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government response
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2020-04-28
Humans of Covid-19 AU: Suzy Suzet
“My life was so different to how it is now. I had a very good hourly job and social life. I really want it back like that. The distance is so hard and awkward. I miss my lovely clients whose house I clean. It has totally changed my life. I do a lot of charity work with the Singapore community to occupy my time without work. We help each other with whatever we can. We give food to people who need it on a continuous basis. Many people aren’t earning money right now, but a way to survive is by helping each other. I hope that my family is safe over in Indonesia. Indonesia is one of the worst Asian countries for COVID19. It is very serious. I really want to shout out to my people “this is the worst thing and listen to the government’s warnings!”. I always remind my family: stay at home. Don't worry about food or money, I will provide. Just don’t step outside the house. I really appreciate the Australian Government, they are doing the best. The cases have slowed down, and there has been a good response and togetherness from all of the people. We must always be aware of what the government is saying. Always listen and do it, it’s not that hard. This is not a holiday, lock down is lock down. I have to go outside to make money. The rest are very lucky to work from home.” Instagram post on Suzy Suzet, cleaner, and her experience during the pandemic, which was created by a psychology student living in Melbourne who was interested to hear about how COVID-19 was impacting on different peoples’ lives. -
2020-04-18
Humans of Covid-19 AU: Josh Burns
“As a politician, I’m used to spending my days being out in the community, interacting with people and groups. We politicians are extroverts, we like having people around us! All that’s stopped and that’s the biggest change. I used to travel a lot - to Canberra and other places - never being at home enough. Now I’m home all the time. It’s great but it’s much more difficult to connect with people. I’m finding that there are waves in terms of how I’ve been called on to help people. At first it was offering support to the thousands of people who lost their jobs and were queuing outside Centrelink. Then it was helping people who found themselves stranded overseas. Now it’s about assisting individuals and businesses in accessing grants. The financial strain is immense, but it’s also about people’s sense of self worth. The mental health issues are huge. With so much hardship and such dramatic changes, my work is harder but it’s also meaningful. What’s next? How do we unlock the next chapter? There are so many approaches about what we should be doing at this moment. We need a clear government strategy for now before we can work out next steps. But we have to keep going.” Instagram post on Josh Burns, a politician, and his experience during the pandemic, which was created by a psychology student living in Melbourne who was interested to hear about how COVID-19 was impacting on different peoples’ lives.