Your frontliner is not a hero
Forty workers from the Research Institute of Tropical Medicines, the government agency that handles testing for COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, tested positive for the virus last week. Since the Luzon lockdown started mid-March, over 20 doctors have passed away due to the virus. Earlier this month, the National Center for Medical Health in Mandaluyong reported that out of the 34 positive COVID-19 cases in the hospital, 28 are healthcare workers. Apart from those who work in medical facilities, there are security guards, delivery workers, janitors, cooks, cashiers, baggers, truck drivers, farmers and other minimum-wage earners who are also working at the frontlines.
On April 9, Araw ng Kagitingan, President Duterte made a statement hailing these people as heroes. He thanked them, and asked the rest of us to do the same, and to live by their example of courage and endurance during these trying times. “As we face this unprecedented public health emergency that threatens the very survival of our society,” he said, “let us all draw strength from the heroism of the veterans of Bataan and the unnamed heroes in the fight against COVID-19.” Some lawmakers also proposed a heroes’ burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, to recognize their efforts and sacrifice.
It’s been over a month of lockdown, and the government has proven again and again that they do not have medical solutions for this health crisis. A lot of us are staying inside the safety of our homes, away from the looming threat of the coronavirus. But for these people at the frontlines, life now is all about questioning how much of a sacrifice they must endure. It becomes apparent that everyone expects them to work until their death. Is there really an honor in being called a hero when it means putting the lives of the many above their own, without so much as an inkling of hesitation?
The title of “hero” has slowly stripped humanity from these frontliners, making us forget that they, too, are victims of this plague. They, too, have families to go home to, a hope for a future, and a fear of dying. If we continue to call them heroes, we are blatantly ignoring their own suffering. Not all heroes wear capes, we say, but to call these people heroes is a superficial thing. The virus continues to kill by the thousands around the globe, and these frontliners are enduring trauma, fatigue, and sacrificing their overall well-being in order to keep us safe. What they need is not a hackneyed title that holds no value in the real world, but a succeeding plan of action that neither exploits nor romanticizes their lives.
We have so easily boxed these workers into the definition of a hero, overlooking the fact that this rhetoric of heroism is backed by exploitation. The work that they do every day is necessary to keep our society up and running, and it’s easy to dismiss their suffering as a work hazard — but the truth is that a big part of their suffering is unnecessary. We have encouraged them to think that putting their lives at risk is what they should be doing, as if being essential meant living a life of martyrdom; as if we have weighed the value of their lives and decided that theirs are lesser than our own. The hero narrative makes them believe that they should be sacrificial. During this time of a pandemic, to call them heroes is to say that they should be willing to give up their lives just like that.
We are all afraid of the pandemic, and rightfully so. And these frontliners are the ones who are doing the dirty work while we are trying to create a semblance of normalcy within our homes. For most of us, empathizing with the plight of these workers can easily equate to a tweet of solidarity, but to be truly supportive of their cause means looking at the bigger picture. These frontliners deserve more than just a light show during Easter Sunday or the occasional free ride to the hospital. They deserve to be paid fairly, to be provided with necessary protective equipment, to take breaks and go home to their families. They deserve to be able to uphold their human rights, and to not live like sacrificial lambs.
