We all know 2020 has been an unfathomably horrific year. Even so, it isn’t until you hear it condensed into a 13 minute audio file that it really hits how traumatising it’s all been.
Australian journalists Madeleine Genner and Marc Fennell have just released their annual montage recapping the past 12 months in sound, and it’s the most upsetting compilation they’ve done yet.
As you’d expect, “2020 in Sound” spends most of its time looking back at the apocalyptic Australian bushfires, the catastrophic coronavirus pandemic, the protests against police brutality and racism, and the harrowing U.S. election. But numerous other tragedies were also part of 2020’s avalanche of crises, such as the Beirut explosion; the ongoing Hong Kong protests; Brexit; and the deaths of Kobe Bryant, Sean Connery, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and more icons lost during the year.
The recap does have a distinctly Australian inclination, covering state coronavirus lockdowns and the damning report on the Australian military’s callous murder of Afghan civilians. Most inclusions will also be familiar to Americans though, considering this year has been dominated by shared global suffering.
It’s undeniable that the world is looking pretty grim right now, with everyone just trying to claw their way through. Make sure there’s someone around you can safely hug before giving this one a listen.
“This year is our 10th,” Genner wrote on Instagram, “and what a year it’s been. If you didn’t cry in 2015 at the strength of the Paris terror attack survivor … or in 2012 when Malala Yousafzai got shot, grab your tissues: you’ll probably need them this year.”
Fortunately Genner and Fennell try to end on a positive note, noting that the swift development of coronavirus vaccines has provided a glimmer of hope amidst the long dark of 2020.
We still have a lot of work to do to recover and heal from this year, but you should congratulate yourself for making it to the end. It was harder this time than most.