30 Jun “I’m not asking for applause, I’m asking for RECOGNITION”/spain
Home health aides are also in danger of catching the coronavirus, because the majority of them take care of elderly people who are worn out and worn down by the weight of years, and in some cases have serious illnesses. Elderly people require infinite respect, care, closeness and a lot of affection.” In short, continual physical contact.
Many caregivers have suffered because in some cases no relative has bothered to ask how the person that they take care of is doing. Also because the three months of lockdown have made them feel sad, lonely, insecure and uncertain. I personally know many of them, and I know that they have been taking care of them just as a family member would. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
If it would be of any use, I would record some of the conversations that I hear to when I listen to them, but that would be a breach of confidentiality, of respect, and of the dignity of the person, and besides it would be a serious crime.
I swallow my tears when I listen to things that seem almost incredible to me, like the stinginess of some families who leave the employees only a bit of money to do the daily shopping. Often it isn’t enough, so they have to make up the difference from their own salary, and later they have no way to be reimbursed for the money. I am talking here about upper middle class employers.
Also they speak to me of the little “human warmth” that caregivers receive fromthe relatives. It gives the impression that by hiring a caregiver, “everything is done.” I know with certainty that more than one or two elderly people have died in the arms of a caregiver. Some cry bitterly when the Lord takes their “dear mom” or vice-versa, as they say. The Hospital knows about this, and so do I. “I praise you Father.. because you have revealed these things to the simple…”
Like many Spaniards, many caregivers with Residence and Work Permits have lost their jobs. However, to their dismay, when applying for “Unemployment Benefits” they have found out that they are missing some months of Social Security coverage. Therefore they are without the right to the subsistence income approved by the Government on June 15, 2020, because one of the requisites is to have been affiliated with Social Security.
I observe often that some of the employers who come to visit me to request a caregiver try to “delegate” all the responsibility for 24-hour care on the employee because they themselves cannot do it or because it’s a bother to them. Demeaning salaries, sometimes without Social Security and without rest, hours that on many occasions are not reimbursed –this is a harsh and sad reality.
God and Father of mercy: “May the solidarity of so many thousands of persons during the lockdown, not fade away.”
Consuelo Díaz aci
