DESOLATION and HOPE AMID GLOOM DURING PANDEMIC
VENICE | Christmas & New Years 2021
St Mark's square was built in the 12th century. There are restaurants and shops housed in its arcades and elegant arches. During the holiday season, the whole area is brilliantly lit. St Mark's Square is one of the busiest places in Venice. COVID-19 and its variants have wreaked havoc on the lives and livelihoods of people worldwide – Venice is no exception. It would be unimaginable to see an empty seat in a restaurant like this – one that faces the Doge's Palace on one side and the Venetian Basin lined with Gondolas on the other – let alone all of them vacant! But such are the times!
Waiting for the Customers 1
Waiting for Customers, 2
As I looked at all the empty seats of this restaurant located in a prime location, I spotted this kite rising with the cool morning breeze. It felt like an omen: Venice, just like other cities, and all its people will surely rise again.
Hope amid Gloom
It is important to note that the sentiment we can hold to get through this together is HOPE – a feeling that we all can cultivate, regardless of whether we have the glass-half-full or glass-half-empty temperament.
“Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.” – Vaclav Havel
