Ten Events and a Lesson

date of publication: 27-12-2020

Ten Events and a Lesson

When we look at the events of 2020, we can clearly see that it was a year marked and dominated by the coronavirus pandemic and its global impacts on all countries and the course of life in them. 2020 started with the shock of COVID-19 and ended with a change in the White House. It was another year in which President Trump was not far from the daily spotlight, and the year ended with his defeat in the presidential election. Between the beginning and end of the year, many important events occurred, but they faded in the background compared to the Corona pandemic and its repercussions. Below is a summary of the ten important events and their main lessons.

January 1, 2020, marked the beginning of a new decade, and many viewed it with optimism and as an opportunity for a new life, but as the year progressed, many wondered if the year's events could get worse, after a series of wildfires, Brexit, and the major breakthrough on Twitter platforms, the US presidential election, the sharp decline in the global stock market, the death of the legendary footballer Maradona, the turmoil over the murder of George Floyd, the explosion in Beirut and many natural disasters, all under the cloud of the global Corona virus pandemic.

1- The COVID-19 pandemic:
On January 9, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the emergence of a deadly Corona virus in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Within months, the virus spread around the world to more than 78 million people, resulting in the death of at least 1.71 million people, knowing that most countries of the world recorded infections with the Corona virus, and the entire world is full of fear, doubts and confusing questions, and perhaps the question to How long will the epidemic last? And how will people’s lives look and change after the end of the epidemic, among the urgent questions that have not yet found an answer?
The repercussions of the pandemic led to the paralysis of human movement worldwide, the closure of the Two Holy Mosques (the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina) by a decision of the Saudi authorities and for the first time in history, Pope Francis presided over (March 27, 2020) alone in prayer in the face of a “storm” The new Corona epidemic, in the empty square of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, calling on the "scared and lost" world to reconsider its priorities, which are not alone or unique this year.

2 - Britain's exit from the European Union (BREXIT):
After years of negotiations and dramatic events, Britain finally exited the European Union on January 31. The UK has officially left the European Union after more than three years of deliberation, political turmoil, protests and back-and-forth negotiations, the move elicited mixed reactions as celebrations and protests erupted across the country. It must now prepare for further negotiations in the coming years. On this occasion, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a video message at the time, “The most important thing that can be said tonight is that this is not the end but the beginning,” “This is the moment when the dawn breaks and the curtain rises on a new chapter. It is a moment of real national renewal and change.”

3- The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump:
On January 16, the impeachment of US President Donald Trump began on two charges - abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and his trial in the Senate was based on a whistleblower complaint that centered on President Trump's call with Ukrainian President Zelensky, where Trump asked Zelensky " service" and discussed the topic of his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. By February 5, Trump was acquitted of both articles of impeachment—on charges of abuse of power (by a vote of 52-48) and for obstruction of Congress (by a vote of 53-47).

4 - A sharp decline in global stocks:
In March, US stocks plunged amid growing fears of the coronavirus. The Dow Jones fell sharply by 2,997 points, the largest drop since 1987. Market-wide trading was halted for 15 minutes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 9.7%, or 2,250 points, within the first minute.

5- “Black Lives Matter” protests:
On May 25, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for 8 minutes 46 seconds in the US city of Minneapolis. His death sparked nationwide demonstrations and protests and riots against racism and police brutality, as well as parallel peaceful protests in many other countries with the aim of fighting for police reform and justice for black lives. According to the New York Times, nearly a fifth of voters in the 2020 US election "view protests as the single most important factor" in their final decision on who to vote. It was no coincidence that Kamala Harris was selected as the Democratic vice presidential candidate to run alongside presidential candidate Joe Biden, making her the first black and first Asian woman on the presidential ticket for a major party.

6 - Twitter hack:
In July, in a bitcoin scam, a group allegedly led by a Florida teenager took over the Twitter accounts of prominent business and political figures in the US - including Joe Biden and Bill Gates. All the scam tweets read the same message and soon after the tweets were posted, it was exposed as a scam and Twitter opened an investigation into how the accounts were hacked. A 17-year-old was later arrested for masterminding the hack.

7 - Beirut explosion:
In August, a massive explosion occurred at one of Beirut's ports, resulting in the accidental detonation of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, killing at least 204 people, injuring thousands and displacing 300,000 people. It is believed that the explosion in Beirut was caused by a fire inside the warehouse. Local reports said the blast was felt dozens of miles away and that the blast was about "one-tenth" the intensity of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, according to the BBC.

8 - Two devastating fires on both sides of the globe:
Australia faced one of the most devastating bushfire seasons, as the fires continued from December 2019 until the beginning of the year 2020, setting a record for 47 million acres burned, killing at least 34 people and leaving thousands homeless. On the other side of the globe, in August the United States faced wildfires on the West Coast, from California to Washington state, burning millions of acres and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

9 - Maradona's death:
In November, football legend Diego Maradona, one of the greatest players of all time, died of a heart attack at the age of 60.
His death sparked a wave of grief among football fans around the world, and in Argentina, where Maradona hails, people were so sad that the Argentine president declared three days of national mourning, and fans around the world shared their grief and posted on social media posts reflecting the importance of this event to them.

10 - Joe Biden becomes President-elect of the United States:
Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States on November 7, defeating President Trump with decisive help from his state, Pennsylvania, which gave him the votes to propel him to victory and end one of the most controversial elections in recent American memory.

A review of the events above:
From the ten examples of this year's events, we see that humanity is now going through a new ordeal, one that we can consider the beginning of the end of globalization as we know it, and the march towards a new international and human balance equation. The parameters of the product for this labor are not yet clear, and they need other secretions in the next few years to reflect the scale of the desired change for the trajectory of mankind, and the depth of the impact of globalization on it.
Supporters of globalization advocated interdependence between countries around the world that is enhanced through free trade, and that reducing barriers between national economies would facilitate the spread of products, information, jobs, and technology across national borders. They argue that globalization has facilitated international trade, strengthened cultural interconnectedness, and enabled people to move around the world more freely. All this has led to the integration of individuals, companies and regulatory authorities around the world.

On the other hand, we knew that with globalization, the idea has no limits, that labor can move between countries, that money cannot be confined to a specific geography, that national laws and local sovereignty will meet an international challenge to break and change it, and that viruses (both good and bad) can It is transmitted rapidly between humans.
The indicators of the events of the year 2020 showed that we are at a crossroads and that the development of social communication mechanisms has brought about great changes and hidden social revolutions that cannot be frozen or limited by a specific geography.

The repercussions of the Corona pandemic also showed us clearly the size of the imbalance, cracks and economic, social and political cracks that we humans suffer from. That the globe is not like the Cave of Ali Baba and is inexhaustible, but rather that it is limited in wealth and capabilities, and that the solution is in our hands, as humans, as it is a trust that God gave us, so is there anyone who will remember?
Perhaps the question of where we Iraqis are from the repercussions or effects of these events is a useful question at this sensitive stage. Will we be able to influence them to make them serve our interests, development and stability? Or did our preoccupation with daily politics make us lose the initiative and movement towards influence? The process of development and human development is taking place in isolation from us, so do we want to be a part of it or only an accidental product of it? Time will surely answer.