Every day hundreds of healthcare workers at Mater Dei Hospital stand on the frontline against coronavirus. Amongst the heroes and heroines there are foreign nationals from 56 countries. Three of them tell Claudia Calleja how helping others motivates them to keep going, despite their personal fears and racist comments.
Ayman Mostafa – Syrian surgeon
When surgeon Ayman Mostafa gets home after a day’s work, his wife has to hold their two young daughters back from running onto him to allow him time to wash himself in case he is carrying the virus.
“I am still living with my family but with a lot of precautions. Usually, when I come back from a long working day, my daughters [aged four and two] rush towards me for a hug and kiss and to check my bag for sweets or toys. I can’t do it any more,” Mostafa, an acting consultant in general and breast surgery and visiting lecturer at the medical school, says.
A Maltese soldier – Sergeant Alex Gatt – held my hand and pulled me out from the water
“My wife has, every time, to hold them till I change clothes and shower. This was a big shock for them.”
Mostafa, 45, came to Malta seven years ago when he and his wife left Syria during the war.
“I came to Malta by boat, which capsized in the middle of the sea. A Maltese soldier – Sergeant Alex Gatt – held my hand and pulled me out from the water,” he says.
“This country gave me a chance to stand again on my feet and start a new life here. I am very glad that I am relatively risking myself, trying to pay back to this country,” he adds.
“At Mater Dei we are providing a medical care service that can’t be stopped in any circumstances. Saving lives is my commitment since I started working as a doctor. Managing to do that had always been my prize.”
Magdalene Reyes – Filipino carer
Magdalene Reyes – my role as a carer is to give my 100 per cent support.
‘My everyday living is full of fear’
Magdalene Reyes, a Filipino carer, has been living in fear of passing on the coronavirus to her family at home. She was very hurt when two teenagers on a bus accused her of spreading the virus.
“They thought we were Chinese and they told us: you go back to your country,” Reyes, 49, says.
They thought we were Chinese and they tell us: you go back to your country,
If only those teens knew that the woman they were insulting was one of the frontliners against the virus.
“My message to them is: we have also sadness, fears and anxiety, immense feelings that scare us.
“So please, instead of discriminating [against] us, pray for us so we can do our jobs and not get infected by the virus,” she says.
Reyes had travelled to Malta in June 2017 to work in order to support her family. Her husband joined her in January this year, but their son remained in the Philippines.
“It is very hard for us to be far away from each other. My role as a carer is to give my 100 per cent support to my fellow healthcare workers, to the patient and to the family of the patient.
“Since COVID-19 started here in Malta, everything changed and we are living in fear,” she says.
But, despite her fear of spreading the virus, she is happy to be in a position to help others.
“I chose this profession because I love caring for others and I like doing work that has the potential to make a difference in someone’s life… stepping up to take care of others and to give my family a better life,” she says.
Jibin Jose – Indian nurse
Jibin Jose – nursing is a noble profession.‘It’s time to be responsible’
Nursing can be tough, especially when screening patients for coronavirus and caring for them in quarantine but Indian national Jibin Jose, 32, is happy to be able to help others, even if this means moving into a separate room to protect his wife from the virus.
Throughout all this, the very fact that he is helping people keeps him motivated as do their little comments and gestures of gratitude.
“There are so many incidents that keep me motivated and one of them is a card I received from one of my patients saying: ‘thank you my guardian angel for taking good care of me’. That made my day. They might forget your face but they will never forget how they were treated by a nurse. It’s more than enough,” he says.
Over the past months, Jose has been one of the frontliners screening people for symptoms of coronavirus and taking care of them.
I still live with my family but I stay in a separate room now because my wife falls in the vulnerable category
“I was also working in a quarantine ward where we test patients for COVID-19 and we treat them for 14 days and, if there are any symptoms, we follow up from there,” he says.
Jose has been living in Malta since 2016 and lives with his wife who he describes as “the best thing that happened to my life”. They have always felt welcome in Malta.
“I still live with my family but I stay in a separate room now because my wife falls in the vulnerable category. I’m taking all the preventive measures as much as possible,” he says.
Despite all this, Jose continues to be very proud of his profession.
“Nursing is a noble profession. I chose nursing to serve people when they really need me. The life of a nurse is not easy, but I love all challenges that came across,” he says, adding that this pandemic is not a time to be afraid but a time to be careful and responsible.