Warren le Sueur
Co-founder of Weekender and Out-There festivals
A year of ‘hope’, that quickly turned into a year of ‘nope’. “We can’t do this .. We can’t do that ...” These are strangest times I have ever known, in my 50 years of existence on this Earth.
2020 was the year that was set for many, to be a year of joy and positivity. However, after only the first few months, it quickly began to unfold into a year that none of us will ever forget, and for most, for all the wrong reasons. Due to the main stream media hyped virus known as Covid 19, imposed government lockdowns forced most of us to mainly stay at home, leading to having a detrimental impact on our lives. Various retail businesses forced to shut up shop for good, loving couples ‘set to be married’ seeing their big day being cancelled, hearing of family members being unable to attend funerals with their closest friends to share their grief, and overall, having our basic social activities being simply prohibited ... All of these actions affecting our basic human rights and slowly dehumanising us along the way.
As the co-owner of the biggest social events in Jersey, namely WEEKENDER Festival, and OUT-THERE festival, I have felt first hand the sheer disruption to peoples social expectations, as these events were forcibly postponed to 2021 due to covid. This has to be the most bizarre year for events since I created the, now defunct, Jersey Live Festival in 2004. The upset and frustration of the people was understandable, as they so wanted a summer of fun as they have become accustomed too. I know myself the sadness it caused to me personally.
With these events, and others across the island, being unable to take place, the hope of the people felt like it had slipped away on an island that prides itself of its wide ranging social activities.
As a community, we have witnessed our basic freedoms being strangulated in the name of keeping everybody safe, but with these government imposed restrictions, as well as lots of peoples livelihoods being at severe risk, another danger has become apparent...mental health cases have began to rise, which is a huge concern. We need to make sure nobody is left without a friendly arm of support.
We need to remain positive and hopeful that we can get back to normality as quickly as possible. I personally do not buy into this mantra of ‘new normal’ as normal for me felt just fine. To help us get back to normal, we must realise what we had to appreciate it, for when it comes back around.
So lets stick together, support each other, and look to 2021 as our year where we come together even stronger than before and remember to enjoy what we have, not the superficial things that we haven’t.
We are in danger of morphing into something that we are not. Remember this...We are human. We are real. We are the future. Don’t let ‘the Media, Big Tech and Pharma’ change who we are. Never sell out for you and your children’s sake. Trust your instincts first and foremost.
Keep the faith, forever!
