Not Their Heroes

As the coronavirus spreads across the globe, infecting people every second, panic is spreading. The heroes during this time are all of the healthcare workers, who are risking their lives to help. While here in the United States we are praising these people, other countries are the opposite. Unfortunately, Spain is one of those countries that are attacking these workers. 

Spain is one of the few countries targeting healthcare workers. People who work in the medical field have been receiving notes to leave their houses. According to Spanish news network TVE, a woman working at the hospital got her car spray painted, with the words “contagious rat” written across it. Panic has caused Spain to fear these frontline workers. Most Spaiñards know that the people who work in the health field are more prone to catching COVID due to them working and coming in contact with patients who have gotten the illness. According to Independent, Dr. Jesus Monllo Mendez had a message pinned to his door that read, “We know about your good work at the hospital but you should also think of your neighbors. There are children and old people. Professionals are staying at a hotel. While this lasts we ask you to think.” Parents are scared to get their children sick and are especially worried about elders, who are in more danger than most. These threats are minimal compared to others; some of these workers have been spat at or even sprayed with bleach. Mar Cano, a native who lives in Madrid, is appalled at the treatment these workers are receiving. She says, “I think it’s very hypocritical of these people. Ever since we were in the state of alarm, every night at eight p.m. people would go out on their balcony and applaud these workers, but then you see other people tell them not to come home. I think it’s very cruel.” 

Olga Garcia Sanchez works at Hospital Universitario La Paz, located in Madrid. She explained that some of the patient’s families have not been so kind to the hospital staff, and that “there have been verbal and physical attacks.” She emphasized that, in contrast to many other healthcare workers, her neighbors have been very kind and are encouraging her to go to work. This helps her be in a better mood when getting to work, which has been full of people. Every day when she comes home, she takes drastic measures to ensure everyone else’s safety, “I try not to have any physical [contact] with anyone. I always wear my mask and gloves so there is no contamination.” All healthcare workers have to be careful with everything around them since the coronavirus is hard to track. Lastly, she feels that these people who have been threatening the healthcare workers are being selfish, stating, “I understand that they are scared, but we are risking our lives to help these people [and] they can’t let us live our normal lives.” She would like to leave a message to everyone: “We are the same as everyone else when we leave for our job. We fight for everyone, not just for them but for us. When we leave those hospital doors we don’t show how tired we are; we are willing to help and give advice to people.” 

Spain is only one of many countries that have been affected by these threats against healthcare workers. We have to realize that all healthcare workers are doing is saving lives that might otherwise be lost. For that, be kind and offer a helping hand when you can. Patricia Simon, who lives in Spain, believes that “we must value the important labor of the health personnel who work very hard to cure everyone affected by the pandemic. It is very unfair that they receive derogatory treatment from some people, since doctors are risking their lives every day to save ours.”

• Coronavirus
• covid
• COVID-19
• doctors
• europe
• nurses
• spain