Syrian Refugee Describes Exprience Cleaning a UK Hospital

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: I just want to know what it’s like being there and sometimes seeing these patients pass away alone. And that’s it. You are probably the closest witness to their final moments.

HASSAN AKKAD, FILMMAKER AND SYRIAN REFUGEE: Parts of my job as a cleaner is disinfecting the — every inch of the wards, of the COVID-19 ward that I work in. And I also have to clean and disinfect the bed frames, the tables, the chairs, all the hot spots. I got used to some of the patients. I actually chat with them every day because some of them have been there for weeks. And, naturally, you become friends with the people that you see every day. And one of my friends passed away, sadly. But before she passed away, I witnessed her saying goodbye to her daughter on Skype. And I have to say, that was one of the most harrowing things I have ever witnessed in my life, because the thing about this pandemic, it’s — what it’s done is that it changed our rituals. It changed everything that has to do with our lives, but death by itself — to die alone — I mean, she didn’t die alone, because we were around her. The nurses and everyone, we were around her. But that was — that was quite difficult on so many scales. I — the ward I work in, my colleagues are — I’m just constantly inspired by them. They come actually from 10 or more than 10 different nationalities. We — it’s like — it’s like the United Nations in my ward. We’re from Spain and Syria and Thailand and India and Ghana and Nigeria. We’re all from an immigrant background. And we’re all on the front line facing this pandemic and trying everything in our power to help.