NI 528 - November, 2020

A caring economy

A note from the editor

Home truths

An innocent question: ‘How are you feeling about the care magazine?’ my housemate asked me over coffee. ‘Angry’ was my answer. In fact, I’ve spent a large part of the Covid-19 pandemic feeling this way, with the issue of care a major focal point of my rage.

I’m vexed about the glaring inequality in who does care work and domestic labour – in the ‘wider world’ and in my personal life. I’m enraged about the lack of recognition and the disrespect often displayed for the (mostly) women and/or racialized people doing this work and how they, along with people who may need their care, are treated as expendable.

But there is hope; 2020 has demonstrated our interdependence and plenty of people have shown up to make sure people are cared for – friend or stranger. There has also been an outpouring of public appreciation. Over the peak of the pandemic here in Britain, Thursday evening’s ‘clap for carers’ was a highlight for my nurse housemate and her three year old, who would bang on everyone’s bedroom doors to remind us. Although many key workers loved it, for others the applause was hollow without concrete changes to their pay and working conditions.

This issue’s Big Story explores care in its widest sense and its, often conveniently ignored, relationship with the wider economy. In the magazine we hear from people who are navigating this in a system which too often treats them with contempt.

Elsewhere in this edition, Stephanie Boyd reports from the Peruvian Amazon on how indigenous people, especially hard hit by the pandemic, are fighting for survival, Rahila Gupta makes the case for ‘political blackness’ and our food justice series questions the rise of food banks as a solution to world hunger.

Amy Hall for the New Internationalist co-operative.
www.newint.org

The big story

Albertina is 15 and the oldest of three sisters. When her mother died she took over responsibility for raising her younger siblings. Now she wants to become a nurse.

Photo: Chris de Bode/Panos

NI 528 - November, 2020

A caring economy

A note from the editor

Home truths

The big story

Covid-19 has pushed the world’s caregivers to the limit and beyond. Amy Hall explains how their work continues to be undermined and undervalued.

The Big Story

Action, information, and advocacy groups to support on health care.

Facts, and stats on Care.

Three workers tell their stories. Interviews by Iris Gonzales, Audrey Simango, and Jada Steuart.

Why does the current market economy not serve the best interests of the people? The problem has deep roots, writes Richard Swift. But there is another way...

Keeping children fed and houses clean is part of a global care chain that can be lonely and emotionally conflicted, with the burden disproportionately carried by women. This story by Amy Hall shows how it works.

Words – Amy Hall.

Let down by the state and in-home care companies, Ally Bruener struggles to balance care for the planet with her own vital needs.

Amy Hall on why defunding police departments could lead to more caring communities.

The rise of food charity in some of the most affluent countries is surely a sign that something has gone badly wrong. So why is this broken model being exported to the rest of the world? Charlie Spring investigates.

Witness to hunger by Penny Walters.

Dan Smith offers a snapshot of world trends from the 2020 State of the World Atlas.

Stephanie Boyd reports from the Peruvian Amazon on the fight to get adequate healthcare that respects indigenous tradition.

Big international players are moving in to exploit Mozambique’s vast natural gas resources – but to whose benefit? asks Sophie Neiman.

Rahila Gupta examines the history of the contested idea of ‘political blackness’ and makes the case for retaining it in today’s ongoing fight against racism.

Opinion

Governments need to pull their weight.

QAnon has a lot to learn from Brazil.

Schoolchildren fall through the digital divide.

Currents

Report from Belarus by Natalia Kaliada.

Richard Swift introduces us to the President of Guyana.

Iranian women are using the hashtag #tajavoz to call out sexual violence.

Facebook contravening its own hate-speech policies.

Report from Burkina Faso by Sam Mednick.

Regulars

Praise, blame and all points in between? Give us your feedback.

Letter from Johannesburg. Yewande Omotoso ponders how belonging to a city goes beyond the bald fact of living in it.

Aid or autonomy?

Flight to nowhere.

Psychiatrists per million people.

Solidarity for refugees in Lesbos, via a sticker in Potsdam, Germany.

The photos, facts, and politics of Namibia.

Fresh hell by Kate Evans.

An iconic self-portrait by South African photographer Lebo Thoka.

Indiscriminate hater Andrzej Duda divides Poland.

Palestinian activist Iyad el-Baghdadi, a leading intellectual of the Arab Spring, talks fighting disinformation with Jan-Peter Westad.

Protecting protesters, by Marc Roberts.

Endtimes for Big Oil. Danny Chivers and Jess Worth have some good news from the frontlines

You can't possibly be serious?! - by P J Polyp.

Ethical and political dilemmas abound these days. Seems like we’re all in need of a New Internationalist perspective. Enter stage: Agony Uncle.

What if we dealt with our own rubbish instead of sending it abroad, Vanessa Baird suggests.

Crossword Puzzle, Association Words and Wordsearch

Film, Book & Music Reviews

Anatomy of a Killing by Ian Cobain; Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah; United We Are Unstoppable edited by Akshat Rathi; The Pride of an African Migrant by Mossocki ma Massocki.

Luxor directed and written by Zeina Durra; Shirley directed by Josephine Decker.

Uprize! by Spaza; Zan by Liraz.

Uyghur poet and teacher Abduweli Ayup talks to Jan-Peter Westad about language, cultural survival and the unspeakable.

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