You are not alone. It’s a simple phrase that offers a lot of comfort in difficult times.

For one long, horrible year we’ve been bound to each other by one single catastrophic event: Covid-19. The Pandemic brought so much pain, despair, loss, urgency, clarity, and fear. It forced the invincible to their knees. It didn’t discriminate by class, social status, ethnic groups, skin color, or wealth. A Pandemic that crossed borders and forced us to withdraw almost completely from normality.

Throughout all of this, many of us, millions of us, never felt alone – and that kept us hoping for the ray of light. Hope for the day when we won’t be hearing the sound of sirens from emergency vehicles. Hope for the day when we’d be able to reunite with our loved ones. Hope for a day when going outside wouldn’t feel like risking death. Hope for the simplest of pleasures.

The Pandemic also exposed all of us to see the immense disparity between rich countries and poor ones. A vast and deep fissure in our humanity was exposed to the whole world when we saw images of people being left to die on the sidewalks, alone in nursing homes or their own homes, due to negligence, incompetence, or lack of resources. It may be years before we realize the damage of the Pandemic. At the least, we hope we have learned that we are not alone.

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