These are strange and unsettling times, unknown territories and bewildering feelings. Life as we know it has stopped and taken a detour. Hence, my last letter to Britain, filled with love and hope, looks at the current unpredictable and worrying situation we Europeans find ourselves in, with the rest of the world. Humanity is fighting something invisible to the naked eye, yet powerful enough to make stock markets crash and cause nations to shut down. Some see it as a sign from the universe, telling us to start taking better care of the environment, some think it is a higher entity’s way of nudging us change our ways with one another. Whatever it is, with the aftermath of Brexit in mind, I sincerely hope that any animosities can be put to one side and hateful feelings will be buried deep, never to be seen again. Whilst many Europeans (I include the Brits in this, too) are already doing their bit to combat Covid-19, others are not taking matters quite as seriously as they should. Selfish, ignorant and aggressive behaviour in shops, social and every day life are still on display, making hard efforts of social distancing and considerate movements of others an apparent wasted effort (it is not!). The most important message I have for the country I love is, that now is the time to pull together, work together, look after each other and show some love and kindness like never before. Not just for yourselves, but also to your European/ international brothers and sisters. Many of them will keep this country running, caring for the sick, stocking the shelves in your supermarket, help elderly neighbours with their errands, bring take away food to your door or, like me, come into school and look after your children. Never before has international solidarity and community been more important. Now is not the time to keep our hearts closed, even if the borders have to, for some time. Maybe this will make people reflect and evaluate their previous opinions and thoughts. Maybe it won’t. My final hopes and wishes for my Britain are that it will see itself again as part of a greater community. You can’t be great by yourself. But you can be gigantic with the support, love and energy of the world.
Chameleon in High Heels 