As the effect of the SARS epidemic reaches new heights in Taiwan and its threat to public health looms large, human nature faces some tough tests which reveal the inherent duality of man's simultaneously weak and noble character. At times like these, all the unsung heroes who man their posts at the battlefront deserve our unreserved recognition.
The image of nurses breaking through the quarantine at the Municipal Hoping Hospital, which was to be sealed-off for 14 days, and shouting "Why should we take care of SARS patients?" must have been shocking to many observers. After all, people have come to take for granted how many doctors and nurses make sacrifices for the health of their patients.
With respect to such a surprising outburst, one senior nurse sighed and said "not all nurses are willing to sacrifice themselves for others." Anyone who is quick to condemn these nurses should first realize what they have done is simply a manifestation of the human weakness to be selfish that is hidden in everyone.
This makes one feel particular admiration for those who are able to suppress their personal fears and remain indomitable in their commitment to fight the epidemic from the front lines. This includes the majority of medical and nursing personnel, government health-protection and disease-control personnel and the policemen enforcing mandatory quarantine, among others.
The "Asian heroes" elected by Time Asia, including the "Dirty Team" at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong and the medical staff of the Tan Took Seng Hospital in Singapore who selflessly dedicate themselves to the battle against SARS, are extremely inspirational. Many of these heroes had volunteered for assignments to take care of those infected and have elected to return to such assignments after recovering from the disease themselves.
In Taiwan, a group of doctors and nurses had also volunteered on Friday to go inside the Municipal Hoping Hospital to come to the aid of the panic-stricken and exhausted isolated medical and nursing staff. Other touching and inspirational tales have also been reported, such as the two bus drivers who volunteered to drive the quarantined nurses of the hospital to their sleeping quarters.
In these desperate and seemingly hopeless hours, this nation needs to be inspired by such heroes and their heroic deeds in the way that the rescue of Private First Class Jessica Lynch boosted the morale of US troops and all Americans during the war against Iraq.
Furthermore, the government should see to it that individuals under quarantine in the Municipal Hoping Hospital receive proper psychological counseling during their quarantine. The husband of a suspected SARS patient quarantined in Municipal Hoping Hospital who was also quarantined in the hospital hanged himself yesterday. Confinement to a small area for a prolonged period of time while facing the threat of a potentially lethal disease are sufficient cause to incite a sense of collective hysteria upon the confined, driving them to desperate measures.
Finally, it is truly comforting to see the politicians of Taiwan at long last casting aside their political bickering for a moment to unite and fight against this frightening disease. The KMT had reportedly proposed a bill to scrap the ceiling on the fund that the government can raise through issuing government bonds in order to raise enough financial resources to control the SARS epidemic. Moreover, the central government and Taipei City Hall are showing unprecedented unity and cooperation in disease control. This proves that there is silver lining to each cloud after all.
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