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The curfew in the world, through the stories of Gen Z

Testimonials of one of the most controversial restrictions

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Imposing a curfew is perhaps something we never thought we would experience in our lifetime. Of course, there is the Cinderella curfew that parents impose on adolescent children, that famous "come back home by 11" (which was never 11).

However, no one would have imagined that our government would one day impose it on us, much less that it would be to protect us from a pandemic.

But that's exactly how it went. In a short time, the curfew was among the most used restrictions in several countries during the second wave of Covid-19 at the end of 2020, with the aim of containing the social gatherings that the summer had brought back into vogue.

In Italy, after a long debate between those who wanted a curfew at 6 or 8 pm, and those who did not want it at all, in the end 10 pm were chosen. Only now, in May 2021, is it finally finished it has been postponed to 11 pm. final goal is to remove it completely on June 21, with the arrival of summer.

With this extra hour, restaurants can do double shifts, cinemas can organize an extra screening and we can live our evenings more calmly, always winking at the clock. Sixty minutes are enough to make us remember the life of a year ago, when after months of lockdown we approached a long summer with no timetables other than those of sunrise and sunset.

A curfew had not been imposed on Italians since World War II, which already makes the measure historically extreme and therefore necessarily controversial. If wearing a mask is now a habit, having dinner at 7 pm and then being home at 10 pm is something that we Italians are still not completely used to.

Having a timetable that marks our lives is unacceptable for many, and so the curfew immediately ended up in the crosshairs of public opinion as an unpopular and criticizable measure.

 
 
 
 
 
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Un post condiviso da Acrimònia Magazine (@acrimoniamagazine)

Italy is not alone in this controversy. Indeed, in many countries the curfew was never imposed, because it was considered useless or because the population would not have accepted it. On one side of the spectrum is France, which for all the winter months had a couvre-feu at 6pm which only from May 19th was postponed to 9pm.

The fine for the French, who will be completely free only after 30 June, ranges from 135 to 750 euros. On the other hand, there are individualistic countries, such as Great Britain and the United States, where the idea of ​​a curfew has hardly been contemplated.

In the UK, curfew was only imposed on locals in autumn 2020, when cases were increasing exponentially. The experiment, not without criticism from the British, failed: 10pm became the new peak time, creating gatherings upon gatherings. “Full streets, full buses”, recalls Grazia, who lives in the English capital.

Then she explains better the relationship between the British and restrictions: "The narrative is totally different, here there is no news like 'Twenty boys gathered after 10pm, the neighbor denounces them'. Everyone is free to do what they want, there are rules and they must be respected. In short, unlike Italy, people rely heavily on the common sense of people and no one feels like pointing the finger (except when it comes to public figures, in that case it is immediately shitstorm!)".

 
 
 
 
 
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For the summer, the situation looks promising: with 70% of the population vaccinated, the Johnson government is following the reopening plan that will culminate with a return to normal on 21 June.

“Boris said that from now on we can go back to hugging each other (with caution). Told by a government, for me it is precisely the light at the end of the tunnel that we have been waiting for a long time ", Grazia confides and continues:" Here there is no obligation to self-certify or even to put the mask on the outside. Walking around and seeing people's faces, a smile, an expression ... can make a difference! ".

 
 
 
 
 
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In short, the worst for the UK is now in the past. After an absolute lockdown from Christmas to spring, the curfew problem no longer arose. With the arrival of the warmer season, the British are ready to drink beer and walk in the parks from morning to evening. According to Grazia, “the nice thing about not having a curfew is that even at 2:30 am, you can have a leisurely dinner out, take advantage of the days that are getting longer without the fear of being against the rules”.

Regarding the difference with Italy on the curfew issue, for Grazia we can reduce everything to a strong cultural difference: "The curfew has been much discussed in Italy and not here, perhaps because culturally the 10 English are not the 10 Sicilians. Life is led in a different way ”.

 
 
 
 
 
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The situation in New York is quite similar. From the United States, Giorgia tells us that "The curfew issue has never arisen, there has never been a risk of sanctions for leaving the house beyond a certain time".

 
 
 
 
 
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Un post condiviso da Giorgia🌻 (@giorgia_sola)

As always on hot topics in America, public opinion split in half in the discussion on restrictions, because on the one hand there were those who respected the restrictions and those who argued that they were a violation of individual freedom.

Having always been based on individualism, Americans simply did not tolerate the idea of ​​isolating themselves or giving themselves curfew times to preserve the population. 

Despite the lack of a curfew, here too summer is promising: "At the moment in New York the target date is July 1 to reopen everything: theaters, museums, restaurants, even with service inside. Now they are almost all vaccinated, Biden had already declared for some time that he had as a goal to return to normal on the 4th of July which is a national holiday, and at the moment they are on the right path".

 
 
 
 
 
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Un post condiviso da Giorgia🌻 (@giorgia_sola)

Returning to Europe, one wonders where other countries are positioned on the curfew issue, thinking precisely of the role that cultural differences may have in the imposition and acceptance of this measure or not.

From Dublin, Ilaria tells us that “The curfew in Ireland has never actually been foreseen, but to be honest I have never seen many people around late. Perhaps also because of the temperatures, people tended to organize themselves in houses if they wanted to meet, so I don't think a curfew would have been much use in any case ”.

Once again, therefore, cultural differences are the yardstick for the curfew issue. Also for the other anti Covid measures, Ireland differs from Italy: "Here the restrictions range from level 1 to 5 but the main thing is that they do not change continuously as in Italy. For example, in October they closed everything in order to reopen at Christmas, and so it was, and then returned to a high level 5 alert until May. Only now are they starting to reopen something in anticipation of summer".

The issue becomes more thorny in countries with strong autonomy to the regions, such as Spain and Germany.

The toque de queda imposed by Madrid has been abolished in most regions since May 9, when the state of emergency in force since October was lifted. However, the 17 autonomous communities are granted full autonomy in the choice of limiting the opening hours and the capacity of the premises, as well as in the restoration of the curfew.

In Germany, the curfew is part of the “Notbremse” emergency brake. This special federal law imposes on the German state-regions, the 16 Länder, the same rules when exceeding 100 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants for a week.

 
 
 
 
 
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Un post condiviso da Anna Maddalena Ghielmi (@anna_magdy_)

Only in such circumstances does the curfew, sperrstunde, go into effect from 10pm to 5am. From Stuttgart, Anna confirms these containment measures with her experience: "When I returned to Stuttgart, after having been in Italy for a long time, there was no curfew (while in Italy it was fixed at 10pm for some time) .

The reason I believe is mainly due to the low number of cases. In fact, after a few weeks, the numbers unfortunately grew exponentially and for this reason the curfew was triggered, first at 9 pm and after a few weeks postponed at 10 pm. in Germany at that time ”.

However, Germany also has its exceptions: “Although there is a curfew, it is always allowed to play sports and walk alone until midnight, which is not bad, because it means that you can always walk home after being from a friend, even after 10 pm ".

 
 
 
 
 
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Un post condiviso da Anna Maddalena Ghielmi (@anna_magdy_)

But not even the possibility of walking or jogging from 10pm to 12am has appeased the strong controversy on the part of the Germans for the imposition of a sperrstunde.

As a result, the Ministry of Health was forced to report data demonstrating the effectiveness of this scientifically based containment measure on the website, underlining that "this is not a deprivation of liberty, but a limitation of use of the public space during the hours normally dedicated to rest ".

Effective or not, limiting or perhaps not, the curfew nevertheless remains one of the most controversial restrictions we have experienced in this past year.