The Art of Compromise to Overcome the Crisis
Photo: AFP
- Cambodianess
- May 9, 2020 8:51 AM
In these times of brutal economic downturn due to COVID-19, who has not heard of businesses having had to shut down, the business owner having failed to come to an agreement with the building owner regarding a temporary rent reduction.
In addition, a number of private schools are experiencing strained relations with students’ parents regarding school fees as schools are closed and teachers have no other choice but to teach online. Parents want fee reductions while teaching institutions face their usual operating expenses as well as rent and salaries.
And what about those thousands of unemployed workers who got loans at microfinance institutions and are now unable to make payments on due dates.
To the tourism and garment sectors in disarray are added thousands of mini-crisis, and the combination of all this could take the economy on the brink of collapse.
In this country as well as others around the world, the authorities have taken measures to absorb the shock, which is of incredible violence: tax cancellation or deferment for some activities, partially assuming wages in some sectors, and so on.
But here as well as elsewhere, rescuing the economy is not only a matter for the authorities. It is up to all those involved in creating collective wealth to temporarily set aside their immediate personal interest to contribute to having as many businesses as possible, big and small, weather the storm through which we are now going.
Each situation must be handled with the goal of finding a compromise that will enable activities to survive, and economic and human dignity of the majority to be maintained.
Inflexibility and selfishness will only add crisis to the crisis until this ruins us all.
