Corona Crisis in Europe: "I Don't See People Like Us Getting Saved Anywhere"

"I Don't See People Like Us Getting Saved Anywhere" – Seite 1

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How are our European neighbors doing in the pandemic? What is life like these days in France, Ireland and Bulgaria? In the series "We Neighbors," which begins today, Europeans will be talking about their everyday lives: the taxi driver in Dublin, the management consultant in Paris, the theater family in Bulgaria. They all are also taking part in Europe Talks, a discussion event for which ZEIT ONLINE, together with media partners from 15 countries, is now registering participants.

Declan Scully, 54, taxi driver in Dublin, Ireland

"In my hometown of Dublin, they say that you're only a real Dub if you were born within earshot of the bells of the Christ Church Cathedral. And I was. Born 54 years ago in Dublin and stayed here ever since. It's my life. And I can say: It's never been as bad as it is right now. Not even during the financial crisis in 2007-2008. And that hit us hard.

The Irish have just about had enough. The way the government is dealing with the pandemic is a disaster. They are constantly making contradictory statements. I get it, right? A pandemic like this: It’s the kind of thing that happens maybe once in a hundred years. Mistakes happen. Things change.

But I can still remember late summer quite well. The government announced that there was to be a 5-level plan. The higher the number of cases, the higher the level. The higher the level, the stricter the measures. In the internet, we would be able to see what level was in effect for our own city or region and what that meant. It sounded good.

But suddenly, Dublin was at level 3.5. Three point five. What was that supposed to mean? Three with a bit of four? Four with a bit of three? What measures now applied? Nobody knew. The plan was a good one, simple and understandable. Why do you have to make it so that nobody understood anymore? Three point five – it still makes me mad.

I work as a taxi driver in Dublin. Normally. But I haven't driven my taxi since March 6 of this year. That was over half a year ago. It's not that I'm not allowed to. It's just that nobody wants to take a taxi anymore. Since March, I've been getting an unemployment payment that the government is paying out during the pandemic, about 1,000 euros per month. On top of that is the 900 euros that my wife earns.

The second lockdown has been in effect since the middle of October. Pretty much every store is closed, and people are supposed to stay home as much as possible. If you go further than 5 kilometers from your home, you'll be penalized. Everyone who can work from home is required to do so! We're at level 5 right now, the highest one. Only essential workers are allowed to use public transport. The rest stay home. Nobody needs to be driven anywhere.

We taxi drivers had a difficult time like this once before. That was during the economic collapse of the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Before that, I would earn 250 euros on a single weekday, and up to 600 euros over the weekend. But after the crash, it was maybe 100 euros with a bit of luck, no matter what day it was. But at least the pubs were open back then and we could get drunk when things were really bad. This time, it's worse, and not just because the pubs are closed.

Another taxi driver told me recently that on a Saturday-night shift, the best shift of the week, he made just 25 euros. Once you subtract the fuel, you take 12 euros home after a 12-hour shift. For a lot of us, the only thing we can do is drive these shifts anyway. The vast majority of taxi drivers are immigrants or they're older. They depend on driving their taxi. They can't just quit their job. The old ones, especially, drive every day and earn nothing, and they are the ones who are in a risk group and are putting their health in danger.

All the talk of "the economy" that has to be saved, I can't hear it any more. I don't see people like us getting saved anywhere – not in Ireland, not in Germany, not anywhere in the world. And we are the foot soldiers, it’s thanks to us that the country keeps going!

"Irish men meet at the pub or not at all"

I need my car, even if I'm not driving any shifts anymore. Mostly for one of my sons. He’s autistic and needs routine. One of them is that we take him for a drive – exactly the same route every single day, 365 days a year. If we break the routine, he could have a meltdown. From the outside, it looks like a tantrum, but it is more of a reflex, a fit that autists like him can't control.

During the first lockdown in April, people were much more afraid than they are now. But they were also more responsible. The first lockdown didn't last long. And the second one might end soon as well. But I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel. For us taxi drivers, it doesn't matter if we are in a lockdown or at level 5 or level 2. For as long as the pubs, restaurants, clubs and airport aren't totally open, we will continue to feel the effects.

In my neighborhood, there are people who have died of COVID-19. I knew a lot of them. But I couldn't say goodbye because of the limits on the number of people who can go to funerals. It's the closest family members, and that's it.

I haven't seen a lot of my best friends for months. I really miss them. We used to meet up every Monday, often around 20 of us. Mick and Coach and Willy. That's gone, because the pubs are closed or only let in an extremely limited number of people. My wife meets up with her friends for a coffee in the park. They go on walks and talk. Kids do that too, the youth, the young adults. It's totally normal for them. But Irish men don't do things like that, at least not at my age. You meet at the pub or not at all. We also wouldn't ever meet up on Skype. A lot of my friends don't even know how to use it. And plus, you don't drink at home in Ireland, at least not alone in front of the computer.

I struggle with depression. And it's pretty bad right now. It feels like I'm inside a balloon as the air is being let out. I can't get out, but the sides are closing in and squeezing me more and more.

Ireland is still largely shaped by its Catholic tradition. I have the feeling that's why nobody talks about suicide or thoughts of suicide in Ireland. And actually, that's true of all psychological problems. It's pounded into us from childhood to not talk about things that hurt inside. A lot of older people, people of my age, still don't get it. They would rather just give people with psychological problems a kick in the ass and tell them to pull themselves together. But in Ireland, three times more people die of suicide than from car accidents. Yet we spend millions on traffic safety, for ads and campaigns. And there is hardly any money for education about psychological problems.

The suicide numbers are sure to go up by a lot this year. They'll go through the roof, I'm sure of it. People are scared. We had a three-month moratorium on rent and mortgage payments. The government decreed that landlords weren't allowed to evict renters if they couldn't pay their rents. The moratorium is now expiring. Where are people supposed to suddenly find money that they didn't have months ago?

All I can think about at the moment is Christmas. One of my sons badly wants one of those electric scooters for kids so he can ride it to school. I have no idea how I can get one for him. But I've at least put up the Christmas tree already. A lot of my neighbors do that: They decorate their whole house to give a bit of joy to themselves and the kids in the neighborhood. It costs money, but I do it anyway because I want to see the broad smiles on the faces of kids and adults when they see a house completely decorated for Christmas. The ear-to-ear grins. This year, it's more important than ever."

Are you interested in getting to know people like Declan Scully? Then register for Europe Talks before the Nov. 30 deadline. (Click here to access the registration page.) On Dec. 13, thousands of people from across Europe will meet up virtually with another European to discuss the corona crisis.

Translated by Charles Hawley and Daryl Lindsey.