I was in the middle of a conversation in my apartment when the power went out. It had been a few weeks since we had had a water shortage in the building where I live in Lisbon. That was the day I discovered that the buildings do not have water tanks and when the water is cut off, it stops. Literally. After that experience, I thought, “hm, once more Lisbon doesn’t seem so distant from Brazil”. I continued talking. Little did I know that I would experience something special that day.
+ What nourishes your dreams of the coming to be?
On April 28th, we lived the day when electricity went out throughout Portugal, Spain and part of France. Right at first, several people went out onto the streets and stayed there. It was a beautiful sunny day with blue skies. After a few hours without power, I saw a woman, probably a foreigner, come out of the short-term accommodation building across the street with a chair and sit on the sidewalk with a book in her hands.
When I returned to the balcony, I saw a scene that enchanted me: under the magical light of the Lisbon sun, on my street – a typical Lisbon street – there were groups sitting on chairs chatting. Someone had brought wine and glasses, someone shared beer. People were talking from one window to another. My husband was having fun watching a young man who, under the guidance of a mother who gestured like the traffic police, was unable to park in a space twice the size of his car. Things that a city like Lisbon brings.
+ Ansiedade digital: quando a busca pela perfeição nos consome
The Chinese and Asians know how to do business: while the Portuguese were closing the doors of their shops and restaurants, they brought tables outside and sold lunch boxes they had prepared. They sold a lot, of course. We went out to buy water at a little door near our house, where one of them was so happy that he showed all his teeth in a wide smile.
At the same time, people who are increasingly losing their common sense. I saw people walking by carrying loads and loads of groceries and supplies. It’s one thing to be cautious, but it’s another to get caught up in the energy of scarcity. Immediately after the blackout, I started receiving several messages with various conspiracy theories. A cyberattack, Putin and China were the most mentioned, but not the only ones. I really get the feeling that part of the population is simply losing touch with reality. Of course, this can happen. My point is that there are people who, perhaps in their eagerness to appear more intelligent, better informed, or perhaps to present themselves as those who “get” what others haven’t yet, not only assimilate but also disseminate information without any criteria or logic. Without any care. A lack of self-control that is almost pathological.
I did some analog reading, but I confess that it was difficult to concentrate. There was a world full of light happening outside: a city that allows you to be out on the street, meet someone new unconcernedly, share a glass of wine and a story, see swallows returning home as a sign that it is time to go inside... A sign that no one paid attention to, even when the power came back on.
