only access to professors and schools is through these digital tools, we can position them as one of the basic human needs/rights.

In 2011, the United Nations declared in a report that internet access is indeed a human right. We are in 2020, and besides the fact that sections of the world still have no access to clean water – or enterprises with big economic interest on the southern hemisphere of the world are, according to ThoughtCo., taking water from villages in rural areas – many rural communities still do not have access to the Internet in ways that are meaningful and useful to them in their daily lives.

According to that same report, The Special Rapporteur of U.N. states:

“The Internet, as a medium by which the right to freedom of expression can be exercised, can only serve its purpose if States assume their commitment to develop effective policies to attain universal access to the Internet. Without concrete policies and plans of action, the Internet will become a technological tool that is accessible only to a certain elite while perpetrating the “digital divide”.”

Going back to the question from the beginning of this essay, Covid-19 is giving us the opportunity to rethink the way we are living, bringing harder than ever to the surface the places where we have to direct our energy and means as a collective. Because even if you think that the problems the southern hemisphere of the globe is facing do not affect us, they do and they will even more so in a not so far away future if we do not start taking action.

A small change such as being informed of the origin of the products you consume, decide where to invest your money, time and efforts, follow initiatives that support preservation of species, indigenous groups and autonomy, doing a run check in your empathy, use your bike, stop consuming products that hurt our home (Earth and everything that is in it). These are actions we all can start working on today. And if you ask me, the situation that the world is under now taught us that no virtual reality can substitute our reality. Not only because a hug, the spring breeze, fungi and trees are absolutely awesome, but also because if we talk about a future in which we all fit, there is no room for knowledge and freedom of expression to be exclusive.

A virtual world – an exclusive utopia