Unsung Heroes - Frontline Workers

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have become aware of the importance of frontline workers. Frontline essential workers now include grocery cashiers and other supermarket employees, bus drivers, farmworkers, childcare providers, and many others. Their dedication and courage have enabled nations to continue functioning during this unusual time.

A large percentage of frontline workers are immigrants and migrants. In Europe, a shortage of medical staff has led many nations to turn to immigrants from the Middle East and Africa to fill healthcare jobs. Dr. Mohamed Alfalasi, an Emirati neurosurgeon, stated, “I decided to stay in France simply to honor my job as a doctor.”

Supreme Master Ching Hai has worked tirelessly on behalf of refugees. She spoke about the contributions of immigrants and refugees in a conference with Supreme Master TV team members in January 2019: “They do anything; they really work hard to earn money, to take care of themselves and their families. They are motivated. They are not born spoiled. So, this will be a very good workforce for any country. Any smart country would take in migrants, and give them citizenship and all that, so their children can also have a good education and then contribute to the country. The whole world is a global village anyway. The whole world is a home.”

In the case of Covid-19, the coronavirus vaccine breakthrough came from two married German scientists – one an immigrant from Turkey and the other a child of Turkish immigrants! Their extraordinary research provided the world with the vaccine needed to control the epidemic. The work of this amazing couple has saved countless lives.

One shining story has been of a Malian immigrant to France named Mamoudou Gassama, who the French call “Le Spiderman.” When he saw a 4-year-old child hanging off a 4th floor balcony in northern Paris, he immediately began climbing the building to save the child. Mr. Gassama was hailed as a hero and met with the French President, His Excellency Emmanuel Macron, who gave him French citizenship.