The Need for Empathy in the Time of Coronavirus

By Jan LundiusSTOCKHOLM / ROME, Apr 1 2020 (IPS) The experience and interpretation of the Coronavirus pandemic oscillates between the personal and the general spheres. The official discourse and measures taken by authorities have a direct impact on our lives, change our daily existence and foster worries for the future. A dark cloud of uncertainty hovers above us. What do decision makers know? What can they do? What can we do? Many of us are secluded in our own homes, others in wards or hospitals, or even alone and far away from the ones they love: All you who sleep tonight Far from the ones you love, No hands to left or right, And emptiness above – Know that you aren’t alone. The whole world shares your tears, Some for two nights or one, And some for all their years. 1 When we find ourselves in the midst of a crisis some comfort might be found in literature, particularly now when so many of us are quarantined. Literature may help us to assess our existence from another point of view. Many authors have been outsiders, i.e. they have felt being “a step away from others”. This can create a crippling feeling of loneliness, though also provide an ability to observe and comment on the behaviour of others. A European example of such an author is Albert Camus, who actually wrote a novel he called L’Étranger, The Outsider, about a man separated from “the society in which he lives, wandering on the fringe, on the outskirts of life, solitary and sensual.” Since Me...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Featured Global Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news