Was Menschen der Coronakrise abgewinnen

Lichtblicke in dunkler Zeit

Heidelberg (hb). Ob Infektions- und Todesraten, Isolationskoller, Arbeitslosigkeit, Rezessionsangst oder häusliche Gewalt - Nachrichten in Zeiten der Coronakrise sind vor allem eines: düster. Doch der weltweite Ausnahmezustand bietet auch Lichtblicke, etwa abendliche Balkonkonzerte, Dankesbekundungen an „stille Helden“, kreative Beiträge in den sozialen Medien oder die Verbesserung der Wasser- und Luftqualität. Der Freundeskreis des Deutschen Akademischen Austauschdienstes (DAAD) hat deshalb begonnen unter dem Motto „Corona bonds – Corona verbindet“ weltweit positive Aspekte dieses Jahrhundertereignisses zu sammeln – Momente, Erfahrungen, Gedanken, Ideen, Vorsätze, Begegnungen oder Projekte, für die man „Corona“ allen Schreckensmeldungen zum Trotz dankbar sein kann. Sie werden an dieser Stelle veröffentlicht.

Wer den Satz „Thanks to Corona/Dank Corona….“ auf Deutsch oder Englisch selbst vervollständigen möchte, kann dies per E-Mail gerne tun (fk-rhein-neckar(at)daad-alumni.de) – unter Angabe des vollen Namens und Heimatlandes.

Thanks to Corona…./Dank Corona…

... I have realised what freedom of movement really means. Since my family lives in another country, I have not been able to visit them for the past few months, not because I did not want to, but because borders were closed. I am grateful to be a citizen of the European Union." - Irene Faipò, Italy

... habe ich die (nahezu einmalige?!) Gelegenheit gehabt, ohne den Stress des normalen Alltags, die "Lebens-Geschwindigkeit" zu entschleunigen und an meiner geistigen Gesundheit zu arbeiten. Dies hat mir zweifelsohne das Leben gerettet. - Edward Evans, United Kingdom

... I've embarked on building an online presence with my academic and artistic work: 1. I recently enjoyed a conversation with Dr. Johannes Achill Niederhauser, lecturer of philosophy at the University of Birkbeck, on the beginning of Hegel's Logic (available here https://youtu.be/1vdWL4tu99s ). 2. With colleagues from my home university, we started a weekly online reading group on Hegel's Science of Logic (Open to the public - all you need is a curiosity or interest in what Hegel's philosophy is about!). 3. Finally, I started, along with some friends, Vanity Pneumatic, a Youtube channel about poetry, arts and intellectual output: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrHPY2mGeluD_P2azx0zA4A. If you would like to lend your voice to read and record poetry on our channel or contribute your own artistic work, please let us know. - Filip Niklas, Norway

… I´ve had time to renovate my garden, improve my skills and learn new ones, and I´ve had time for long bike rides in the spring time. - Paul Fabienke, Germany

... kehrte ich zur Natur zurück, machte neue Skizzen von Gemälden und stellte fest: Zeiten wie diese sind die Momente, in denen jeder einen Blick auf sich selbst werfen und sich selbst die Frage stellen kann: "Was will ich wirklich von meinem Leben?" - Daliborka Maladner, Serbien

... for enabling the world to come together; for enabling us to live a life beyond ourselves by taking care of others (in Kenya, for example, by providing shelters to poor families); for fostering outreach, adding family time, improving prevention measures; and, above all, for reminding us that humans are equal and face similar, if not the same, challenges - no matter the skin colour. - Stephen Bidii Ngala, Kenya

... I can sleep in, the environment can recover, and I have the opportunity to spend more time with my family. - Simon Plato, Germany

… I have more time to be close to my family and I can enjoy doing my work while sitting next to my little daughter. – Nuha Mohamed Abdalla, Sudan

… people might find a situation where they could elaborate on what they might have done wrong both to themselves and others and to think of the moments they would have been unjust or immoral, unkind or indifferent, especially to the people who might have suffered from this injustice, and to remind themselves of the fact that nothing in the world is stable enough to forget about being kind and helpful to others. – Vahid Medhat, Iran

...I´ve learned to bake new cakes, cleaned my room like never before and started to do sports every day. - Milena Gander, Germany

........... I have more time to spend with my family, to connect with my friends in Nepal as well as abroad by social media, to enjoy the clean air in Kathmandu (We can even see the mountains clearly!), and to watch webinars and write my research paper on post-earthquake reconstruction in Nepal. - Rupesh Shrestha, Nepal

... I have talked more to my friends in Germany. - Ángela Cáceres, Ecuador

... I have time to bake a lot, and I spend more time with my family. - Michelle Löffler, Germany

... habe ich meiner Familie, meinen beiden Kindern und meinem Mann jeden Tag eine Stunde Deutsch beigebracht - sie haben schon das Niveau A2 erreicht! - Meri Navasardyan, Armenien

........... I have more time to spend with my family, to connect with my friends in Nepal as well as abroad by social media, to enjoy the clean air in Kathmandu (We can even see the mountains clearly!), and to watch webinars and write my research paper on post-earthquake reconstruction in Nepal. - Rupesh Shrestha, Nepal

... I am spending more time with my family, learning to schedule school work on my own - and I can sleep in. - Tina Rimmelspacher, Germany

... I spend a lot of time with my family and help them more; I appreciate the freedom that I don´t currently have, for example going out with my friends or traveling everywhere I want; I have more time for things for which I usually don´t have much time, for example cleaning my room. - Samira Weigand, Germany

... we have a new opportunity to prioritize our aims and to have a real stop with ourselves, asking "Where are we and what are our benefits to the world?"; I have discovered that my family is the best; we can deepen our social relations and rearrange our thinking in our consumptions rate for saving the planet and keeping it more clean. The most important thing, however, is that after Corona we cannot be the same person as before Corona - if this is not achieved, the lesson was not learnt. - Ahmed Bakry, Egypt

... I´m enjoying walking around the block with my mother, learning to appreciate normal activities like going to a restaurant with friends and getting to know new people via housparty.com. - Lena Schneider, Germany

... habe ich meiner Familie, meinen beiden Kindern und meinem Mann jeden Tag eine Stunde Deutsch beigebracht - sie haben schon das Niveau A2 erreicht! - Meri Navasardyan, Armenien

...pollution decreases. - Andika Asyuda, Indonesia

... koche ich jetzt viel mehr selbst und esse auch viel gesünder. - Frank Maier, Deutschland

… I have more time to be close to my family and I can enjoy doing my work while sitting next to my little daughter. – Nuha Mohamed Abdalla, Sudan

… people might find a situation where they could elaborate on what they might have done wrong both to themselves and others and to think of the moments they would have been unjust or immoral, unkind or indifferent, especially to the people who might have suffered from this injustice, and to remind themselves of the fact that nothing in the world is stable enough to forget about being kind and helpful to others. – Vahid Medhat, Iran

… I have come to appreciate local artists, the beauty of my city and how much I really do enjoy going to work. - Sumita Ramgareeb, South Africa

… genieße ich die Frühlingsblumen in unserem Garten dieses Jahr besonders (dort verbringe ich gerade so viel Zeit wie noch nie) - man wird demütiger und kann die sonst so selbstverständlichen Dinge wieder viel mehr schätzen: Lebensmittel, Familie, Freundschaft, Umarmungen, Begegnungen und die Freiheit, in der wir normalerweise leben. – Lena Willhauck, Deutschland

… for slowing down the pace of life for us, letting us catch up on many projects and communicate more with neighbours, family, friends and relatives through keeping the 2 metre distance and constant virtual/phone communication - and for bringing out the best in people: my 89 year old uncle whose wife died last year has been overwhelmed with the generosity and phone calls checking up on him; ‘good sorts’ all over the country have been getting anyone 70 years old and over their groceries; beloved small businesses throughout the country are receiving money for goods and services in advance through a voucher systems so the businesses can keep afloat until the they can start operating again; a midwife has been purchasing necessities out of her own pocket necessities; a young checkout operator in a supermarket paid for a person´s groceries as he didn’t have payment through a bank card; and there many more wonderful stories like these… - Carmel Daly, New Zealand

... wurden familiäre Bindungen gestärkt. - Adel Darouish, Syrien

… we are being more creative solving problems - it is a time to adapt, but also to find out what is really important for everybody. - Indira Hechavarria, Cuba