EDITOR'S CHRISTMAS LETTER

Selina Seesunkur December 23, 2021

By Simon Schofield

We can’t sugar coat it. It’s been another tough year riding out this pandemic together. Life has not yet returned to normal as hoped. The trials and tribulations of this unique moment in history are well-documented. Our great problem-solving skills are why we are among the most resilient creatures on the planet, thriving in Arctic tundras, arid deserts, and tropical rainforests. However, when you wield the hammer of problem-solving, every issue looks like a problematic nail. We are primed not to notice as much when things are going well than when they are deteriorating and require attention.

However, if you cease looking for problems to solve for a moment, you will notice people going out of their way to solve problems for others. Since the dawn of the pandemic, I have come to know my neighbours better. Whilst we would exchange awkward pleasantries before lockdown, now we take the time to ask each other how we are doing and do small things to make life easier – getting a spare key cut for the communal door, helping take shopping to an ill relative, or just stopping to chat and offer some support. I have noticed this online, where Facebook groups and Twitter feeds have sprung up for local people to ask for and offer help to one another.

The Covid outbreak has foisted a multitude of inconveniences on us all and exposed some of the less flattering facets of human nature. However, it has also unleashed a spirit of generosity that had hitherto been dormant. This is the essence of what David Cameron called ‘the Big Society’. It may have been communicated somewhat ambiguously, and the cynics poured a surprising degree of scorn on the policy, but it is something many of us do instinctively. The Government has spent unprecedented amounts of taxpayers’ money on the Covid response, providing vaccines, grants, and emergency supplies. However, in the spirit of the Big Society, we haven’t all just sat back and let the Government do all the work. What we can do for ourselves and each other, we have.

The pay-off for doing this is that we build something that a bureaucratic government struggles to create: community. A hackneyed buzzword it may be, and many find it increasingly boring. It’s treated like free marshmallows – nice to have and cheap to give away, but lacking substance, and easily forgotten. However, the meaning of community is deeper than platitudes, it is human connection, the stuff that truly makes life feel meaningful. It’s the difference between a supermarket where every customer is treated like just another person looking to scan their items, touch their card and leave before they’re forced to make eye contact with a stranger, and a place where John from round the corner comes to buy sweets to reward his son for achieving an award in class, or where Jane from down the road comes to buy a newspaper to read to her ailing mother. That difference is everything, and it’s something we can all decide to build for ourselves and each other every day.

At Centric, our mission is to give a voice and a platform to people and perspectives that often go unheard. We believe not only in diversity of people, but diversity of ideas. It is only in a free market of ideas that we can sort what works to open doors of opportunity for everyone, and what is old hat that needs to be consigned to the wastebin.

Christmas, whether you celebrate or not, offers a chance to reflect on the year, reconnect with those we love, and recharge our batteries. However, there are people out there for whom it is an incredibly hard time, who often go unnoticed by those around them. Some people will be forced to isolate this Christmas, away from their friends and family, having tested positive for Covid-19. In the spirit of both our mission and the Big Society, please keep an eye out for opportunities to serve your community. Ask your neighbour how they are coping, even if you don’t normally talk to them. Ring that friend who hasn’t been doing so well lately. Join your local community page and see if there is anything you have, but don’t need or use, that might make life easier for someone else. It’s not an original idea, but it’s needed now more than ever as we amble into the third year of the pandemic, blinking into the light (which might be the end of a tunnel, or a harbinger of hardship), and anticipating what ups and downs 2022 will bring. To all our readers, thank you for your support in 2021. We hope you have a restful and enjoyable Christmas, a very Happy New Year, and a bright and prosperous 2022.

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Selina Seesunkur December 23, 2020

By Selina Seesunkur

I think we can all agree that Christmas 2020 will be an exceptional one for all of us. In this modern world, where we are used to roaming freely and consumerism is normally at an all-time high, we are having to adapt like never before. At the time of writing this article, Government guidelines stated that “between 23 to 27 December, if you form a Christmas bubble, do not meet with friends and family that you do not live with in your home or garden unless they are part of your Christmas bubble”. Now as we publish, we have a new Tier 4!

For those of us who have larger families, and usually meet up for a good old-fashioned shindig, I can imagine this could be quite a predicament in Tier 3. But for those of us who have no-one this Christmas, this festive holiday will still be the loneliest time of the year. As the number of Covid cases continues to increase, the country appears divided over whether the Prime Minister has done the right thing. However, with over 67,000,000 people living in the UK, and all with varying opinions, can the Prime Minister realistically ever provide the correct solution in the eyes of the public? I suspect not.

I live in a Tier 4 area, London and the rules say that “you cannot meet other people indoors unless you live with them or they are part of your support bubble”. Some were outraged and claimed Christmas had been cancelled, others felt the Prime Minister should have made the decision sooner.

Just by walking down the road, you can easily spot those who will and are deviating from the rules; people who will not give you space on the pavements, people who think it’s ok to have a cheeky drink with their mates because they think no-one will see, people who wear masks around their chins and not on their faces, and so on. Then there are those who are brave enough to venture out, wearing a mask but still showing the fear in their eyes as someone gets too close. Just by walking down the road, or by listening to people talk, you can observe the difference of opinion.

I sat in a meeting and the host wished us all a Merry Christmas, but then continued to remind us of the many lives lost this year. This loss of life is as a result of a deadly virus that hit us all, not only us as a nation, but many countries across the world. There were no boundaries the virus recognised. It hit the rich, the poor, it saw no colour, no age, it did not care if you were a sinner or a saint and it just keeps coming. Therefore, we need to continue to be careful; we must adhere to government guidance and not become increasingly dismissive and complacent. Because only then can we say, we did everything we personally could.

We must not forget the heroes amongst us, whether it’s the parent who had no choice but to continue to go out to work to put food on the table, the nurses and doctors, the police, teachers, those front-line workers who support the community in various ways, and those community volunteers who help them out, because they are the true community saints. If you cannot adhere to the rules for your own sake, then please do it for theirs.

It is not all doom and gloom, especially if you remain focused on all that you are lucky to have and cherish the people you have in your life.

So please -

Wash hands

Cover face

Make space

And have a very Merry Christmas from all of us at Centric Magazine.

DRESSING UP TO SEE THE END TO FAST FASHION THIS CHRISTMAS

Selina Seesunkur December 16, 2020

By Rachel Sterling

It’s that time of year again. The aisles are full, shelves are stocked, and queues are stretching out the door. Christmas time, or prime time for consumerism as it could also be known. Whilst Christians take time out to celebrate the birth of their Lord Jesus Christ, others simply try not to wince as they look at their diminishing bank balance.

Why has the season of comfort and joy become a source of stress for so many? Whilst finding the perfect Christmas gift for our loved ones is a source of great stress for us in the West, Christmas may signify something very different for garment factory workers in the Global South. Thoughts of piling up orders, overtime, overproduction, and underpayment spring to mind in order to meet our Christmas needs. This is not written to merely insight guilt. After all, who doesn’t love receiving thoughtful gifts and spending time with friends and family? In recent years however, I’ve been giving more and more thought to where my clothes come from. Who made them and what were they paid?

I’ve been closely following the #payup and #whomademyclothes campaigns. According to sources like Apparel Action Tracker many fast fashion brands have not paid their workers for orders they cancelled over lockdown. Therefore, they worked for free. This can be construed as modern-day slavery. At Christmas, we may feel that we desperately need that new Christmas jumper or party dress, or perhaps lounge wear is more appropriate for our current time. However, I think it’s vital to question how our consumer choices are impacting others. Do we need more stuff this Christmas? If, over lockdown, so many of us emptied our closets of clothes and things we no longer needed or used, do we really need to replace these with more of the same?

I wanted to respond to the temptation that Christmas brings to “buy, buy, buy” in a new way this year. Myself and a group of friends from my Church St Michael le Belfrey in York are part of a group called Belfrey Social Justice and we participate in Dressember. Every year hundreds don a dress or a tie every day for the month of December and get others to sponsor us to raise money for anti-human trafficking charities such as the International Justice Mission. These charities are actively working to see an end to human trafficking in our lifetime. As fast fashion is one of the main contributors to the modern-day slavery industry, it felt like a really simple way to respond. We actively encouraged participants not to buy new dresses and ties. Instead, we borrowed each other’s and then found ourselves asking why we didn’t do that all the time. It’s a lot cheaper than buying new ones!

We have also been reflecting on Sarah Lazarovic’s Buyerarchy of Needs. I fully maintain that this needs to be a societal shift and large-scale companies need to be held accountable and change their ways of overproduction, fast fashion, and modern-day slavery in their supply chain. However, as the consumer, I think we have a role to play too. If we believe our own Christmas customs are feeding these industries, then we need to look inward and see where we also could change our Christmas habits.