I’m calling it “the great forgetting”. Over the past few weeks, I’ve heard people say that life feels a little like the Covid-19 pandemic again. There are no lockdowns or curfews, but there is a comparable atmosphere.
A regional war is not the same as a global pandemic, however. There is a ceasefire in place, and life hasn’t really stopped. But there's no denying it has shifted. While schools are back to in-person learning following weeks of remote classes, bus services remain suspended. Cafes and restaurants feel quieter, traffic is lighter, and the rhythms of the day are still slightly off.
What feels familiar, though, isn’t the disruption itself, but how we respond to it. During the pandemic, we became more aware of one another – how our actions might affect the people around us, and how even small decisions carry weight. There was a sense that daily life required a little more care.
And that’s the part we seem to have forgotten.
While I wouldn’t dare wish for another deadly pandemic, there are some things from that period I would bring back – not the fear or the restrictions, but the habits that made shared living a little more considerate.
Simple things such as washing hands. For a time, we approached it with the seriousness of a medical procedure, from time spent to techniques employed. There were diagrams. There were reminders everywhere. For a few years, we all became experts in something we should have known since childhood.
Now, step into almost any public toilet and you’ll see how that’s going. People walk in and walk out as if handwashing were an optional extra. Sanitisers have also all but disappeared. They were everywhere once. We carried them like our lives depended on it and used them before and after touching anything, and often just because they were there.
At one point some of us were wiping down groceries. Even bananas were not spared.
We also became more aware of the space between us. Entering a lift felt like a negotiation. Queues always stretched out neatly, without anyone having to be told. For once, consideration wasn’t an afterthought, it was built into how we moved.
Then there was illness. For a brief, shining moment, “stay home if you’re unwell” became an unspoken rule. Not advice. Not a suggestion. Turning up sick stopped being admirable and started being inconsiderate. That hasn't lasted, either.
It was a different way of life. Of course, some of the things we did, in hindsight, may have been excessive. But not everything about that period was bad. We slowed down. We spent more time at home without feeling guilty about it. We paid more attention to our surroundings and, more importantly, to each other.
And in recent weeks, there have been glimpses of that again. There have also been more deliberate acts of support. Across the UAE, businesses and communities have stepped in to help one another navigate the uncertainty. Companies have offered free retail space, digital promotion and even complimentary services to support smaller, independent businesses. Restaurants have rolled out discounts to encourage residents to keep dining out and sustain local businesses.
One Dubai bakery, for example, sold more than 1,000 hot cross buns and snacks in a matter of hours after residents rallied behind it, when Good Friday church services were cancelled due to the war.
Even informal networks have played a role. Community WhatsApp groups have become more active again, helping neighbours share updates, offer reassurance and stay connected.
All of this goes to show that when things feel uncertain, people here can and do look out for one another. That, more than anything, is what defined the better parts of the pandemic – the recognition that we are part of something collective. That shared spaces require shared responsibility.
It wasn’t perfect. And there were some who barely cared. But it wasn’t nothing either.
Now, as the present moment takes on a faintly familiar tone, perhaps it’s time to hold on to those better instincts. Not the excesses – not wiping down vegetables or treating door handles like biohazards – but the small, everyday acts of consideration that make shared life work.
We just have to make sure we don’t forget the lessons we’ve already learnt – that even the smallest habits can have a wider impact on us all.
