The Thatcherite politics of the past is over, we must now organise for a far better future as a society that puts the common good first.
I’m self isolating. The date when my quarantine comes to an end is April 1.
So, I’ve been here, in my room, observing reactions and responses to the Covid-19 pandemic through social media and TV.
Through various social media communications, such as WhatsApp, FB messenger and Skype I have been able to have daily conversations with family, friends and activists who have kept me company and I love them for it.
Through daily alerts from the WHO, news channels and listening to podcasts I think it’s safe to say that Covid-19 has got the world talking about very little else.
Hard to imagine such a short time ago we were wondering and debating about government formation.
Looks like those conversations are happening though and we will more than likely get a government nobody voted for.
Oh well, more on that later, back to Covid.
What has, and is currently happening on the ground here and I understand throughout the country is pretty phenomenal, ordinary people rising to the challenge of facing this emergency head on.
People are reaching out to one another and new community action groups are springing up all over our cities, towns and villages, this type of hands on approach to mobilise local communities into action began a couple of weeks before any type of instructions from our caretaker government.
It was empowering to see how local St.Patrick’s day committees throughout the land decided to put the health and wellbeing of people first, and quicker than a bishop’s staff going through the head of a snake, more and more parades were cancelled, this put maximum pressure on the city council’s who then pulled the plug on large scale parades, pubs closed too. Unprecedented. A word that has been used to describe so much that’s occurred in such a short space of time.
Another example of local people taking a stand here too, a few weeks ago the towns people took to FB supporting calls to stop the berthing and disembarking of passengers from a cruise liner at Cobh, despite Port of Corks assurances that all safety precautions would be taken. Cobh people were having none of it. Pressure grew on local councillors and finally the liner was diverted to Ringaskiddy from The Deep Water Quay. This type of leadership came from and belongs to the people themselves who made their objections very clear and won, people power!
Over the years I have been lucky to be part of a local activist group, Cobh Community 4 Change ( Cobh Says No to Austerity) and The Right2Water campaign, of course it must be acknowledged here, our R2W victory has taken away any worries we may of had about water bills coming through the door when we have so much else going on. Can we now demand that our Right2Water is enshrined into our constitution? I hope so.
Through organising at grassroots level and taking direct actions when necessary, we challenged government policies throughout the austerity years, policies that saw cut backs which nobody can be in any doubt now has led to huge strains currently being put on our health service. Not to mention our national housing and homelessness emergency. All of these political policies and choices made by successive governments are coming home to roost. Most of these problems were foreseen by ordinary everyday people who have been dealing with the consequences of these policies in their everyday lives over many years.
Of course, nobody could have predicted the veracity of the Covid-19 pandemic but the sheer outpouring of the public to mobilise into an army of helpers shows that people know when the chips are down we must rely on each other and by organising locally we can make a real difference.
To date thousands of people have signed up to the call out for volunteers that will be needed over the coming months in our country.
Looking through various FB pages, all new, and all created as a way to connect people throughout the country, and some that I have joined, local and national, the response to this emergency is organic in its growth and something that is really inspiring. From groups like Helping Hand Cobh and Covid-19 Cloth Face Masks For All to Workers Speak out Covid-19, all these FB groups are just tiny examples of people taking the necessary actions and carrying out essential duties on all our behalf. Hero’s one and all.
As President Michael D Higgins recently commented, “This pandemic has laid down an unanswerable case for overhauling methods of social governance in Ireland and further afield”
I truly believe it is this outpouring of community organising that will, in the end, be the force that transforms our country in the aftermath of this emergency. It will be the very communities, now sadly devastated by sudden unemployment who will rally to demand better working conditions for all, including our healthcare workers, our defence forces, our retail and hospitality workers, and all those essential workers who we are utterly reliant on, and always have been, despite how they’ve been treated to date.
As a former branch secretary of Unite Community and currently Branch Secretary of Unite Hospitality & Tourism it has never been more urgent to reach out now to the 300,000+ unemployed workers and their families to invite them to join those of us in the trade union movement, so that we are ready to face a future, united and strong.
And through strong trade union ties we will never again allow for our essential services be run into the ground. That will take all of us who are union members to play our part in engaging with our workmates, our family and our friends. These conversations, that may have once been difficult are now essential if we are to protect one another in the work place as we are currently doing in the community against this pandemic.
Perhaps we may just establish a political force that demands real change and one that’s embedded in community activism. Perhaps after the next general election we will get a government that we voted for.
As I wait out my isolation I still feel connected through a myriad of channels that are inspiring me every single day, not every hero wears a cape, that’s true, sometimes they are dear comrades who have rallied to help and sometimes they are complete strangers doing extraordinary things for people and I have had the time to observe this and be empowered by these actions which I am truly grateful for.
On April 1 my confinement comes to an end. I will roll up my sleeves, put on my gloves and mask, keep my social distance and join everyone else to bring care, help and support where needed. On that new dawn, I will continue to bang the drum for real change. I am hopeful that you will too.
Karen Doyle
Karen Doyle 