Don't be ungrateful to ASHA workers
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Can we forget the hard times we have gone through so quickly? It wasn't many, many years ago that we were terrified of being carriers of the deadly Nipah and COVID-19 viruses if someone sitting nearby coughed loud - even if it was our own sibling. In those days when even our closest friends kept their distance, there was a small group of people in front of us to check on our health and to give confidence to those who prayed that tomorrow should not dawn; we called them 'ASHAs' who, like angels, gave us hope for tomorrow. They came to ensure food for those in quarantine, ensure timely distribution of vaccines, and help with the health-related needs of mothers and children. Moreover, it was the ASHA workers, who were familiar with the nooks and crannies of the country, who played a crucial role in identifying those trapped and finding survivors in the Wayanad landslide that shook Kerala. When writing the history of the last decade of Kerala, which was filled with uncertainty due to floods, epidemics, and natural disasters, one or two chapters would not be enough to record the contributions of ASHA workers. Even though they behave like angels, they are also human beings. Ordinary, destitute human women with pain and sorrow, with hungry and crying children, with sick parents and partners. In this era of alarming economic inequality and inflation, they have no magic means to support their families. The only way they have is to demand a fair and decent wage for the work they do, in a just and democratic way.
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It has been weeks since the ASHA workers started standing in front of the Kerala community, at the administrative headquarters of the capital, with dignity and self-respect, raising that demand. The Chief Minister, who won his way to power again on the strength of his Covid management, abandoned them at the very beginning, who had provided unparalleled support to overcome the Covid crisis. He has even forgotten that the hard work done by the ASHA workers, disregarding their own life, was the core of his daily press conference. The Health Minister, on the other hand, made unsympathetic statements, dipped in sweetness and wrapped in untruth. No different is the stance of the government-accredited cultural workers, who come to 'Manaveeyam' line-up in solidarity with many other struggles and chant slogan. The 26,448 ASHA workers who work for about ten hours a day in 941-gram panchayats in the state have been receiving a monthly salary of Rs 7,000 for years. The administration, which says that they are not government employees but volunteers and are only entitled to an honorarium, is in the very next breath ordering them to end their strike that is disrupting the functioning of the health sector and go back to work. The hate campaign being waged by government supporters against the striking ASHA workers in recent days is highly condemnable and utterly ungrateful. The former industries minister, who has led numerous strikes, has violated all etiquette and hurled insults at the striking women.
This trade union leader is also using the same old trick that has been used against rights struggles for centuries, that they are protesting at someone's instigation. The Sangh Parivar government in the Centre also spread the same canard to turn the people against the farm workers who were protesting against the controversial agricultural policies of the central government. It has become a habit for Kerala to insult and denigrate those who have provided crucial support to the country. We know what was done to the fishermen who were called the army of Kerala for the rescue operations during the floods. What was done to the expatriates who went to other countries and worked hard to alleviate the poverty of the country is also unforgivable. Now, ASHA workers have been put under the scorching sun of ingratitude and reproach. If there is any such thing left as a conscience, this cannot be accepted.