Some people are still grappling with the idea of a “flu-like virus” that has taken the whole world in its grip.
Some people are still grappling with the idea of a “flu-like virus” that has taken the whole world in its grip. They are unable to fathom such a crisis and therefore refuse to believe it. Others have unfortunately seen their loved ones succumb to it, but are unaware of how infectious it truly is.
In the middle of all this, frontline healthcare workers are facing the wrath of ignorant citizens who have vandalised and attacked hospitals while blaming doctors for the occurring deaths. Our country has shown that it values those who are willing to put their own lives at risk in order to save the lives of others, the least. Little do they understand that if it were not for our healthcare professionals, the number of cured patients would be nil. Instead, people have gone from breaking down doors and hospital wards to shooting the very doctors who will be and are the only hope. Amid such despairing situations we need to question, what kind of mentality has given rise to such behaviors? Perhaps we have, far too long, been glorified as a nation that withstands all devastations. The first step in solving a problem is realising that you have one.
It is true that medical professionals sign up to treat patients only after they undergo a rigorous academic process, but this virus is not something anyone had predicted. Nobody, including healthcare workers, were trained to work under such conditions. On the one hand they suffer emotional stress from watching patients die and, on the other, face physical assault and verbal abuse by their own people.
Haroon Kashif
Published in The Express Tribune, June 22nd, 2020.
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