aequa Radio: Covid Isn't Over

It’s early autumn 2024, and despite all appearances in Berlin, Covid still isn’t over.

“Covid destroyed us. We are young. We want our lives back.”

These words form a colorful headline against the black background of the website of the Berlin Buyers Club.

As of August 2023, the WHO was estimating 36 million people in Europe affected by the mysterious combination of post-viral symptoms known as Long Covid — very likely a gross underestimation given how often those affected by long covid are misdiagnosed as suffering from depression or other psychological conditions.

Last weekend, a self-organised grassroots group called Berlin Buyers Club organised a demonstration in the shadow of the Reichstag, with testimonials from so-called “Long Haulers” giving testimonies of their experiences of chronic sickness and disabling by Covid and naming their demands.

On this show, we’ll hear some recordings from that demonstration, and if energy is permitting (a rarity for those with Long Covid, who often suffer from some form of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or CFS), we will hear from Sophie, founder of Berlin Buyers Club, as well as disability justice activist Leo.

Berlin Buyers Club is an international grassroots art-activist collective that was founded in March 2023. “We are a small group of affected people doing what we can under very constrained circumstances after COVID-19 made us chronically ill—for some of us, dramatically altering the trajectory of our lives. We spend our limited energy on seeking awareness, treatments, and justice for Long Covid, ME/CFS, and other complex neuro-immune diseases.” https://www.berlinbuyersclub.com/

Leo (they/he) is a community organiser and disability justice activist (among other things). They are currently offering an introductory workshop about disability justice and will soon be offering a "Shame-free Q+A About Covid" workshop as well. He is available for booking by organisations and individual people. https://readymag.com/disability/justice

Additional Resources

Covid mitigation: https://protection.simple.ink/ (EN/DE)
Covid info instagram account: http://instagram.com/jaydocovid/
FAQ about the PlusLife testing machines https://virus.sucks/
Info about HOCI disinfectant - the most potent and environmentally safe disinfectant available and with a wide range of efficacy against many human pathogens https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1WsKaxFGA8UpKfOzltldjCHbDpARzBo2tdID_Pzm8uvQ/mobilebasic

ABOUT AEQUA

aequa stands for social equity. They are an intersectional network of people and projects connected by our shared vision of a world in which everyone can thrive. Together, they explore hope as a practice, becoming more capable together and growing our collective power in the process.

Learn more and get involved at http://www.aequa.cc

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Buy the music from today’s show at https://www.buymusic.club/user/sarj_from_aequa