Mandatory lockdowns have decimated thousands of businesses in western and southwestern Sydney, Australia.

In this segment, the owner of Linda’s Lounge in Fairfield, a Sydney suburb, talks about the effects of the forced closures. Business owners are making incredible sacrifices while politicians colour the truth, stringing them along with promises they don’t intend to keep.

If Australians had been told at the outset that there was a real possibility that the lockdowns would proceed for years, some may have shut their doors in dignity, or kept savings in the bank to emerge from the disaster. Now, those who are most likely to rebuild have nothing left with which to do it.

While the government highlights the financial support it’s dishing out — many are going under while they wait to receive support, if they ever do.