Except it is not a minor detail. No-one's passing is a minor detail. As John Donne observed, when the funeral bell tolls, it tolls for all of us. Alice lived a life no different from that of many Filipinas. Born into a large family, she married, worked hard, battled poverty and raised a family. She leaves behind four children and twelve grandchildren, besides her eight siblings, one of whom is my wife. For them, losing Alice is no minor affair, nor any trifling detail.
Unfortunately, I never really got to know Alice. We met only a couple of times, and never really had a conversation (many Filipinos think I am either German or Australian, and find that very suspicious, for some reason). Nevertheless, I salute Alice's memory, and believe that her last days are of significance to us here in Britain.
Alice's final stay in hospital was made doubly traumatic for her family by the brutally simple fact that healthcare in the Philippines is not free - you pay for it. As many Filipinos are desperately poor, they often cannot afford medical treatment, and as my wife says: "In Philippines, if you don't pay, you die". Without support from her family, Alice would have faced a grim end; without support from the wider family, her children could not have afforded to pay for her treatment.
Why should this concern us, here in Britain? Well, it does not take much research to find that there are some right-wing British politicians who would dearly love to dismember the National Health Service (in which, ironically, many Filipinos work) and privatise as much of it as possible. This is not always overtly stated, but it is not difficult to read between the lines.
Fortunately, many British people recognise the warning signs, and are campaigning (not a moment too soon!) to "Save the NHS". If you, dear reader, support this campaign, when you are signing petitions, writing to your M.P. or joining in street protests, then please - remember my sister-in-law, Alice Abes. In a way, her passing encapsulates all we fight for, and all we are campaigning against.
There could be no better tribute to her memory.
By coincidence, I was only thinking to myself a few hours ago that whatever rights you think you have, you'll only keep them by being vigilant. In the UK, we do tend to take our rights for granted, and sometimes don't notice soon enough when they are under attack. The health service, education, the benefits system, and even free speech are being surreptitiously undermined as I write, but I feel most people here aren't really aware of it. This probably derives from our national tendency to dismiss politics with glib phrases that save us the trouble of participating, or even thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteAn example where I live in Southport: our local NHS Trusts and Community Health Council decided more than 10 years ago to move children's Accident and Emergency (A&E) to a hospital in Ormskirk about 10 miles away. This was not a secret move, it was reported in the local press, but no one did anything until the time came to implement the plan, at which point a bunch of furious parents set up a campaign to get children's A&E back. They were about 3 years too late, and I put that down to the public's lack of interest in politics. Had they been alert at the right time, their campaign may have succeeded.
The Community Health Councils themselves, which did have some element of democratic accountability, were themselves abolished about 10 years ago in England. No one reacted, and now some of us are wondering how the NHS became such a remote, apparently untouchable institution. Because we let it is the simple answer.
I have no doubt that some people in this country wish to change the NHS in the ways you suggest, Geoff. Not just politicians, but also some administrators and doctors have come out in favour of charging for certain procedures, GP appointments, and so on.
We must not smugly believe that we can never be in the position that Alice found herself. Don't just say you like the NHS; take steps to save it.