Empathy: A superior alternative to being judgemental

It was Bird Flu outbreak (2005) in Uchchal block of Tapi district (That time it was part of Surat district). Uchchal has been a remote and most backward tribal block of Gujarat, bordering Navapur – another backward block of Nandurbar district of neighboring state of Maharashtra. Situated 100 kilometers from Surat (District HQ), Uchchal offered nothing beyond a guest house with just 2 to 3 rooms, maintained by the Zila Panchayat. To access basic facilities such as a market or hotel or restaurant, or any other minor need, people had to cross the border to go to Navapur (with slightly better bouquet of civic services). Let me add here that this is the same place in India where a railway station has two platforms leading up to two different states.

So, when a human death was reported in Navapur due to suspected bird flu, we on this side of border, were also put on high alert.  I was deputed on the site along with the CDHO, RDD and many other health personnel, to assess and manage the outbreak. Considering the distance involved in travelling to and fro and coupled with the instructions from “higher ups”, we decided to stay amidst the pitiful conditions.

The usual protocol for Bird Flu management commenced including culling of birds, monitoring of suspected bird flu cases, restricting movement, chemoprophylaxis to health staff and upgradation of health facilities. The decision was to cull all the birds in five big and innumerable backyard hatcheries, that too in the shortest possible time. Professional cullers were brought in. They wore Personal Prophylactic Equipment (PPE) which is a daunting task especially in the hot seasons. The corresponding challenge was to ensure the collection and safe disposal of the used PPEs.

It so happened, that on a particular day, a correspondent from a national newspaper came to the ‘site’, in a two-way hired taxi. On the way, he spotted few children on the streets, playing with a discarded PPE. He took a few photographs, called the “higher ups” in Gandhinagar (State HQ) and demanded for an explanation. Soon, I received a call from Gandhinagar with the caller exhibiting displeasure on the reported incident and asked “to handle it myself”.

It was indeed a gaffe and we were clueless about how to explain it all! The correspondent was insistent and questioned, “How can you people be so careless to endanger the lives of the people, that too of children!”

He went on to add that he is in hurry to file this story at the earliest so that he can meet the date line for next day’s newspaper. With this last statement I lost my patience and thundered on to him with a stretched monologue which went on something like this:

“Dear friend, do you know that I am a teacher in a medical college and have no business to be here.  But along with the others, I am staying here since the entire week, this primitive facility and we are doing our best. In these seven days, I have been to Surat only once to take a bath – which is a luxury statement in current situation, wore fresh clothes, had a hot home-made meal, took a good sound sleep and returned the very next day”.

I pointed towards another person sitting next to me and continued, “Do you know who is this middle-aged lean and thin person, looking like a haggard beggar? He is the CDHO –In-charge of all the health activities of this district. Do you see the tee shirt he is wearing? I brought it from my home for him as he chose not to go back to Surat and he has been holding fort since the past seven days”.

In between, the RDD joined us. I prodded the journalist further, “Do you know who this fellow is? He is the RDD – In-charge of 5 to 6 districts of South Gujarat. He is also stationed here for the last 3 days. We all are too exhausted after the hectic and fast paced activities and thanks to your call to Gandhinagar, we were commanded to look into this matter, with immediate effect. At the fall of dusk with the daylight dimming, the RDD immediately went to investigate the matter and has just returned. Our faces have altered beyond recognition because of these harsh working conditions. No one from media visited us till date to enquire how are we managing our work here under such conditions? Most of persons file their reports based on the information gathered from Surat or Gandhinagar. Yes, you are the first one to take the pain to travel and visit us.  But you too did not bother to seek! You chose to accuse us of negligence and charged us with endangering lives. I know it is a serious matter and promise to do everything to ensure that there are no further lapses.  Please remember that hundreds of cullers are using PPE and, they wear it out of compulsion. We collect discarded PPEs and dispose them off safely. Somehow this one must have been left out due to some glitch and reached to the kids in the street. Thank you for drawing attention on this matter. But where is the empathy? Where is the collaboration? You could have then and there barred the children from playing with the PPEs and informed us immediately”.

At this juncture, I ran out of breath. The journalist left the camp office with minimum verbal exchange thereafter. We were very skeptical about the media coverage and started thinking of a possible reply to the “higher ups”.

Next day and for that matter, on any other day thereafter, nothing about this appeared in any of the newspapers.

Acknowledgement: Sincere thanks are due to Ms. Sudeshna my colleague at GSACS for improving the language of this and my earlier blog and making them readable.