PANDEMIC HEALING
Memorial would let survivors upload photos and micro-obituaries of those lost
As New Mexico approaches 9,000 deaths from COVID-19, it is imperative these people should never be forgotten. Parents, siblings, children, cousins and friends must not become mere statistics lost to history. New Mexico needs a place where survivors can gather, remember, mourn and heal from this unprecedented event. The New Mexico COVID-19 Memorial will be such a place. The $2 million project, spearheaded by N.M. Marked by COVID volunteers, will be located on public trust land near Mesa del Sol in Bernalillo County; this memorial stands to be the first publicly funded in the country.
Many have stepped up including local and state governments, health departments, Native leadership and public servants. COVID-19 has harmed the health and well-being of children by reducing access to care and health services, disrupting schooling, undermining their sense of safety and security, increasing stress on caregivers, and by tragically robbing over 250,000 children of a parent or caregiver;
The one-acre site offers views of the Rio Grande Valley, Sandia Mountains and volcanoes. The design, created by landscape architect Ken Romig of Consensus Planning. takes visitors on a pilgrimage path adorned with papel picados and nichos and offers opportunities for quiet reflection. The path begins with a private space, passes through tributes and culminates at the stone plinth, which is the memorial’s focal point and includes an augmented reality (AR) marker. Visitors may use their mobile devices to experience a vortex of photos of the dead spiraling upward. Using smartphones or tablets to access the digital memorial archive echoes the unique pandemic phenomenon — millions of virtual goodbyes.
For those grieving COVID-19 loss, their associations with their devices have been forever changed by the traumatic experience of saying goodbye to their loved ones virtually; AR allows those who were robbed of in-person farewells to reclaim their devices as objects of healing. COVID-19 has failed to enter national consciousness as 9/11 did because no visuals exist that characterize the quiet, painful isolation that is the nature of the loss. The memorial project aims to create that shared imagery, to give faces and names to individuals who are presently mere statistics. Recognition and acknowledgement that pain from COVID-19 loss is real and loved ones mattered are essential to collective healing.
We cannot truly move forward until we honor and acknowledge those left behind and many who are still suffering. For the health and healing of our state’s loss, a dedicated, permanent, physical memorial will honor those who died and comfort those left behind. Other communities may wish to have a memorial in their city and Marked by COVID will work with them to make it a reality.
But the state memorial needs your support. Sen. Harold Pope, D-Albuquerque, has introduced SJM 1 asking for all members of the Legislature to support the building of a permanent memorial. Marked by COVID with the help of Bernalillo County Parks, Rec and Open Space is appealing to all legislators and the governor to designate part of their capital outlay to fund the construction. Please contact your legislator to stress the importance of designating funding for the memorial.
Loved ones or friends may be included in the memorial, whether they died in New Mexico or elsewhere, with a link to upload their photo and micro-obituary.