‘We are humans, don’t break us’ say airline staff and medical workers who are being shunned by the society

• Doctors and other medical workers are braving the Coronavirus with relentless efforts. But they are not being allowed into their own homes by landlords.
• Landlords fear that healthcare professionals might also be carriers of Coronavirus.
• The Delhi government ordered strict penal action against landlords who are forcing healthcare professionals to vacate their rented residences.

In Warangal, a district in Telangana, doctors were asked to vacate their hostels as they would be used as isolation wards in the future. The doctors, who are spending late hours in the hospitals, set out to look for homes, only to be called ‘dirty’ and ‘unhealthy’.

The fear of Coronavirus has turned these heroes homeless.

On Sunday (March 22nd) evening, millions of Indians stepped out onto their balconies and applauded for the people who continue to work during the Covid-19 crisis – doctors and healthcare professionals, airlines which ferried Indians stuck abroad and many more.

But the applause was short-lived. Doctors in India, who are working for days at a stretch, aren’t being allowed to come back. Their landlords fear that the tired doctor might also be a carrier.

Nurses, paramedics and other medical professionals too are facing discrimination across the country. In Kolkata, nurses are being evicted from their homes, some have even been slapped.

In the National Capital, All India Institute Of Medical Sciences too reported that several doctors have been asked to vacate their homes by their landlords. The Resident Doctors Association asked the government to issue an order prohibiting landlords from evicting medical professionals.

Subsequently, the Delhi government ordered strict penal action against landlords who are forcing healthcare professionals to vacate their rented residences amid the Coronavirus pandemic.

The order stated that “such behaviour amounts to obstructing public servants in discharging their duties."

But it’s not just doctors. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the Air India crew for being bravehearts who rescued Indians stranded abroad and brought them back home. But the crew which won hearts on social media, were ostracized by their neighbours.

An Air India official anonymously told TOI that despite not getting their salaries on time, being unsure about their jobs, they don’t think twice before flying out to war zones or Corona hotspots to save Indians. But even then they are the ones subject to the discrimination.

“We are humans, don’t break us,” the official told TOI.

See Also:
Coronavirus cases in India