On COVID-19 Resurgence in Tāmaki Makaurau

By Janet McAllister

The COVID19 psychosocial & mental wellbeing recovery plan doesn’t mention digital exclusion once.

Here’s to all the high school kids.

Here’s to the ones who’re hoping their tuakana stops hogging the laptop long enough for them to check into school.

The ones wondering if the hotspot will work long enough to upload their handwritten essays for marking.

The ones tapping their assessments out on their phones. The ones who want to, but their phones are broken.

Here’s to the kids pretty sure COVID is a hoax, like social media says, just another method of keeping life unfair, and the down-and-out invisible.

Here’s to the ones who don’t know when they’ll next see their family in Australia, in Sāmoa, in the UK.

In Christchurch.

Here’s to the ones whose dreams of career are now up in the air, and what’s the point of school now.

The ones in trouble for wearing no masks because those things aren’t free, ay.

The ones in trouble for having fun cutting up socks/t-shirts/towels to make masks.

The ones who love hanging out with their cousins when their parents go out to work at their minimum wage jobs essential to keeping the city running (worrying about getting sick by catching the bus).

The ones who hate looking after their baby siblings, but have no choice coz kids aren’t allowed in the supermarket, and I’ve got to get something for us all to eat tonight, you guys, and there’s no way of paying for delivery, I’ll tell you that for nothing (but I thank my lucky stars I have you because what are sole parents supposed to do about getting groceries if they have no older kids to look after the young ones?).

Here’s to the ones who love being able to sleep in, but hate not being able to see their mates, or even text them (phone’s broken again).

Here’s to the ones who love the Covid lockdown because school makes them feel stink, and days off makes it easier for them

to

disappear

from

the

system

phone’s

broken

maybe

forever.