Vol. 4 No. 1 (2020): The Fountain Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies: Special Issue on COVID-19
The current Covid – 19 pandemic appears to be unprecedented in several respects on the back of two major convergences, namely; a) obtaining technological advancements and b) polarities in global relations.
The ease and speed of global travel means that epidemic diseases could easily evolve into pandemics owing to technologically enhanced human mobility. A communicable disease originating in any one country could now easily spread to other countries in a short space of time. The Covid-19 pandemic has amply demonstrated this. Similarly, advances in communication and information transmission systems mean that information can move quickly across the world. Anyone with a basic gadget such as a smart phone, can now easily access non-classified information at the touch of a screen. What is known in one area, easily becomes common knowledge. The internet has generated a novel culture of news and information consumption on a scale never seen before.
In the same vein, the possibilities of what humans can do to themselves and to others using the latest cutting-edge technology generate real fears of possible unethical uses of such knowledge. Consequently, suspicions are raised of new forms of quiet warfare that leave no footprints in the sand. The articles in this issue of the Fountain Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies (FJIS) do relate to these issues but move beyond them to underscore the preeminent, basic human instincts of collective survival, even though the context remains Zimbabwean.
