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It’s my fifth week in lockdown here in Berlin and I’ve been thinking a lot about my family. My parents who are in Austria have been self-isolating for over a month now. My stepdad hasn’t left the house once because he is part of the group who are more vulnerable to the coronavirus. They are still lucky to have a garden to enjoy the warm days of spring which so many people don’t. Some of my family members live in Russia and my 82-year-old grandmother resides in Belarus, a country whose leader, despite urgent requests to issue a self-Isolation rule, does not even acknowledge the pandemic as an issue in any way. I also have friends all over the globe who are expats and are far away from their loved ones, some are even on different continents.

What is The Isolation Series about?

In the last few weeks I’ve been receiving recordings from people around the world. They’ve been sharing their thoughts on the situation in their country of residence, their daily fears but also the many moments of gratitude that they have been feeling during these strange times. The one thing I’ve learnt while recording stories for this project is that home is so much more than a physical place. It is a feeling, it’s the people we love, it’s the freedom we feel, its the things that we do that make us happy. It’s highly personal. I wonder how these unprecedented circumstances impact our sense of belonging? Have we been forced to redefine it? What does HOME even mean during this global crisis?

In the first episode you'll hear stories from Diane, a Canadian freelancer living in Edinburgh,
Katherine, an American writer in Germany,
Sophie, a British journalist in New York who’s been reporting on the pandemic daily,
& Christiane, a communications specialist from Telfs, Austria who’s been isolated alone in her flat.
This is Stories from Isolation Part I. I hope you enjoy.