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Covid-safe travel between care and compliance

By July 20, 202116 Comments4 min read4,246 views

With Sydney in lock-down again, my team mates farewelled me over Zoom

Writing en route to Manila

I am onboard Singapore Airlines as I am writing this, flying back to Manila after being farewelled via Zoom by my Language on the Move team mates after my four-year stay in Sydney. I moved to Sydney as Ms Tenedero and return as Dr Tenedero. I also moved at a time when air travel seemed not so difficult and I return during a global pandemic, which has considerably complicated travel.

At this time, NSW is in a strict lockdown limiting outdoor activities only for a few ‘essential’ reasons like exercise, buying food, and medical purposes, including getting a vaccine. This is in response to the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. The lock-down comes after Australia had enjoyed greater freedom for most of the pandemic than the rest of the world. Not so long ago, it was cited as a “world leader in containment and management of emerging variants.” And if things in Australia seem bad, they pale in comparison to the 5,000+ new cases reported in the Philippines as of 15 July 2021.

In order to check-in in Sydney, my Philippine tracing app had to be up-to-date

The days of easy travel are gone

In this situation, travelling from Sydney to Manila is no longer as simple as book and go. It now involves complying with more, and frequently changing, travel conditions that vary from port to port. Travelling to the Philippines required me to download the national contact tracing app Traze and filling out an electronic case investigation form (e-CIF) to get a QR code to be presented upon disembarkation in Manila.

I read these requirements about a month before but completely forgot to do them before coming to airport! I had focused on completing my vaccinations, booking a hotel for my seven-day quarantine (down from ten days for those who are not vaccinated), packing four blessed years in Australia into two big boxes, and bringing required documents for leaving Australia (just the passport for non-permanent residents like me). So, it took me 10 minutes of anxious digital compliance work on my smartphone at the check-in counter to get the correct apps and codes. Thankfully, I had arranged to be at the airport two hours before my flight even so I knew there would be no long queues. Still, travelling these days requires more patience and higher literacy, especially digital literacy, to navigate the way out of one country and into another.

“Relax” was the main message on the Departures screen

The linguistic landscape has changed

After successfully checking in, I made my way to the boarding gate and was met by signs that I had not seen when I last traveled in December 2019.

These images show a more heightened control of movement. Signs explicitly restrict where people can sit and stand. QR codes constantly monitor ingress and egress. These surveillance and controls are supported by the discourse of mutual care for everyone’s protection and safety. This discourse, in turn, powerfully mobilizes people into compliance because, naturally, no one wants to be the reason for the number of cases going any higher – or have their journey end before it begins.

Yet alongside this heightened sense of accountability is a sign telling travelers to “relax.” Flight status codes (at least pre-Covid19) typically indicate that a flight is scheduled, active, redirected, landed, diverted, or cancelled. “Relax” is markedly novel because it is a directive, albeit a soft one. On the one hand, this sign could be seen as part of the language of care, a soothing word in a tense environment. On the other hand, it is also a form of policing that seeks to manage even the affect, implying some control of the individual’s inner space.

The in-flight hygiene kit

The double discourse of strict policing and mutual care is also evident onboard

Before entering the aircraft, the 20 passengers manifested on flight SQ212 were asked to take one of the hygiene kits stationed by the door. My guess is all of us had these items in our carry-ons, anyway. But the kit is also an opportunity to spell out new standards of hygiene, explicitly described at the bottom of the bag with instructions for the thoughtful use and disposal of used items.

All in all, these public signs collectively demonstrate at least two things. First, there is increased use of directives, which derive social legitimacy through a discourse of solidarity (Svennevig, 2021). This is done through the explicit linking of the necessity for control and mutual care during the pandemic. Second, international travel requires higher digital literacy and patience, a new condition that further restricts who gets to successfully cross borders these days.

My linguistic observations on the move emphasize the mutual shaping of language and social situation during the constantly evolving Covid-19 pandemic. It makes my return journey seem a bigger step than I had expected it to be.

Reference

Svennevig, J. (2021). How to do things with signs. The formulation of directives on signs in public spaces. Journal of Pragmatics175, 165–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2021.01.016

Pia Tenedero

Author Pia Tenedero

Dr. Pia Tenedero is Assistant Professor in the Department of English of the University of Santo Tomas (Manila, Philippines). She is also Honorary Research Fellow of Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia), where she finished her PhD in Linguistics with a thesis on the language practices and ideologies of globalized accountants. Her other research interests are English language learning, intercultural communication, multilingualism, and discourse analysis in globalized professions and social media.

More posts by Pia Tenedero

Join the discussion 16 Comments

  • Grace says:

    Thank you for sharing your experience, Pia. I agree that digital literacy has become an inevitable part of our everyday lives, especially due to Covid. Here in Sydney it is a requirement to check-into locations using a QR code which would not be possible without a smartphone. Locations that provide pen and paper are limited and I imagine this would be frustrating for older Australians who do not own a smartphone. I am lucky that my dad upgraded his phone to a smartphone a couple years ago and that he has become adept with the usual functions, but he still needed my help to setup the Service NSW app to complete these check-ins. The need for digital literacy will be tricky for those who struggle with digital technologies and may create new barriers to those who just wish to travel.

  • Megan says:

    Hi Pia,
    Your story reminds me of my journey back to Vietnam (my country) last year when Covid started to spread across NSW. That was the most unforgettable and tough experience I have ever had in my life. Basically, it takes around 8 to 11 hours to flight from Sydney to Vietnam yet in my situation, the trip took approximately a day and a half to arrive at the designated quarantine zone. This unexpected excess is due to a number of declaration forms that we were required to go online and fill in prior to boarding and after landing. Thus, I think digital literacy might become an essential tool to flexibly adapt to a “new normal” in this pandemic era.

  • Zoe says:

    Thanks for sharing your experience, Pia! Before the pandemic, I have traveled to several places, but most of them do not require much effort and time to prepare. However, everything has significantly changed these days. My recent trip to Hobart (Tasmania) was so challenging. Specifically, besides booking a ticket, I needed to prepare so many other things, namely following everyday news of the pandemic on the government websites to see whether any changes can occur and the ‘COVIDSafe’ app for extra reassurance while traveling as well as obtaining QR code from the government’s online form for Tasmania travel registration. Therefore, I totally agree with some of your viewpoints – traveling is not as easy as it was and requires passengers to have higher digital literacy and more patience during the Covid 19 time.

  • Vatnak says:

    Hi Pia,
    Reading your travel experience reminds me of the day I left Sydney to my home country as well. I really agree with the point that “the days of easy travel are gone” because we need to comply with many new safety rules. All of those rules and restriction really made me felt anxious about my travel. Also, I agree on the point that digital literacy have been playing a vital role in people’s lives. Plus, I currently came across a news from 7 News Sydney saying that the future travelling restrictions may need people to fill in more forms which also consists of vaccination data. Thus, the high level of literacy, especially the digital literacy, will continue to play an important role.

    • Thanks, Vatnak! Vaccination passports will further restrict international travel and make it a luxury of the privileged … only yesterday, I was listening to a show on the New Books Network podcast, which explored the invention of the passport as a form of travel restriction by the state. Surprisingly, the passport system is less than a century old. The show is at https://newbooksnetwork.com/indian-migration-and-empire. It’s a conversation with Radhika Vivas Mongia about her new book Indian Migration and Empire: A Colonial Genealogy of the Modern State.

  • Tammy says:

    Hi Pia,
    I’m Tammy, thank you for sharing such an impressive journey back to your country in the time of COVID-19 pandemic.
    In the line of the increasing use of directives, I also share the same view with you that “the days of easy travel are gone” and there are a number of new rules and restrictions have been introduced to stop the contagious spread. Therefore, in order to maintain safe traveling, the local governments have employed various digital methods including surveillance applications and check-in QR codes to monitor passengers’ movement. Although the technological implementation is undoubtedly economical and handy, it also requires people to have certain level of literacy to understand and properly comply with. However, from my perspective, I can say that people in the post-COVID era will relatively enhance their literacy thanks to these non-human communicating channels and gradually technology may become more friendly to low-tech people than ever.
    Cheers

  • Fathima says:

    It’s surprising to know that in just a year the COVID-19 pandemic has complicated traveling within and outside the country/state with such drastic restrictions. Since I have not traveled outside the state during the beginning strike of COVID-19 and in the current lockdown. There is the emergence of new literacy terms and laws that are made compulsory for all citizens in NSW. As mentioned by Pia that traveling is no longer easier. Regarding this statement, I totally agree when I recently went to a dental clinic for my toothache. Before entering any medical clinic or chemist shop or any store the individual entering and existing is monitored by the app(NSW service) by checking in through QR code to track the number of people traveling outside. Although, aware that it’s meant for the protection and safety of the people but it sure is increased security control of movement. Also, the use of standardized literacy of COVID-19 pictograms conveying meaning for people to follow hygiene, handwash, masks-on, and vaccination is seen everywhere which wasn’t earlier(before pandemic). This shows how much literacy on this discourse is developing to make people aware of the serious situation.

    • Thanks, Fathima! You are right – even something as seemingly mundane as grocery shopping now requires checking in with the QR code. I wonder how older people or people without a smartphone are coping … and I also feel uneasy about the increased (potential for) surveillance and control.

  • Jay says:

    Thanks for sharing your international travel experience. Provided the fact that, I am an international student and your blog gave me a general insight towards future travels and the constraints and new experiences which accompany the travel. In response to this post I will share a bit of my personal experience since I moved to Sydney. I came here around the beginning of Covid-19 and before I could explore a bit of the city the most of the country went into lockdown. As I visited a few places around that time, most of the places were closed.
    At that point of time most of the tourist attractions such as Blue mountains, beaches (Bondi, Manly) were closed or restricted movement was allowed with certain signs to follow. Th green dot indicators were used in conveyance and public places such as restaurants accompanied with a recurring use of sanitizer.
    I haven’t travelled by air yet but this blog gave me bit of idea about how it will work once we get back to international travel. Although it is quite evident that a lot would have changed since then but let use just hope for good.

  • Gegentuul says:

    I really liked this “First, there is increased use of directives, which derive social legitimacy through a discourse of solidarity (Svennevig, 2021). This is done through the explicit linking of the necessity for control and mutual care during the pandemic.” Thanks Pia for sharing your experience!

    • Pia Tenedero says:

      Thanks, Sofie! Could I please get the title of that 2012 article by Stevanovic and Peräkylä that you mentioned in your other comment? Always good to learn a bit more about important themes like ambiguity. ^_^

  • Agi Bodis says:

    Thanks for sharing your experience, Pia! The first thing that comes to my mind as a language teacher when it comes to directives is that we use imperatives for class instructions because they get through to lower language proficiency levels as well. A golden rule in giving instructions is to avoid long sentences, break it down to manageable chunks of simple statements followed by imperatives. I wonder if you have thought about this as being a sign of inclusivity rather than policing?

    • Gegentuul says:

      Hi Agi
      Since I just expressed my preference for the sentence about directives in Pia’s work, I may say what I thought about this (Pia, please add your point or correct mine): the directives in this context as the post states entail both care and control? So emotive stance of care can be interpreted as one type of inclusivity, perhaps? And the line between stances of authority (also known as deontic stance) and emotive stance is ambiguous in most communications. There is a great article by Stevanovic and Peräkylä 2012 about ambiguous stances. (Actually I was told by a reviewer to read it and found it quite useful)

    • Pia Tenedero says:

      Thanks, Agi and Sofie! You both make very interesting points. Agi, I find your view of imperatives refreshing. Reflecting on my own use of imperatives as a language teacher, I think it has been motivated more consciously by the priority to deploy instructions in a way that would facilitate compliance, as in class policies and assessments. Your framing of it as a device for inclusivity, or if I may say accessibility, proposes a more compassionate view of something that in my view is intended for control more than care. But of course, care is also an important part of classroom discourse. (That you see this more plainly speaks to the kind of teacher that you are.) I think this ambiguity between the two stances–thanks, Sofie, for pointing this out–the orientation of interactions in the specific social context (more or less transactional or relational), and the habitus of the sign reader, among other factors, all contribute to the way the discourse is interpreted. I appreciate how you both engaged with my interpretation of these signs!

  • Interesting that the Departure screen is much more multilingual than it used to be! It’s good to see that they now use the Indigenous name of “Botany Bay”, “Gamay”, and even list that name first. It’s also good to see that Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Thai names of destinations are available in addition to English!

    • Pia Tenedero says:

      Thanks, Ingrid! There are actually more things happening in that sign than I had noticed. Demonstrating more multilingualism, inclusivity, and compassion makes it a very good sign, I believe.

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