2020 will go down in history, for good and unfortunately especially for bad. It goes without saying that what will remain most impressed in our memory is the Covid-19 pandemic, but the virus is not the only occurrence destined to leave a mark.

Here are some of the most relevant facts, worldwide, of a very challenging 2020.

January

The year starts off on the wrong foot. We’ll remember January for the terrible Australian wildfires that devastated the country. Unfortunately, fires will become one of the saddest leitmotifs of the year.

January 5 - The world holds its breath when Iran pulls out of the 2015 nuclear deal, and declares it won’t limit uranium enrichment. Three days later, in retaliation for the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani, Iran also launches missile strikes on two bases in Iraqi, where American troops were housed. …

Have you lost count of all the things you cannot say, do, think, because they are potentially offensive? Let’s get rid of the ‘potentially’ part, because someone who gets offended will eventually come out. Do you spend more time second guessing every word then actually talking to people? Do you feel low-key anxious, preventively guilty, whenever you put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboards?

Well, you’re not alone, but before we begin there’s something about me I’d like to share.

I come from a city the rest of my country loves to hate.

There is no unemployment where I live, it’s just that we’re lazy, and maybe that’s why before it became illegal (but also after), one could run into job offers where people like me need not apply. …

I have been a leftist all my adult life, and I consider silence and indifference crimes, but I firmly believe in bringing people together as well. Maybe this is why I’m somehow baffled at the attitude of many of my ‘colleagues’. I find it clearly counterproductive, and after all I have facts and numbers to prove my theory. The most recent example? The US presidential election, of course, which kept us in suspense for much longer than expected.

I’m talking about communication, because this is a very important factor in every context, but especially when we fight for justice and equality. …

In normal times, without a pandemic and the US elections polarizing people and media’s attention, the feminist protest in Poland would likely have had far greater international coverage.

In normal times, perhaps, Jarosław Kaczyński, president of the ruling party, wouldn’t even have tried to take advantage of the distraction, in Poland and all over the world, to pass a law that greatly limits the right to abortion, and which in 2020 is retrograde, anachronistic and detrimental to women’s right, but also to men’s ones. …

“Winter is coming” as many of us (in the northern hemisphere) would say. Just as quickly and inexorably the number of reported Covid-19 infections rises. The pandemic is going to make next winter harder than ever for most people, and spring is still far away. It doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom, though, just because it’s getting colder.

Here are a few tips and strategies to cope better with whatever is to come.

THE CHALLENGES

Let’s just take a moment to think about what we got to work with. Next winter will bring up three big issues from which many other problems spring. …

It may not be official yet, but looks like Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States. Like it or not, U.S.A. politics has an impact on the rest of the world, it is only fair to wonder if and how this victory will affect Europe. Provided that the handover occurs smoothly and whenever Biden’s victory becomes official, Trump leaves the White House without too much of a fuss.

Here are four hot topics to keep an eye on.

Foreign policy

There is something about Biden that has become almost cliché: he knows everyone in person. This is actually true, at least to some extent. Joe Biden has skills and experience, thanks to his former role as vice president, he is also a well-known proponent of internationalism and he knows many personalities of the international political scene. This means that it will be much easier to rebuild international relationships for Biden than for Trump. Europe can now hope for a new commitment to rebuild what Trump clumsily — and for several reasons — destroyed, such as the relationships between U.S.A. and NATO and other allies. Very often, in fact, Trump went against his European counterparts threatening them with reducing U.S.A. contributions if they did not increase their own in turn.
It should not be forgotten that Trump has led his country out of UNESCO and the UN Human Rights Commission as well, on the basis of an alleged anti-Israel policy by both agencies.
Moreover, on 7 July 2020, Trump took the U.S.A. Out of the WHO, lamenting a poor management of the Covid-19 crisis. In the same circumstance the soon to be ex-president also accused the EU of helping China in hiding its responsibility in provoking the pandemic. This, of course, is something that has yet to be demonstrated as well.
Anyway, Biden’s adviser, Antony Blinken, has already announced that Trump’s foreign policy decisions will be reviewed.
The Mediterranean question remains open, though. A massive U.S.A. intervention in this issue should not be expected anytime soon, or at least not necessarly in favor of European interests. …

While the pandemic is raging all over the world, to date there are 15 million officially confirmed cases and 617 victims (but the numbers are estimated to be much more alarming), the world of politics seems more than ever incapable of giving an adequate response to the problem. The wave of infections therefore does not seem destined to subside any time soon, with new outbreaks exploding basically everywhere, every day, on a more or less massive scale.

Looks like the only solution is a vaccine, but this is nothing new. There are in fact several ongoing trials, in different countries, and some of these march towards a solution of the problem at a speed that is almost unbelievable. …

Before starting, a premise is necessary.

I belong to a category of ‘difficult’ wannabe workers. Woman, 43 y.o., for a thousand boring reasons my previous experience is fragmentary and discontinuous. Moreover, I live in a country, Italy, which has been in an economic crisis for years.
Not enough? Well, I am from the South, where any economic or social problem is multiplied by 100.

The thing is, I’m unemployed.

Despite everything in January 2020 it was almost as if the new year would finally bring me accomplishments and good news. I was in contact with Phil, the guy who, in all likelihood, would become my new boss in the wonderful land of Scandinavia, starting in June. …