Pandemic Solidarity: Mutual Aid During the COVID-19 Crisis
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Marina Sitrin & Colectiva Sembrar (eds.)
Publisher: Pluto Books
Year: 2020
Format: Paperback
Size: 304 pages
ISBN: 9780745343167
“Helps us to rethink and re-imagine an egalitarian society where no one is left behind” London School of Economics Review of Books
In times of crisis, when institutions of power are laid bare, people turn to one another. Pandemic Solidarity collects firsthand experiences from around the world of people creating their own narratives of solidarity and mutual aid in the time of the global crisis of COVID-19.
The world's media was quick to weave a narrative of selfish individualism, full of empty supermarket shelves and con-men. However, if you scratch the surface, you find a different story of community and self-sacrifice.
Looking at thirteen countries and regions, including India, Rojava, China and the US, the personal accounts in the book weave together to create a larger picture, revealing a universality of experience - a housewife in Istanbul supports her neighbor in the same way as a punk in Portland, and a grandmother in Italy does. Moving beyond the present, these stories reveal what an alternative society could look like, and reflect the skills and relationships we already have to create that society, challenging institutions of power that have already shown their fragility. Chapters include:
*Capitalism Kills, Solidarity Gives Life": A Glimpse of Solidarity Networks from Turkey
* Solidarity Network in Iraq During Covid-19: This Time the Enemy is Invisible
* Sharing Spaces and Crossing Borders: Voices from Taiwan
*Rethinking Minority and Mainstream in India
*Confronting State Authoritarianism: Civil Society and Community-Based Solidarity in Southern Africa
*On Intersectional Solidarity in Portugal
*Solidarity Networks in Greece
*Argentina: Injustices Magnified; Memories of Resistance Reactivated
*On Grassroots Organizing: Excerpts from Brazil
What happens to society when we are not held back by the neoliberal narrative? What can we do, to protect ourselves and one another, when we organize and act collectively? From the stories told here, maybe more than we expect.
\n\nWhat People Are Saying\n
\n“Just what we need so desperately in this moment. How we come out of this pandemic will shape the future of humanity. Now, as never before, we have to break the deadly logic of capital. A beautiful and important book.” John Holloway, author of Change the World Without Taking Power
\n“In the midst of a global crisis, we must listen, learn, and build with people from around the world - the essays and insights collected here help us do just that. A crisis is a turning point, and this valuable book can serve as a guide to a better future.” Astra Taylor, director of What Is Democracy?
\n'These stories teach us of the enormous potential for love and resistance in a world threatened by apocalyptic capitalism.” Mike Davis, author of City of Quartz
\n“Mutual aid, solidarity and commoning become most visible during periods of deep crises. This book inspires us all on the path to social change.” Massimo De Angelis, author of Omnia Sunt Communia: On the Commons and the Transformation to Postcapitalism
\n“If you take a break from doom-scrolling to read Pandemic Solidarity you’ll learn how we launched the largest mobilization of mutual aid projects in history.” Indypendent
\n“Helps us to rethink and re-imagine an egalitarian society where no one is left behind." LSE Review of Books
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