Life in a Pandemic: What Could the Future Hold, continued

In continuation of yesterday’s post about what the next six months could look like, here are some responses from Ukraine, Hungary, Georgia, and Russia.

 

–Ann Merrill, Kyiv, Ukraine
Ukrainians are pretty awesome people with (unfortunately) a lot of experience dealing with disasters and difficult situations. Within the first couple of weeks, there were already numerous volunteer initiatives to help elderly and vulnerable people who are home alone during the quarantine. Many businesses are adapting to an online world (and Ukraine is, after all, one of the top IT countries in the world). I won’t speculate on what will happen, there are too many unknown and unpredictable variables. But I do know this wonderful country and the great people here are hardy, determined, and good at taking care of each other. I’m glad I am here.

 

–Jessie Labov, Budapest, Hungary
I expect to see the slow but steady erasure of more civil liberties and attacks on migrants/stiffening of immigration and visa regulations in the name of preventing a second wave of COVID-19.

 

–Emma Pratt, Tbilisi, Georgia
I think that we will remain on lockdown into summer. I hope that by fall the country will begin to reopen, though unfortunately many businesses will not be able to do so. I hope that the threatened food shortages have reinvigorated Georgian agriculture and the harvest will be fruitful. If the situation remains under control, fall has the potential to bring in tourists* again for the wine harvest and begin the slow economic recovery.

–Lyudmila Skryabina, Moscow, Russia
I am sure that we’ll solve the problem within six months and will celebrate two Victory Days** simultaneously – WWII and the victory over COVID! I wish everyone GOOD HEALTH!!! May our world become kinder after this pandemic!

*Update: Georgia plans to open to tourists starting 1 July, 2020, but with restrictions. Read more here 

**Russia is planning to hold its Victory Day celebration on 24 June, 2020 despite having the third highest number of COVID-19 infections in the world.

<< Come back next week as we wrap up Notes from the Field with some updates from our participants!

Life in a Pandemic: What Could the Future Hold?

It’s uncertain what the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will be. Every country seems to have its own plan for reopening and adjusting to “the new normal”. We asked our participants what they think the next six months have in store for their countries. The following responses were collected in mid-April, 2020.

 

–Eric Bednarski, Warsaw, Poland
Many people are hoping that by that the end of April the worst will be over and that the rate of new infections and deaths will begin to gradually fall. In May there is supposed to be a Polish presidential election that will take place through a postal ballot system. Nobody knows how this will go, or how many people will actually vote. A lot of people will certainly not take part in this election because of the pandemic situation.* I imagine there will be social distancing into the summer months, with a gradual easing of restrictions around how many people can be in shops, at events, in churches, etc. I think most people will be wearing face masks for at least the next 6 months.

–Conrad Rinto, Budapest, Hungary
Much like the rest of the world, it is expected that Hungary will weigh the risk of easing COVID-19 restrictions with medical capabilities and capacities. The gradual reopening of the economy (sectors and services) will be dependent on Hungary’s ability to test for the virus, limit its spread, and have essential medical space and equipment in place to treat COVID patients.

 

–Jesse Smeal, Rome, Italy
It’s tough to tell as things are changing on a daily basis. It seems as though social distancing and wearing masks will become a part of our daily life for quite some time.

 

–Adela Muchova, Prague, Czechia
This is rather unclear in many ways. The government is sending different signals and citizens are confused about possible loosening of quarantine measures. Czech Republic is one of the few countries that closed its borders not only from the outside, but also from the inside. This travel restriction was not seen only as a safety precaution, it also resembles the Cold War period when people were unable to exercise their basic human right to the freedom of movement. Some people fear this restriction can negatively affect a major value of European Union, the right to travel freely within Schengen countries. This causes unease within the public, so various initiatives challenge the government for transparent explanation and justification.

 

*Update: the 2020 Polish elections went ahead as planned, but resulted in a 0% voter turnout. Read more here

<< Check back tomorrow for more responses from Ukraine, Hungary, Georgia, and Russia!

Opening Up

Many US states began slowly reopening in May while others extended their stay-at-home orders indefinitely. The following responses to the question “do you see any signs of reopening the economy? Do you think that’s a smart idea?” were collected in early April, 2020.

 

–Jessie Labov, Budapest, Hungary
No, I don’t. We will probably stay in semi-lockdown for a prophylactically long period of time. And yes, that does seem like a smart move.

 

–Ann Merrill, Kyiv, Ukraine
Some parts of the government talk about it, but other parts (MinHealth) insist it is much too early. I understand the desperate need for people to have income, but Ukraine could be devastated if the virus spreads significantly here. I do not envy those who have to make the very difficult decisions on how to handle this situation.

 

–Emma Pratt, Tbilisi, Georgia
Georgia has been successful in delaying the peak, but that means that reopening the economy is still a long way away. I agree that keeping most things closed is the right decision, but the longer it lasts, the more painful it will be. Many people have lost their jobs already and fear they will go hungry. One thing that gives me some hope for the economy is the creative pivots I have seen many small businesses make: chacha distillers making hand sanitizer, wineries hosting online tastings, pub quizzes migrating online with a “virtual tip jar” for the staff of the bar that used to host, etc.

 

–Jesse Smeal, Rome, Italy
Like many countries, Italy has slowly reopened. Some industries and factories started to reopen in April and some small business such as bookstores, stationary stores, and children’s clothing stores. In May, more have followed.

 

–Lyudmila Skryabina, Moscow, Russia
In Russia the peak of the pandemic is just being reached, in particular in the Moscow area, according to the government and it’s conceivable that the economic situation will continue to get objectively worse, despite the unprecedented supportive measures on the part of the government. April and May largely became state mandated vacations but in June we will see how things stabilize or what further actions are taken.

 

<<Return next week, June 22nd, to read our participants’ predictions for the futures of their countries.

The Consequences of a Pandemic, continued

To continue yesterday’s discussion of political and economic flashpoints, here are three more responses from Hungary, Russia, and Georgia.

 

–Jessie Labov, Budapest, Hungary
Well, the government has declared emergency, absolutist powers with no expiration date. Extendable indefinitely, at their discretion. Elections can be postponed, the entire system of government can be reshaped according to their liking, etc. So far there has not been any great abuse of these powers, but we are all just waiting to see what happens next. More details here.

 

–Lyudmila Skryabina, Moscow, Russia
The global economic crisis has already begun. I don’t dare make political predictions. But clearly the world will change.

 

–Emma Pratt, Tbilisi, Georgia
In terms of the virus itself, Easter (April 19) was a flashpoint, and we saw the medical results two weeks from then. This is an election year for Georgia, so the stakes are high for Georgian Dream. Their initial response led to increasing popularity, or at least grudging respect. Especially in the early days, the opposition was on board with the government’s response. Last summer’s protests were starting to calm down with a deal having been made between the government and the opposition regarding parliamentary elections, but the state of emergency endangers it. The recent arrest of opposition leader Okruashvili in connection with the June protests is also causing discontent. Further legal action towards the opposition would constitute a political flashpoint. The opposition’s support for the government response is already starting to weaken—the libertarian “Girchi” movement filed a lawsuit claiming the lockdown is illegal.

 

<< Stay tuned for next week’s post about reopening countries and economies!

The Consequences of a Pandemic

As tensions rise across the United States, people continue to be impacted by lockdowns and the spread of COVID-19. We asked our participants if they saw any political or economic flashpoints in their countries as a result of the pandemic.

 

–Jesse Smeal, Rome, Italy
None had really developed by early April. As the crisis goes on many have suffered economically. I personally had to close both of my shops due to lack of revenue and government support.

–Ann Merrill, Kyiv, Ukraine
Tens of thousands of Ukrainians lost their jobs or are on furlough. However, businesses that were allowed to stay open, like grocery stores and delivery services, were hiring. The Ministry of Economy estimates that most Ukrainians can survive only one month without income, and we are now beyond that point. The government is working to enact support programs to help citizens and businesses.

– Tatiana Shchytssova, Vilnius, Lithuania
Yes, in Belarus there are many inspiring examples of civic activity. Top-down initiatives aim mostly at helping doctors (providing them with masks etc.)

–Adela Muchova, Prague, Czechia
Major economic and political impacts seem to be rather high, strict prevention measures, such as closing most businesses, affected most of the population. There were also some attempts to misuse the crisis situation for the government to obtain more power (like in Hungary and Poland). These attempts were fortunately suppressed by opposition, media, and active citizens´ initiatives (so the situation is different from that of Hungary and Poland at the moment). In addition, some politicians misused the situation to mount unjustified criticism of the European Union. For instance, ministries of public health are independent from the EU, so their unpreparedness in terms of medical tools is solely the responsibility of national governing bodies. All this has been accelerated by the disinformation campaigns of Russian fake-news networks.

 

<<Come back tomorrow for another post with answers from Hungary, Russia, and Georgia!

Vulnerable Populations: Migrant Communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina

To continue this week’s theme of groups most vulnerable to the COVID-19 crisis, we have a special report about the issues migrants are facing in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The following post was written by Kathryn Metz.

In light of COVID-19, the situation for migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has been a restriction of their already limited freedom of movement. In March, the government of the Federation of BiH declared a state of disaster in the country and the state is using their expanded emergency powers to enforce transferring all migrants to transit centers where they are prohibited from leaving.

On April 17, the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina issued an order that restricts the movement of migrants and mandates that all must be housed in temporary reception centers. Migrants found outside of the centers are being collected and transported to the camps in order to limit the spread of COVID-19.

As such, the police are enforcing forced removals from all accommodations outside of the official transit centers. Prior to the outbreak of the epidemic, migrants found accommodation in privately run apartments and hotels, as well as abandoned buildings. Security guards at the reception centers prohibit anyone from leaving the camps and venturing into neighboring villages and cities. A riot erupted on April 12 at the Blažuj reception center outside of Sarajevo which hosts over 2,000 migrants. Hundreds were involved in the fighting, leaving 20 people hospitalized.

An activist from No Name Kitchen, which has been active along the Balkan route since 2016, reported that while in theory the BiH government is limiting movement, there are still people living outside official reception centers and attempting to cross the border into Croatia and transit towards Northern Europe.

Reception centers in Bosnia have been overcrowded for months and forcing more people into the centers further limits the resources available to people inside them. A new temporary reception center called Lipa has been established 25 kilometers from the border city of Bihać in Una Sana Kanton (USK). The authorities in USK are using the outbreak of COVID-19 as a justification for transferring thousands of migrants to this newly established tent settlement, where migrants and activists fear there will not be adequate access to clean water, heat and electricity.

Velika Kladuša is another border city in USK that has hosted thousands of migrants since 2018, in an effort of local solidarity, the bakery is donating bread and burek to No Name Kitchen and activists then distribute food to migrants living outside of temporary reception centers.

<<Tune in for the next installment of Notes from the Field on June 8th when our participants will be discussing the possible consequences of this virus.

Who is Most Vulnerable in a Crisis?

This week we asked our participants about vulnerability. What groups are being most impacted physically, financially, etc. by COVID-19?

 

–Jesse Smeal, Rome, Italy

I believe the most vulnerable groups are the elderly, homeless, and small/independent business owners. The elderly because they are extremely susceptible to the virus and have minimal support and help due to social distancing and movement restrictions. The homeless because they are more exposed to the virus and have little help available. Small business owners because they do not fall into any category to receive government help and they rely solely on the revenue from their business. They are mostly closed and have zero revenue.

–Lyudmila Skryabina, Moscow, Russia

As far as I know, unlike in Europe where the most vulnerable have been the elderly, in Russia more people between the ages of 18-45 have been infected.

–Emma Pratt, Tbilisi, Georgia

The ethnic minority communities were hit particularly hard early on. The first community cluster occurred in the Marneuli-Bolnisi area, where a large portion of the population are Armenian and Azeri. The language barrier may have made things worse, since locals don’t receive information from the Georgian media, which has generally been giving accurate and helpful information. Since then, the government’s website  has been translated into Azeri, Armenian, Abkhaz, and Ossetian. South Ossetia and Abkhazia are huge question marks in their handling of the situation, which leaves many people vulnerable. The homeless population is also particularly at risk.

–Ann Merrill, Kyiv, Ukraine

The Ministry of Health posts updates and has a press briefing every day, so we know the stats quite well. As of early April, 54% of those infected are women and 49% men, which seems to be different from the trends in other countries where men have higher rates of infection. MinHealth also reports that the majority of people who have died had concomitant illnesses (heart disease, diabetes, etc). The initial infections were in Ukrainians who had returned from working in Italy and those with whom they had contact. Most recently, it has been sweeping through the monks at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, who refused to follow any quarantine practices until this week.

– Tatiana Shchytssova, Vilnius, Lithuania

The most vulnerable are doctors and teachers. Actually, all groups that must continue working in close contact or large groups are vulnerable.

<<Check back tomorrow for a special post about the situation migrants are facing in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dealing with a Pandemic, continued

In continuation of yesterday’s post, here are a few more answers to the question: What are the opinions that you are hearing in your country of how your government has dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic?

Evening traffic outside St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia on 24 March, 2020 (left) versus the same intersection on 26 March, 2020 (right) after quarantine began.

 

 

–Jessie Labov, Budapest, Hungary

The Hungarian government’s strategy seems to be not to test anybody, even if they have very obvious symptoms of the virus, unless they are in need of hospitalization. As a result, we have an artificially low number of diagnosed cases and a fatality rate of 10-12%. They followed the same arc of population control that you see in the rest of the region, but with a lot less enforcement than Poland (where police actually stop people in the streets and ask where they are going), and a lot less buy-in than Czech Republic (where masks are required in public and people are sewing them all night and some are even handing them out for free). In general, people seem satisfied with the government’s response, safety-wise, but very cynical about the abuse of political power coming down the road. One interesting detail: Hungarians (in my opinion) were relatively quick to understand what was at stake and make the conscious choice to act in the interest of the collective social body. A marked difference from the US. I wonder whether that is a European thing, a hangover from the socialist era, both, or neither.

–Ann Merrill, Kyiv, Ukraine

There has been quite mixed reactions to the quarantine in Ukraine. The first couple of weeks, people really didn’t take it seriously, but by now (week 5) most people seem to understand the importance of physical distance to stop the spread. The economic impact is really hard for the vast majority of Ukrainians who live hand-to-mouth already or have very little savings.

– Tatiana Shchytssova, Vilnius, Lithuania

The government of my country (Belarus), strictly following its authoritarian president, tries to ignore the pandemic and shows catastrophic helplessness accompanied by concealing true information about the number of infected people and the deceased. In social and independent media, the level of criticism in this regard is very high, but it seems to have no influence on the attitude of officials.

 

<<Next Monday, June 1st, we will learn about different groups who are most vulnerable to the virus.

 

Dealing with a Pandemic

A global pandemic is a once-in-a-lifetime event, so it’s no surprise that there have been countless different approaches to handling this crisis. This week in Notes from the Field, we asked our participants:

What are the opinions that you are hearing in your country of how your government has dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic?

–Jesse Smeal, Rome, Italy

In my opinion and the opinion of many peers, we are very upset with how the government has and is handling the crisis. We are particularly upset with the lack of economic help and ineptitude of the government as a whole.

–Emma Pratt, Tbilisi, Georgia

The Georgian government has received international praise for their response, and most people here concur (sometimes to their own chagrin). However, many people (in my circles, anyway) are worried that the Georgian Orthodox Church’s refusal to follow social distancing recommendations will cause a major outbreak, and are angry at the church itself, as well as at the government for not standing its ground. In mid-April, in the weeks leading up to Orthodox Palm Sunday and Easter, church attendance dramatically increased despite prohibitions against large gatherings.

–Adela Muchova, Prague, Czechia

The prevailing opinion is that the government’s decisions are chaotic, communication unclear, and rules can be interpreted in many different ways. At the beginning, the government met daily and held long press conferences to demonstrate its readiness. People believe that strict measures (such as face masks, quarantine, closing businesses) are necessary to prevent the disease spreading. So public trust in the government is rather high, although experts (journalists, doctors) are rather critical towards the practical political decisions and steps taken.

–Lyudmila Skryabina, Moscow, Russia

I think that our government is taking adequate measures in fighting the pandemic and in supporting the economy. Just recently the decision was made that the government will give money to small and medium-sized businesses to pay minimum wage salaries (currently 12,130 rubles/month) to workers in April and May in order to avoid massive unemployment. It seems to me that it’s possible to live on this amount of money in self-isolation. In addition, mortgage and credit payments have been delayed and penalties for late housing payments have been waived.

What has been overlooked? It seems to me that we should have closed the borders much sooner and not allowed travel abroad, starting in February. Unfortunately, people who returned from Europe and Asia at the end of February and beginning of March have spread the disease across Russia, especially in Moscow. They did not quarantine themselves but went to work, took public transportation, and now we have the lamentable result. Unfortunately, even when the quarantine was announced many people did not follow it immediately and instead continued to serve as sources of infection, not knowing that they were already ill themselves since they were not showing symptoms. Alas, that’s the trickery of COVID-19.

<< Check back tomorrow for a continuation of this post with answers from Hungary, Ukraine, and Lithuania!

COVID-19: The Bread Baking Renaissance

Food is one of the few things that can unite, sustain, and soothe us no matter where we are in the world. In these troubling times, many people have turned to bread baking and vegetable gardening both to feed themselves and to pass time. In this week’s Notes from the Field, we asked our participants what their go-to comfort food is.

–Emma Pratt, Tbilisi, Georgia

Khachapuri is a traditional Georgian bread filled with cheese and egg.

Most Georgian food makes good comfort food. There has been a popular social media challenge of people around the world making adjaruli khachapuri or khinkali and posting photos of their results. I think I will try to make my first adjaruli khachapuri soon.

–Jesse Smeal, Rome, Italy

Any pasta dish. Cheap, easy and delicious.

–Ann Merrill, Kyiv, Ukraine

Carbs, carbs, carbs.

–Jessie Labov, Budapest, Hungary

My child has been sustained largely on “mákos tészta,” or poppy seed noodles, which is spaghetti or fettuccine coated with butter (or duck fat if you’re my mother-in-law), then sprinkled with a mix of ground poppy seeds and powdered sugar—the proportion of each depending entirely on the level of bribery necessary to get the child to eat. If you grew up in the U.S., you will probably find this weird and off-putting. If you grew up in this region, you will wolf it down like manna from heaven.

–Eric Bednarski, Warsaw, Poland

We have been eating a lot of traditional homemade Polish pierogis in my household. Although I have been eating pierogis for most of my life, I’d never made pierogis myself until this pandemic struck, so it has been fascinating to see the whole pierogi-making process from start to finish. A lot of people I know in Warsaw seem to be baking their own bread now too. Many of them are baking bread for the first time.

–Lyudmila Skryabina, Moscow, Russia

A meat and fish counter remains open in an empty St. Petersburg supermarket.

I can’t say anything about my fellow countrymen, although I think many are cooking now. Personally, I have been making more soups in quarantine. Yesterday I made borscht. I am also trying to remember the recipes for all kinds of yummy dishes. I recently made the mini-khachapuris Dr. Brintlinger taught me to make several years ago. I have to admit that I’ve been eating better and healthier food in quarantine.

<<Check back in next Monday, May 25, to learn more about how countries in Central and Eastern Europe are dealing with the pandemic.