A nurse shares his experience as a frontline worker and volunteer during the pandemic

English transcript | نسخة عربية

Nationality: Filipino
Occupation: Nurse
Date of interview: 11 September 2020
Language of interview: English

Castile is tired. He just came straight from the night shift at the clinic. He used to work in Saudi as an operating theater nurse but 13 years ago he applied to work in Kuwait- building on his career as a technical nurse- and got accepted by the Ministry of Health. But to his shock, once he moved to Kuwait, he found himself assigned to the Central Jail. He laughs about how his career ended that day, because being a jail nurse would not allow him any scope to utilize his extensive skills.

The day-to-day work in the jail is just like a regular clinic—administering vaccines, caring for minor illnesses and injuries. There is no opportunity to use his technical training. But-- he is supporting his wife and four children in the Philippines; the pay is okay, and he gets housing and transportation to work, so he feels lucky. During the pandemic, he and other nurses were among the few people in his community that were able to continue working and had housing and wage security. For others, their lives fell apart. They were unable to send money home, and as their families became increasingly distraught, relations became strained. Castile said there were many suicide attempts in Kuwait, too many of them successful. His community was also experiencing significant loss of life due to COVID-19. Many healthcare workers, especially nurses, medical technicians and ambulance teams, are Filipino, and Castile has lost many friends who were exposed whilst working in the COVID wards and emergency response teams.

Castile feels lucky though. He had a vehicle and a permit as a nurse to enter lockdown areas, so when he was approached by a local aid organization to see if he would be willing to deliver food to people in need, he jumped at the offer. He thought he was doing it for a day or two, but soon it became like a second job. He would finish his shift at the hospital and would immediately pick up his boxes and go into locked-down neighborhoods to deliver aid. He worked long hard days with two different organizations trying to get food out. He felt good because he could help people. He said it really made him appreciate what he has. Because of the pandemic, and there being nowhere to go but work, he saved money to send home to his family and was able to use the rest to help those who were not getting their salaries. “We are not like other communities,” he says. When Filipinos found other evicted Filipinos on the streets, they gathered their resources to send them home. They take care of each other. He said that this pandemic has shown him what is truly important.

“Because for me, really, this is the time that we help each other. Don't, don't talk about the money. Don't mind the money. Help them in every way you can. They are, they are hungry, give them food. Okay? They are crying. Stay with them. Talk to them.”

Castile thinks the Kuwait government did a good job during the pandemic, in treating the sick and in getting landlords to lower the rents, but he wishes they had compensated the healthcare workers for all of the additional time they worked, rather than not paying them for their lost vacation days. He also thinks that community spread is continuing, not because of government policy, but because people are too stubborn to follow the protocols. COVID will be with us a while, he says. 

In the clip above, Castile reflects on the losses, deaths and mental struggles faced by many within the Filipino community during lockdown.

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