Neil Gaiman says the coronavirus pandemic has made him realise how “fragile” the world is.
The author said that civilisation “can break so easily and it can break for any of us”.
Gaiman, 60, who is a goodwill ambassador for UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, was speaking as he unveiled a list of films aiming to spread hope amid the pandemic.
He told the PA news agency: “Looking at civilisation, especially in these Covid days… it is so fragile.”
Gaiman said he never stops “being aware that this can go away”.
He said that on a trip to a Jordanian refugee camp he met people from Syria who “had worked in corner shops, they had sold insurance, they had worked in car showrooms”.
The American Gods writer added: “Whether we have a place to live in or not, we are all dealing with a world of Covid-19 and that Covid-19 world that we are in is awful.
“The vulnerable are more vulnerable than ever.”
Gaiman has worked with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro to comprise a list of six “films of hope” for UNHCR.
The list aims to help film fans stay positive amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Shawshank Redemption, Tampopo, It’s A Wonderful Life, Brazil, The Wizard Of Oz and the 1946 Jean Cocteau rendition of Beauty And The Beast were included on their list.
Gaiman said the film watchlist idea is “marvellous”, adding: “It is so easy to be hopeless.
“We are in a world right now in which everybody is having an awful time.
“There are very few people who are not affected by this, whether your family or friends are dying, whether you are losing your job, whether you are watching friends and loved ones losing their jobs or whatever.
“It is really difficult.”
Actresses Cate Blanchett, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon and Gugu Mbatha-Raw have previously revealed their watchlist of uplifting films for the UNHCR.
The series is available on IMDb’s What to Watch page.