Few thought that the first quarter of this year 2020 would bring so many events and twists when they exchanged New Year’s wishes on the evening of December 31, 2019. Yet, in China, the situation was already critical, and the world was preparing to experience a historic episode, which will certainly be one of the most significant, given what happened and what humanity demonstrated in response. In Morocco, we had never experienced anything like this before, and despite everything, we responded well… Here’s the story, from the beginning to the writing of these lines!
December 2019: The Other Side of Me!
It’s in China, fortunately! That’s what many people whispered, or even said out loud, when they heard about the Coronavirus. The epidemic didn’t seem alarming, and although it had already become a trend on several social networks, life continued almost everywhere at the same pace, especially since December is the most festive month of the year, with Christmas and New Year celebrations. On another note, despite being aware that the slowdown in China could cause ripples worldwide, businesses were preparing for a promising 2020, without considering the coronavirus, which, instead of causing fear, was making headlines across all types of media.
However, due to globalization, an extraordinary scenario was unfolding, without any modern-day oracle able to predict what would happen next. Pandora’s box was now open…
January 2020: The Truth If I Lie to You!
Imagine an enemy you can’t see. Imagine an enemy that doesn’t discriminate and uses the strongest weapon: fear. Imagine a world without borders. Imagine that everything humanity has gained in terms of the free movement of goods and people would turn against it… That’s what happened and is still happening. The worst pandemic the world has ever known hit us hard and set out to destroy all the beautiful realities of the modern world. No more exchanges, no more travel, no more contacts—none of the essentials of this abundant humanity remains. A scenario worthy of an apocalyptic film, except it’s reality!
Yet, much like in December, although awareness began to set in, actions remained timid. Humanity was like the person falling from a 50-story building, repeating to themselves as they fell that everything was fine up to that point. But what really matters isn’t the fall, but the landing…
February 2020: From Milan and Paris with Love
Like a message carried by Aeolus, whispering in the ears, invisible yet burning, so did the coronavirus strike Europe, hitting Italy and France like a lightning bolt that few believed in, but which eventually became as evident as a July sun! Love is a rebellious bird, Carmen sang, that no one can tame, and it’s useless to call it if it suits him to refuse, nothing helps, threat or prayer, one speaks well, the other is silent, and it’s the other that I prefer. He said nothing, but I like him… Love is a Bohemian child, he has never, ever known a law. If you don’t love me, I love you, and if I love you, beware!
Yet no one took heed, and the epidemic turned into a pandemic on a global scale, like the heritage of humanity symbolized by the monuments of Rome, Milan, and Paris, which emptied of their visitors as a precaution, but the damage was already done… Europe, the cradle of civilizations that sprang up across the world, would become one of the epicenters of the virus, and the scene would replay itself, but this time, instead of knowledge, art, and wealth, Europe inadvertently exported the disease!
March 2020: Apocalypse Now!
Never before had the entire world experienced so many twists and turns, at least for us children of generations who didn’t live through world wars or the early 20th-century epidemics. Never had we imagined facing the things we see on television, on the internet, and hear about everywhere, concerning disasters cyclically striking areas of the planet, whether natural phenomena, diseases, or wars… Yet, in March, even the most privileged saw words like shortage, lockdown, quarantine, and so forth, enter their lives, like a survival vocabulary… The world began to barricade itself, and everywhere borders were more than just memories of another time—guards stood watch on resurrected posts. Lockdown!
But that was without counting on the magic of the web, which paradoxically remained the only world without borders in the new enclaves created by the Coronavirus. And it was through digital means that the hope of salvation appeared, first to maintain human connections and then to keep the wheels of the global economy turning, now in augmented reality mode…
In Morocco, we saw the community take responsibility and lead the country, like a long-contested leader finally recognized in due time. The digital sector showed the way by introducing telecommuting, launching various charity and mutual aid initiatives, and enhancing survival capabilities and value creation!
April 2020: Back to the Future 4.0
Some of you who have already seen this trilogy will automatically know what this refers to (for others, this period is an excellent opportunity to catch up and enjoy this science fiction masterpiece from the 90s).
Humanity invented sciences, technology, law, and all the knowledge of the world to live better. Yes, but humanity lives only to consume pleasures… Since the epidemic hit, our pleasures, like everything around us, have been reduced, and we are starting to appreciate the immense happiness of a simple cup of good Arabica, sipped on a café terrace on a Monday morning or between meetings. We realize that what made us happy were the mundane things of life, the routine of our days at the office, our hugs, our after-work outings, football matches, cinema sessions, theater plays, shopping… We realized that what matters in life isn’t the number of breaths taken but the sum of the moments that took our breath away!