Looking back at 2020

My top 3 world events of 2020 are as follows: 1. Corona, and the resulting strain on medical care; 2. Terrorist attacks; and tied for third place: Brexit and Trump's US election saga. But of course, there was more going on in 2020. I have highlighted a news item for each month. January: Brexit On January 31, the United Kingdom left the European Union, marking the beginning of Brexit. Boris Johnson subsequently made it extremely tense regarding whether Brexit would involve a deal with the EU or a no-deal scenario, which would have meant a hard Brexit. In late December, a deal was finally reached (by the skin of his teeth). Austria issued a stamp regarding Brexit. Initially, the intended date of March 29, 2019, was printed on it. However, this became January 31, 2020, requiring the stamp to be updated with a new date. February: COVID-19 On February 27, the first person in the Netherlands was diagnosed with COVID-19. The previously unknown disease was first detected in late 2019 in Wuhan, the capital of the Chinese province of Hubei, and subsequently spread to other parts of the world within three months. As of March 11, 2020, according to World Health Organization (WHO) standards, there was officially a pandemic: the coronavirus pandemic. Various countries, including Kosovo, issued Corona stamps. The Dutch PostNL has not done so to date. March: North Macedonia becomes a member of NATO On March 27, North Macedonia was welcomed as the 30th member of NATO. North Macedonia's accession was blocked by Greece for years when the country was still called Macedonia. The Greeks demanded a new name for the country because a province in Greece is also called Macedonia. Following an agreement with the Greeks, the country was named North Macedonia in 2019, and the NATO blockade by Greece was lifted. North Macedonia was able to become a NATO member and issued a postage stamp commemorating this. April: Colombia member of OECD On April 28, Colombia became a member of the OECD. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is an association of 37 countries to discuss, study, and coordinate social and economic policy. The member countries try to solve common problems and attempt to harmonize international policy. The Netherlands was among the first 20 member states in 1961. In 2011, the Netherlands “celebrated” its 50th anniversary of membership with a postage stamp. May: Police violence On May 25, a Black man, George Floyd, died during an arrest in Minneapolis. An officer pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for minutes while he lay handcuffed on the ground and indicated that he was having trouble breathing. The incident led to a resurgence of protests against racist police violence in the United States. In some cases, the protest manifested itself in the form of looting. The officer involved was fired and, four days after the incident, was himself arrested and charged. Nigeria issued a postage stamp about racist police violence in 1981. June: Terror in Nigeria On June 8, Boko Haram murdered at least 69 people in northern Nigeria. The village was destroyed and many possessions were stolen. Boko Haram is a terrorist organization in Nigeria that strives for the strict application of Sharia law throughout the country. The organization has a strong cult-like character. Boko Haram became particularly notorious for the kidnapping of a large group of schoolgirls on April 15, 2014. Schoolchildren and terrorism: This must stop! Juli: Donor Act in force in the Netherlands On July 1, the new Donor Act came into force in the Netherlands. This law stipulated that without active registration, you have no objection to the donation of body parts. Previously, you had to give explicit consent for donation by means of a personally dated and signed declaration (donor codicil). The law was an initiative of Member of Parliament Pia Dijkstra of D66. August: Disaster in Beirut On August 4, a massive explosion in the port of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, killed hundreds and injured thousands. 2.750 tons of ammonium nitrate were stored in the port. The stockpile exploded due to a fire. Below is an old maximum map of the port. September: Refugee camp on Lesbos burns down. On September 9, the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos burned down almost completely. Thousands of camp residents were evacuated. It is suspected that the fire was deliberately set. Many refugees have to await their asylum procedure on Lesbos, which is why Moria, a former military base, was transformed into a refugee camp in 2020. Previously, Lesbos was a holiday destination for many Dutch people. October: Teacher beheaded On October 16, history and social studies teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded in the street in the French town of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. The attack occurred at the same time that the trial of the perpetrators of the 2015 attack on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper offices was being held in France. At the time, the slogan “Je suis Charlie” was launched in France. November: The Donald Trump election soap opera November 3, 2020: Commentary unnecessary November: COVID-19 vaccine On November 9, the international pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced that it intends to be the first to bring a COVID-19 vaccine to market. The vaccine is currently in the final stage of the testing phase and is said to be 90% effective. December: Benefits Scandal Report On December 17, the Report on the Childcare Allowance Scandal was presented. The Childcare Allowance Scandal was an affair in which approximately 26.000 parents were wrongfully victimized by suspicions of fraud involving the childcare allowance and/or became victims of a harsh crackdown on fraud by the Tax and Customs Administration from 2013 through 2019. It was a deeply painful and critical report regarding the failure of individual politicians, senior civil servants, and the entire rule of law. The victims will now finally be compensated after this “blue letter terror.” So much for the overview. Not exactly an overview that makes you happy. What will 2021 bring us? Martin Luther King said in 1963: “I Have a Dream,” in which he expressed his hope that people would one day be judged by their behavior and not by the color of their skin. In May 2020, it turned out that his dream had not (yet) come true. I will address this in a future blog post.