Auroville teens on COVID-19

Thanks to the Internet culture, Aurovilian teenagers are very connected to the world: they knew about the coronavirus when it had just started, long before it hit India. “It was all over social media, in serious format and humorous memes as well,” says 15-year old Anu. While some posts were borderline racist, according to one teen – the phrase ‘made in China’ took on a new meaning. However, they didn’t think much about COVID-19 at the time; they did not think it was going to spread to India and affect their lives over here as well.

Then, lockdown.

When schools closed, teens’ online research became more serious as it all started to feel ‘real’.

“I was rather shocked when the government implemented a lockdown with strict protocols for the police,” says Mir (16). The general mood was nevertheless quite relaxed, with most believing the situation would come to an end quite rapidly as the lockdown was nothing more than a precautionary measure. Surely a cure would be found quite rapidly, especially in our usual warm conditions. Manu (16) strongly believed that “everything would go back to normal in no time.”

Before the national lockdown took effect on March 25th, some teenagers were getting ready to take exams, and most were planning on travelling to other countries, such as Korea, Japan, Singapore, Europe, and other parts of India. Their plans included internships, summer holidays with family or friends, and – for the older kids – visiting or going to universities. When their plans were disrupted or cancelled, there was disappointment, but the A-level students suffered most from the uncertainty floating around their future.

Even so, things didn’t feel very different for most; we seem to be living quite secluded lives here in Auroville, even in ‘normal times’. Nevertheless, the youth kept up with what was happening by watching the news every day, reading newspaper articles online and researching the daily statistics regarding cases and deaths in India and worldwide. However, Aiyana, (17), shared: “I quickly realised that surrounding myself with this constant stream of information (most of which tends to be negative and frightening) was putting me in a state of paranoia and causing my anxiety levels to spike.” In fact, the morale of the youth ranged from very low to very high; many of them experienced the entire gamut over the weeks, like a rollercoaster effect.

At first, Auroville teens felt some animosity towards the government for imposing such strict restrictions: no physical interaction with friends, long queues due to restricted opening times, uncomfortable masks (especially in the summer heat), the smell of hand sanitiser insinuating everywhere. They were ‘in a funk’. Manisa (17) mentioned: “the situation affected my mental health to a certain extent because it just felt like all my plans and aspirations went down the drain. After some time, it got better and I realised that everyone is going through the same struggles.”Most of them felt pressured to perform, but gradually came to the realisation that the entire world is in ‘survival mode’, so they could lower their self-expectations. Jasmine (18), opened up: “I have started putting less pressure on myself to constantly do things, because when the world is on pause it feels like I’m allowed to take some time off as well.”

As time went by and days became weeks and months, most felt that this was like an extended holiday. They decided to make the best of it by volunteering at Foodlink and various farms, studying, participating in permitted sports, gardening… Just like everyone else, they were trying to keep themselves busy to cope with events. Volunteering gave them a routine and a structured framework: people came together to give back to the community, for the greater good of the community. Several people (youth and adults alike) mentioned that they never felt more united and connected to the rest of the community than in these troubled times.”I think one of the biggest changes is that I’m starting to realise how I’ve been taking many things for granted, and it is time I show my gratitude,” mused Manu.

The lockdown allowed many Auroville teens to spend quality time with their family and closest friends. Like people of all ages and everywhere around the world, it was also a time of self-work and introspection. Manisa added: “Corona has really given me the time to sit down and reflect, to deal with all the issues that were bothering me and really face them.” Some youths mentioned that they’ve matured more in three months than in the past year, and are much more in touch with themselves. “At first, I felt like I had my freedom taken from me,” reflected Kishore(15). “Later, I noticed freedom was something I needed to create for myself.”

Auropradeepa, 19, explained the impact this situation had on her social life: “I’ve realised that I don’t always have to surround myself with the people I thought I ‘had’ to. I realised I’ve never actually been or lived all alone, I am always surrounded by people. Now, I have reached the stage where I’m voluntarily practicing ‘social distancing’. I finally realised that sometimes I just have to prioritise myself and spend time alone.”

The teenagers’ focus was not only on how India dealt with the situation, but also on the situation worldwide, and they feel that this crisis has brought numerous flaws to light. Manu added: “If everyone doesn’t discipline themselves and if they do not do it together unitedly, how will it work?” Although it’s easy to point fingers, the entire world was caught off guard. Manu likened COVID-19 to the Black Death that ravaged Europe in the 14th century: “History repeats itself: people then did not know what it was and were unable to stop it.”

Most of the students felt that things were handled quite well here in Auroville, although some feel the schools could have offered them more support. Aiyana explained that “Auroville as a whole could have supported the children more as they are affected most by social distancing”. Nevertheless, as the community kept covering basic needs, they did not let the situation dampen their spirits too much. Hamin(17) shared:”I feel I am safe, and that is the most important thing right now.” Half of them were not frightened of catching the virus (Carpe Diem style), but others were very cautious and followed the guidelines to the letter. The latter, like Sama (15), felt that “in Auroville people didn’t and still aren’t taking it as seriously as the rest of the world, especially the teenagers and children.”

They are not convinced by the conspiracy theories that are going around, nor do they believe that some higher force will keep them safe.

As students, they are definitely worried about the future of their education. At first, not having to go to school and having exams cancelled was thrilling, but this was soon replaced with a feeling of frustration and incompletion as well as apprehension. However, most of them are curious and eager to start with what Anu calls: “two words ruling over my near future for now, as vague as can be: Online Schooling.” Most of them believe things will gradually settle and ‘go back to normal’, and life will pick up where they left it. Some are quite intent on catching up for lost time and doing all the things they couldn’t do during the lockdown.

They are touched by the impact that this pandemic has had on people all around the world, feel concerned by everybody’s wellbeing, and are appalled by the deepening of the divide between rich and poor, locals and migrants. 18-year old Leela observes that her current reading of Noam Chomsky’s Global Discontents: Conversations on the Rising Threats to Democracy is applicable to the current situation worldwide: “The system has got to change, especially capitalism since it clearly is not working. It flourishes on the fact that no one has the time to stop and think, you’re always pushed to work more, do more, but at what cost?” Zara (15) shares: “I hope we can take this period as a moment to reflect on the way we live our lives which are usually very busy, and we can move forward into something more conscious, especially when it comes to the environment.”

Leela, however, is concerned that the opportunity for change is not lost for the world as a whole. She points out that many paradoxes became more apparent in this time of crisis, such as the underprivileged putting their lives at risk for the benefit of the ‘overprivileged’. “We’re at a tipping point, and it’s on us: either we strive to go back to our own little bubble of comfort without caring about others and their suffering, going back to normalizing death and destruction; or we give up this position and start from the beginning in a way that helps everyone.”

In fact, it is evident for the youth that here in Auroville we live in a privileged situation. Also, seeing the inequalities everywhere in the world, they realize that some of them are also present in our aspiring-for-better community, and they want to find better ways of dealing with them. They are ready, they say, let’s just do it!