WHO IS MY BROTHER ?
Eduardo
C. Gerding
It isn't what we say or think
that defines us, but what we do.
Jane Austen in Sense and
Sensibility.
Introduction
This article
describes the vulnerability of war veterans to SARS-CoV-2 but highlights how,
despite adverse circumstances, they have selflessly turned once more throughout the country to help the community by
responding to the evangelical call of their brothers. (Matthew 12: 46-50)
At the moment I am
writing this article, there are 304,000 deaths from SARS-CoV-2 in the world,
33,998 in the UK and 353 in Argentina (150 are from the Province of BsAs). 27
According to Richard
Horton, editor-in-chief of the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, everything that was said in the beginning about this
virus producing a mild illness proved to be dangerously false.
Today we know that
SARS-CoV-2 attacks all kinds of tissues and organs and leaves sequels even in
recovering patients. 7
SARS-CoV-2
Symptoms are
experienced 5.1 days after the virus (160 nanometers) enters our body.
It can stay 20 days in the airways. 3. 15.7% of the cases are severe, 5%
are critical and 2.3% require MRA. 14
The war veteran's vulnerability
Jamie Rowen, Associate
Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science, University of Massachusetts Amherst (USA) , published an
interesting article pointing out the 8 reasons why war veterans are vulnerable
to SARS-CoV-2 . Although this applies to US war veterans it is very easy to
extrapolate the data to our national reality. The causes of such consideration
are : 30
Age and other Vulnerabilities: According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the first 425 infected average age
was 59 years, and we know that case fatalities increases 50% above patients 50 years old. The
latter is due to two reasons: Existence of underlying
pathologies (eg: obesity, high blood pressure, COPD, cancer, etc.) and the response of the immune system (reduction
in the production of T and B lymphocytes from the bone marrow and thymus and
reduction of the function of mature lymphocytes in secondary lymphoid tissues).3. Survivals
in elderly patients are exceptional. 12
In 2017, Vietnam war
veterans`average age was 58 years old (91% were male). As of April 13, 2020,
241 war veterans had died in US healthcare
facilities and 4,000 tested positive for COVID 19.
In the case of the Malvinas conscripts
(approximately 23,000 - 4) we speak
of an average age of 56 years.
Dangerous residential facilities: Veterans with terminal illnesses,
cognitive disorders, or drug addiction are generally found in places where
there is a large group of patients. Forty deaths by COVID 19 were registered al
Soldier´s Home in Holyoke.
Twenty-nine older
adults residing in nursing homes in the city of Buenos Aires died of
coronavirus, out of a total of 132 people who had a confirmed diagnosis of
Covid-19 in thirteen establishments that house this population. 11
Benefits unfairly denied: In the USA.,the discharge rating
(honorable or dishonorable) establishes whether the veteran is to receive
social benefits. Many of them suffer from PTSD. This is especially observed
Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Probably this would not be the case for our Malvinas
veterans. US war veterans who lost their jobs as a result of the
coronavirus can apply for financial aid. In case of being approved they receive
U$S 250. 15. There is no survey of unemployed Argentine war veterans.
Diminished access to health care: As a consequence of COVID 19, dental
surgeries have been postponed and scheduled worldwide. 14
However, fifty per
cent of ICU beds in Argentina have been available thanks to the postponement of
scheduled surgeries and decrease in traffic accidents, among other reasons.
Mental health may get worse: Several articles have warned about the impact of quarantine on the psyche.
In U.S.A. where currently 20 war veterans commit suicide per day, this
situation is expected to worsen.
After the SARS spike
registered in 2003, PTSD cases (47.8%) were found in both health workers and in
people who self-isolated as part of the lockdown. 13,31
The National Center for PTSD, in conjunction with the US Department of Veterans of War. promote the use of a free app so that veterans can manage
their stress situation. Guidelines for Spanish-speaking war veterans in USA can
be read at: https://www.ptsd.va.gov/spanish/COVID_managing_stress_sp.asp 26
British military
entities say that 1 in 10 people in jail are war veterans and that this number is increasing due to PTSD. 34
According to the Argentine Public Prosecutor's Office,
58% of ex-soldiers suffer from depression and 3 out of 10 admit having had
suicidal thoughts, as an official study indicated in 2012. 33
Based on WHO
recommendations, several papers have been published depicting measures to protect mental health of
those who observe quarantine in their homes. 8
Complications for homeless veterans and
those in the justice system:
In the US on any given night there are 45,000 veterans on the streets and
181,500 in jails. There is no survey of
homeless Argentine war veterans.
There are 2,820
British war veterans in jail which constitutes
up to 3.5% of the total prison population. It is estimated, that in England and
Wales war veterans are 30% less likely to be than those who are not veterans. 32
According tothe US
Department of Justice Statistics, during 2011-2012 there were 181,500 war
veterans in jail representing 8% of the entire prison population. 9. Half of them revealed mental
disorders. 19. The three main
reasons why veterans end up in jail would be: 1) Alcoholism and drug addiction,
2) Inability to adapt to civilian life and 3) Economic Problems (eg: homeless) .28
In Argentina, between
2013 and 2019 the prison population rose 55% and reached 63,094 . This figure refers to
prisoners within the Federal and Buenos Aires Penitentiary System, services which represent 69% of the country's
total the prison population. 22. Overcrowding prisons is an Argentine
priority concern. 29
Disability benefits delayed: In the US, 75,000 veterans wait at
least 125 days to get their benefits.
After the 1982 South
Atlantic conflict, 301 conscripts from the Argentine Army were left with
disabilities (36 wounded with
disabilities greater than 66%), 53 officers and 297 non-commissioned
officers (33 with a disability due to injuries greater than 66%). In the
Argentine Navy, 46 conscripts, 80 officers and NCOs were left with
disabilities. The Argentine Air Force had 25 Officers and NCOs with
disabilities. 20
In our country there
is Law 22,674 (BO 16 November 1982) that regulates an extraordinary subsidy for
disabled Malvinas ex-combatants. Its Art 2 establishes that the amounts to be
settled will be those that result from multiplying the monthly credit of the
rank of Lieutenant General or equivalent, in force on the date of the
settlement, by the coefficient TEN (10).
Obstacles to getting stimulus checks: In the case of the USA this is due to
cumbersome forms to be completed by those veterans who are exempt from taxes.
Argentine war veterans are exempt from
some taxes (eg: income tax, automobile patent, real estate tax, etc.) but there
are no obstacles to collection. 10
As of March 2020, the
benefit received by the Malvinas war veterans will be $ 47,674.40 (U$S 381) 2
Donations
The Argentine Army
donated field kitchens to a groups of war veterans. Each kitchen, originally
fueled by firewood, has the capacity to provide 250 servings, and on its side
it carries a 73-liter container for hot chocolate, coffee or mate.
Los veteranos de
Malvinas de todo el país se movilizan para enfrentar la pandemia-https://www.infobae.com/sociedad/2020/04/16/los-veteranos-de-malvinas-de-todo-el-pais-se-movilizan-para-enfrentar-la-pandemia/ 25
The Reconquista group
donated an infusion pump for the intensive care area of the
local hospital, valued at 120 thousand pesos.
Globally, some cases
have been extraordinary, such as 99-year-old British war veteran Tom Moore
(Captain, Yorkshire Regiment who served in India and Burma) who walks with the
help of a walker and helped collect £ 16m for health workers fighting the COVID
19 pandemic. 1
Background to solidarity actions of war
veterans
In 1998, a single
fire devastated 37,000 square kilometers of the Brazilian Amazon. This fire,
which started in January 1998 and lasted until the rains began in early April,
affected the state of Roraima, on the border with Venezuela and Guyana, and
reached the Yanomani tribe reserve. Here our war veterans participated. 17
For 15 years, war
veterans of Rosario, Daniel Britos, Raimundo Villagra, Roberto Sosa, Eleuterio
Cardozo, Oscar Cabral and Baciliano Cháves distribute hot food to homeless from
Monday to Friday with a truck . Every day, at sunset, these veterans meet to
cook in a shed in Cafferata and Avenida del Rosario. Britos says that they do a
bit of everything: noodle stew, yellow rice, and lentils, among other viands.
They have the support of the Municipality which provide the food they cook and
fuel for the 1983 Mercedes Benz 608 truck that was donated by the Argentine
Post. 6
In Mendoza, war
veterans collaborate in solidarity in the towns of San José, Gualtallary,
Cordón del Plata, Villa Bastia, Zampal and La Arboleda. The products they
deliver (coffee, pancakes and bills) are contributed by the veterans
themselves, although they also receive the collaboration of some people and
entities. 18
How Argentine war veterans help during the
pandemic 24,25
-They make mask faces
In Santa Fe, in the
towns of San Javier, Esperanza, San Carlos Centro, San Justo, Gálvez, Rufino,
Villa Ocampo and Laguna Paiva, they distribute mask faces in coordination with
NGOs. In Corrientes, they make mask faces
in 3D printers for medical personnel and distribute them as well fre in
Paso de la Patria and Ituzaingó.
-Influenza vaccination
The Center for former
South Atlantic combatants of Atlantic of Santiago del Estero participate in the
home flu vaccination campaign for vulnerable PAMI members. Patients (whether
veterans or not) with diabetes, hypertension, heart diceases and disabled are included
in this assistance. War veterans are also in charge of bringing medications to
ex-combatants at risk who cannot approach pharmacies. All expenses are borne by the local war veterans`center.
Alicia Reynoso (65)
is a nurse who, during 1982, carried out her work as Air Force personnel at the
mobile hospital in Comodoro Rivadavia. 21,24.She
Works at the II Paraná Air Brigade and actively participates in the influenza
vaccination campaign for older adults in the Grapschental village, a small town
founded in 1886 by Germans from the Volga in the province of Entre Ríos. There
are about 30/40 families, with many vulnerable elderly people.
-Nonperishable food
In the province of
Buenos Aires war veterans carry out various solidarity and assistance actions,
in coordination with the Buenos Aires Veterans Federation . In Mar del Plata the
Malvinas Defenders Veterans Association delivers non-perishable food to dining
rooms in different neighborhoods.
-Bags of food
The Neuquén
veterans provide a daily distribution of
food bags whose products are purchased
from their own pockets.
Vía Malvinas- War
veterans carry out solidarity tasks against hunger 6
https://viapais.com.ar/malvinas/1066097-excombatientes-realizan-tareas-solidarias-contra-el-hambre/
It should be noted
that every Thursday for a period of six weeks, with food provided by the
Municipality, members of the Argentine Army Pigüé Base prepare 250 hot lunch
rations for people in need. 16
-Lodging people in risky situations.
In Tierra del Fuego,
the president of the Center and also of the Malvinas Foundation, Conrado
Zamora, transferred their facilities from the center to a coordination office
for line 107 of emergency ambulances. The foundation's facilities were adapted
and accomodation was provided for vulnerable people.
-They provide vehicles for the local authorities
In Misiones, war
veterans provided their 22 owned vehicles to the the government thus helping to
transport people, carrying medicines or food.
Safety, health, cleaning and garbage
collection tasks
The Agrupación 2 de Abril (Malvinas
Combatant Former Soldiers Center) in Tucumán, together with the United Neighborhood
Center for San Andrés, collaborates in safety, health, cleaning and waste
collection tasks, and they are also the ones who provide mask faces to older
people.
-Vehicles control
187 kilometers from
Santa Fé capital, on the way to the west, is the city of El Trébol. There, ex-combatants
coordinated by Osvaldo Martínez and
Oscar Scaglia collaborate with the
municipality in the controls of entering vehicles. To do this, they perform rotating
three-hour shifts, controlling drivers´ personal data and temperature.
-At institutional level
The symbolic daily raising
of the flag in the historic monument in the city of Rosario could not be
interrupted just because the employees in charge had to comply with the
mandatory lockdown. Thus, Malvinas war veterans, after obtaining permission from
the authorities, organized rotating shifts to raise and lower the flag of the
main mast of the monument every day.
Acknowledgements
-Adolfo ¨Fito¨
Schweighofer-President of the National Commission of Former Malvinas Combatants
of the Ministry of the Interior.Province of Santa Fé-(former conscript at the ARA Piedrabuena destroyer which rescued cruiser
ARA General Belgrano´s survivors).
-Roberto
Barrientos-Representative of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social
Security before the National Commission of Former Combatants of the Malvinas.(
Company of Combat Engineers 601-Argentine
Army).
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Published May 22nd, 2020 at The Nottingham-Malvinas
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https://malvinasnottingham.blogspot.com/2020/05/2020-quien-es-mi-hermano.html#.XsghgTozZdg
