Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

A new world order

by Kamal Kaur

THE new norm has now become such an overused phrase that I want to let out an irritated click with my tongue every time I hear it.


I’ve tried to tell myself that perhaps it’s some people’s way of acclimatising to this global upheaval we are going through collectively, or perhaps there’s a need to centre oneself to be able to function.

Whatever it is, after almost half a year of hearing this phrase being thrown around carelessly, I’m beginning to understand it better. We have been through a lot and don’t know where we stand in this pandemic. Some people are thriving, while others are fretting, especially about their financial situation.

I come from Kenya, a country where the government doesn’t give benefits to kids, elderly, differently-abled or anyone in need. If you are wealthy and commit a crime, you are likely slapped lightly on the hand and freed with a meagre fine, while a poor man stealing a bag of flour to feed his family because of dire circumstances will be jailed and slapped with a ridiculously high fine. We are all battling, but why are we accepting this as our new norm?

You may be brave enough to get onto railways tracks, but if you’re not going to keep on moving forward, an oncoming train is going to run you over or the one approaching from behind will do that. You can’t just sit in one place and keep moaning about things not going right for you.

I’ve played victim a few times. I’ve cried out aloud, looking skywards and yelled, ‘why me?’ I got no answers. I had to just suck it up and get on with it. I’ve often cried that this was not the life I signed up for – to bring up kids on my own, struggle financially, fight loneliness and tears, constantly be strong for not just my kids, but everyone around me. Because I seem to laugh all the time, people always thought I was okay. I wasn’t, but I accepted it as ‘my norm’.

Life turned around and things started to get better in my personal life. This pandemic allowed me to slow down and take stock. I didn’t bake banana bread neither did I make Dalgona coffee. Instead, I immersed myself in creativity and spent more time healing myself like no one else could. I faced my demons, fears and shortcomings. I allowed myself to well up in self-pity, then shook myself out of it to find a way forward. It’s not easy at all. Reading someone else’s experiences or going through self-help books can only do so much.

I now make a point to count my blessings and not someone else’s. I water my side of the fence to make it green and am teaching myself to accept the apology I never got for whatever it is that has hurt me in my past. Perhaps it’s time to make that Dalgona coffee and sit back to enjoy it as I marvel at my achievements over the last four and a half decades of life. Now that is MY new norm.

Kamal Kaur is a Nairobi, Kenya-based mother of two teenagers and has been in the media industry for over two decades as a writer, radio host, media consultant, digital media manager and brand influencer. She also paints and teaches art to beginners.

Visit Instagram & Twitter: @kamz26

More For You

Baffling cabinet reshuffle

Piyush Goyal with Jonathan Reynolds at Chequers during the signing of the UK–India Free Trade Agreement in July

Baffling cabinet reshuffle

IN SIR KEIR STARMER’S cabinet reshuffle last week, triggered by the resignation of Angela Rayner, the prime minister shifted Jonathan Reynolds from business and trade secretary and president of the board of trade after barely a year in the post to chief whip, making him responsible for the party.

The move doesn’t make much sense. At Chequers, the UK-India Free Trade Agreement was signed by Reynolds, and the Indian commerce and industry minister, Piyush Goyal. They had clearly established a friendly working relationship.

Keep ReadingShow less
​Dilemmas of dating in a digital world

We are living faster than ever before

AMG

​Dilemmas of dating in a digital world

Shiveena Haque

Finding romance today feels like trying to align stars in a night sky that refuses to stay still

When was the last time you stumbled into a conversation that made your heart skip? Or exchanged a sweet beginning to a love story - organically, without the buffer of screens, swipes, or curated profiles? In 2025, those moments feel rarer, swallowed up by the quickening pace of life.

Keep ReadingShow less
Comment: Mahmood’s rise exposes Britain’s diversity paradox

Shabana Mahmood, US homeland security secretary Kristi Noem, Canada’s public safety minister Gary Anandasangaree, Australia’s home affairs minister Tony Burke and New Zealand’s attorney general Judith Collins at the Five Eyes security alliance summit on Monday (8)

Comment: Mahmood’s rise exposes Britain’s diversity paradox

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer’s government is not working. That is the public verdict, one year in. So, he used his deputy Angela Rayner’s resignation to hit the reset button.

It signals a shift in his own theory of change. Starmer wanted his mission-led government to avoid frequent shuffles of his pack, so that ministers knew their briefs. Such a dramatic reshuffle shows that the prime minister has had enough of subject expertise for now, gambling instead that fresh eyes may bring bold new energy to intractable challenges on welfare and asylum.

Keep ReadingShow less
indian-soldiers-ww1-getty
Indian infantrymen on the march in France in October 1914 during World War I. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Comment: We must not let anti-immigration anger erase south Asian soldiers who helped save Britain

This country should never forget what we all owe to those who won the second world war against fascism. So the 80th anniversary of VE Day and VJ Day this year have had a special poignancy in bringing to life how the historic events that most of us know from grainy black and white photographs or newsreel footage are still living memories for a dwindling few.

People do sometimes wonder if the meaning of these great historic events will fade in an increasingly diverse Britain. If we knew our history better, we would understand why that should not be the case.

For the armies that fought and won both world wars look more like the Britain of 2025 in their ethnic and faith mix than the Britain of 1945 or 1918. The South Asian soldiers were the largest volunteer army in history, yet ensuring that their enormous contribution is fully recognised in our national story remains an important work in progress.

Keep ReadingShow less
Spotting the signs of dementia

Priya Mulji with her father

Spotting the signs of dementia

How noticing the changes in my father taught me the importance of early action, patience, and love

I don’t understand people who don’t talk or see their parents often. Unless they have done something to ruin your lives or you had a traumatic childhood, there is no reason you shouldn’t be checking in with them at least every few days if you don’t live with them.

Keep ReadingShow less