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Bloccato sotto

Non potendo più andare in ufficio e con le biblioteche chiuse e inaccessibili, abbiamo iniziato a inviarci libri tra noi, creando in pratica un nostro sistema di prestiti 
Australia, Oceania

Story by Pia Dannhauer. Translated by Daniela Pratesi
Published on September 17, 2022.

This story is also available in GB



L’Australia avrà anche sentito il pieno effetto della pandemia di Coronavirus qualche settimana più tardi dell’Europa, ma la carta igienica era già rapidamente sparita dagli scaffali ben prima. Un Tweet pronosticava che questa corsa agli acquisti sarebbe passata alla storia come “la grande guerra della carta igienica del 2020” [1]. Non credo che dimenticherò mai quel Meme. Nonostante queste assurde corse agli acquisti, era sconcertante sentire le notizie che arrivavano dall’Europa. Ancora più sconcertante era vedere quanti australiani ignorassero le misure di distanziamento sociale, ritrovandosi alla Bondi Beach e – per strano che possa sembrare – scarpinando da Bunnings (una catena di magazzini di bricolage). Una sensazione davvero frustrante.

A quel punto, la visita della mia famiglia a Brisbane era già stata annullata per i requisiti della quarantena per gli stranieri. Pochi giorni dopo, è stato proibito l’ingresso nel paese. Questo significa che, con un visto temporaneo per studenti, non posso vedere la mia famiglia – semplicemente perché altrimenti non potrei tornare nel paese nel prossimo futuro.

In questa crisi, mi ritengo comunque tra i pochi fortunati ad avere una borsa di studio, a differenza di quegli studenti stranieri che sono rimasti intrappolati fuori dal paese dopo la chiusura dei confini e rischiano di perdere il visto. Alcuni hanno perso il lavoro che gli serviva per finanziarsi gli studi. Alcuni dottorandi freschi di laurea ora non possono trovare lavoro. Anche molti degli accademici con cui lavoro si preoccupano degli incarichi e dei progetti di ricerca futuri, dato che le università sono state duramente colpite[2] dalla mancanza di nuovi iscritti.

Per quanto mi riguarda, la crisi ha cambiato le mie giornate in vari modi, perché non posso più andare in ufficio né accedere a una biblioteca. Ma frequentare seminari, ascoltare ricercatori esterni che presentano i propri progetti e fare scambi con altri candidati al dottorato è ancora possibile – solo molto diverso. Ed essere costretti a connettersi in modi nuovi, digitali, ha certamente avvicinato il nostro gruppo di ricercatori. Ci spediamo perfino i libri, creando in pratica un nostro sistema di prestiti nel periodo di chiusura delle biblioteche.

Poiché è da pochissimo tempo che vivo in Australia, anche osservare il modo in cui gli australiani affrontano le ristrettezze del passato e del presente per i popoli indigeni (le popolazioni aborigene e delle Isole dello Stretto di Torres) è per me molto interessante. Una delle prime cose che ho notato quando sono arrivata qui è che gli australiani iniziano qualsiasi riunione o evento pubblico rendendo omaggio agli antichi custodi della terra e che quei popoli indigeni sono ancora per molti versi svantaggiati. Purtroppo le comunità più remote di aborigeni e abitanti delle Isole dello Stretto di Torres sono state particolarmente colpite dal COVID-19. Il motivo è la maggiore diffusione di patologie croniche e l’indisponibilità di un rapido accesso alle cure.[3][4][5] La carenza di cibo dovuta agli accaparramenti di massa (non solo di carta igienica) ha inoltre tagliato le forniture essenziali verso le zone più isolate. Ho ancora molto da imparare sulle popolazioni indigene, ma penso che sia una questione importante su cui sensibilizzare l’opinione pubblica. Dopo tutto, di fronte a questi problemi anche le difficoltà che incontro all’università e negli spostamenti mi sembrano poca cosa. 


Note a piè di pagina

[1] The Great Toilet Paper war of 2020 (2020), da: https://twitter.com/AUS_otanko_Ns/status/1236106978939645952?s=20

[2] The conversation (2020), Australian universities could lose $19 billion in the next 3 years. Our economy will suffer with them, da: https://theconversation.com/australian-universities-could-lose-19-billion-in-the-next-3-years-our-economy-will-suffer-with-them-136251

[3] AGDH (2019), “Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and remote communities”, da: https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert/advice-for-people-at-risk-of-coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples-and-remote-communities

[4] Naccho (2020), “Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates and Information”, da: https://www.naccho.org.au/home/aboriginal-health-alerts-coronavirus-covid-19/

[5] AGDH (2020), “Coronavirus (COVID-19)”, https://www.niaa.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/coronavirus-covid-19


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Pia Dannhauer

Pia Dannhauer

My name is Pia and I am a PhD Candidate in Australia. I moved from Berlin to Brisbane last year to research Indonesia's foreign policy. When I am not working, you can find me looking for koalas or feeding my sourdough.

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