Lars Lemche, President of PAIMA (Pan American International Movers Association), asks whether the human race will learn anything from COVID-19.

Today, we are all sitting at home working and wondering what is going to happen in the near and even distant future. We are being bombed with fake news on social media, none of which we can trust, and being made to believe that the world is reaching the end. So, what is the truth?

The truth is that, as Freddy Mercury sang, “The Show Must Go On”. We must face new challenges and new realities. We can work more from home and spend less time in traffic and at airports. We can accomplish more with better communication systems; and we can pollute less. Our kids can do their work on the computer rather than in the classroom.

We have become so dependent on everything that is part of our modern world today that we can’t look forwards anymore. We check our handhelds every two seconds, even driving or sleeping. We check for new gadgets and products and buy them online just for the pride of ownership, even if we don’t need them; we use them once, and throw them away. We spend time on nonsense. This is a great opportunity to clean up, re-think and see the mess we have made.

During the quarantine, we have called friends we have not talked to in ages and relatives we’ve not seen in years. We’ve even met the neighbours! Why don’t we always do it this way? We have become selfish, taking selfies and looking only at ourselves.

It’s time to reflect.  It’s time for self improvement.  It’s time to think of others and be kinder.  It’s time to do better - from now on.

Photo:  Lars Lemche - President of PAIMA