On May 5, 2023, in one of the most important announcements for many people, the World Health Organization declared an end to COVID-19. The pandemic had lasted for over 3 years since February 2020. This is a huge relief for everyone. COVID upended all of our lives in some way, so when the days of masks, dividers, and constant bad news ended, it was a happy day.

However, the head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that even though the major part of the pandemic is over and that it is no longer a public health emergency, it can still kill and isn't going away any time soon. He also says that we made many mistakes in preventing COVID, and that “we must promise ourselves and our children and grandchildren that we will never make those mistakes again.”

By the end of the pandemic, 765 million cases had been confirmed, and 6.9 million people died, which is more than the entire population of Libya. Over 13.3 billion vaccine doses were administered. The pandemic exposed cracks in our governments, society, and our economy. After the first years of the 2020s being filled with death and chaos across the world, with lockdowns, protests, and much more, we all know that it will take a long time for humanity as a whole to recover. Sadly, even though many governments say there has been a “return to normalcy,” we will always remember these years and never truly feel “normal” as it was in the 2010s and before because of COVID's impacts on us.

On February 6th, 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria. It was the largest earthquake in Turkey since 1939 and one of the largest in the Levant ever. It is an area in the Middle East that includes the historic areas of Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, and Syria. It was also the deadliest worldwide since the 2010 Haiti earthquake, with 59,259 deaths; 50,783 in Turkey, and 8,476 in Syria.

Turkey is a very earthquake-prone country because it sits on top of three tectonic plates: the Eurasian, African, and Arabian. This makes it very vulnerable to many strong and violent earthquakes. Right after the 2023 earthquake (named the 2023 Gaziantep Earthquake because it hit the city of Gaziantep very hard), over 345,000 apartments were destroyed. Thousands of people went missing, and are still missing now. Hundreds of thousands are still in shelters as they have now lost their homes, even after a year. 

On the night of September 7th, 2023, Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta area, which includes parts of Guangdong province, were hit with massive rainfall from a giant rainstorm which was created by the remnants of Typhoon Haikui, which was a Category 3-equivalent typhoon, which hit on September 5th. The maximum rainfall was 158.1 millimeters an hour, approximately 15.8 centimeters. Tai Tam also had 900 millimeters of rain within just 12 hours. Typhoon Haikui and the resulting rainstorm caused the most rainfall since records began 140 years ago. Because of the torrential rain, large areas in Hong Kong were flooded, including Wong Tai Sin MTR station. Malls and roads were flooded, with some cars becoming stuck in the water and the drivers needing help. 

After the rainstorm, Shenzhen’s reservoirs became too full, and the Hong Kong government warned of potential flooding because of the water release. Parts of northern New Territories became flooded shortly after. In Shau Kei Wan, boulders were seen falling off a mountain during a landslide, which was just one of many landslides in the aftermath of the rain. Shek O was also evacuated by boat due to villagers being stranded after a sinkhole appeared in the only road that went to Shek O. All schools in Hong Kong were canceled on September 8th. 

However, the government did not say that employers couldn’t ask their employees to work and just reminded them that due to extreme conditions, it was not recommended. After the government said that the rainfall was a once-in-500 years event, many people criticized the government for trying to deflect the blame, and many were angry at the government for not being prepared for a huge storm like this, and the fact that the government did “too little, too late.”

Finally, on October 7, 2023, the Israel-Hamas war began. Hamas, a militant organization in the Gaza Strip, which is a small piece of land between the Mediterranean Sea, Egypt, and Israel, invaded southern Israel, killing 1,200 Israeli civilians and taking hundreds more hostage. Around 100 hostages have been released through ceasefire deals that exchanged hostages for Palestinian prisoners being held arbitrarily in Israel. Both sides agreed to a ceasefire during the days of hostage trading. 

The Gaza Strip is part of the Palestinian Territories, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. These 2 places are separated from each other by Israel. Hamas is the government in the Gaza Strip since they split from the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank because Hamas did not recognize Israel’s right to exist like the Palestinian Authority. Some parts of the Israeli government supported Hamas, as the split lessened the likelihood of a Palestinian nation. The Israel-Hamas War was triggered by a conflict that has existed for centuries.

For centuries, the Jews and Arabs have been fighting over this piece of land, which is sacred to both Jewish people and Muslim Arabs. In 1948, Israel became a country, as the Jewish people did not feel safe in Europe after centuries of persecution and the Holocaust. They decided to move to Israel, the historical Jewish homeland and kicked out most Arabs living in Israel, an event known as the Nakba. This and many other events caused the issues that have triggered several wars.

This brings us to a point where the Jewish people do not feel safe anywhere except a nation where they can rule themselves, and where the native Arabs are also wanting their nation. Now, Palestine is still not a nation, and Israel has started to settle their citizens in Palestinian land, which is illegal under international law. There have been many skirmishes between Palestine and Israel, but this massacre by Hamas in Israel is the biggest in 50 years.

After Hamas attacked Israel, Israel declared war on Hamas, vowing to destroy the group. Due to this war, violence between illegal settlers and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and the Palestinians has increased. Israel has launched a massive bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip, which has killed almost 30,000 people, ⅓ of whom are children under the age of 14. The world has criticized this indiscriminate bombing because it has not ended the war and has barely stopped Hamas from fighting. This is also why South Africa has brought genocide charges against Israel. 

Hamas still hasn’t released all the hostages held in miserable conditions underground. We all need to remember that the people aren’t to blame, it is the governments and militant groups on both sides that have massacred innocent civilians in this long-lasting conflict.