Life in particular has become difficult for people with families in different countries. Many have not seen their loved ones for many months due to travel difficulties and restrictions.
While this has been a difficult year, every cloud has a silver lining. Good things have come with the Covid crisis.
Telework is here. Hopefully, even after the crisis, we can avoid unnecessary business travel and use remote meetings whenever possible. Hopefully, in the future, people will also be able to work from home whenever possible for the employer and the employee.
Crises have also made us think about what is really important in life and society. The importance of health, well-being and loved ones has crystallized. Nature has become more important to many when leisure activities are limited.
Finnish society has shown its strength in the situation. The social security system has helped people who lost their jobs. Public health care has treated the sick. People have voluntarily helped their neighbors during the lockout. High digitalization has leveled out social distance and teleworking. The political system has been able to make the necessary decisions. The result is that the pandemic and the resulting economic crisis have not been as deep in Finland as in other European countries.
Many expatriate Finns have moved back to Finland this year, the brain drain has turned. Maybe in windy times people want to be close to their loved ones and the stability of Finnish society is seen as really valuable. We have not only seen people returning to Finland, but also people moving from large cities to the countryside within Finland as well. This is an interesting turnaround that may reflect a greater change in values, lifestyles, and preferences. It remains to be seen whether the trends are temporal or more permanent.
There is no return to the old normal, and the new normal is still in shape. Crises have made our minds and political landscapes open to change. It’s a good time to really think about what are the most important things in life and society and how we can build a better life, minimize inequality and at the same time adapt our lives to the boundaries of nature. This is not the last crisis, unfortunately it will be worse if we do not take global warming and the ecological crisis seriously.
People and politics have been able to make big changes quickly to protect life and health from the virus. We also need to make major changes to protect us and our children from global warming. But in the fight against fierce19 and also global warming, it must be remembered that no one is left behind.
Hanna Sarkkinen
Hanna Sarkkinen is a representative of the Left Alliance from the Oulu constituency.
This article is written for MP Talk, which is a regular column in the Helsinki Times, where members of the Finnish Parliament share their thoughts and opinions. All opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Helsinki Times.
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Source: The Nordic Page