Stop division and embrace change
OP-ED
How churches can help our city heal
COURIER LIFE, JULY 17-23, 2020 19
BY DR. RAMON TALLAJ
In a matter of four short
months, our city has been ravaged
by the COVID-19 pandemic,
which has taken over
17,000 lives and forced more
than 2 million people out of
jobs. Communities of color, also
at the epicenter of protest and
activism over police injustice,
have borne the brunt.
New York is in a dark time.
And the uncertainty and fear
are far from over as the threat
of a second wave sits right on
our doorstep – and major questions
linger over a safe way forward
to rebuild communities,
safely open schools and safely
using public transportation.
Answers are in short supply.
We are nervous.
I’m an immigrant doctor
who leads a nonprofi t network
of immigrant physicians, who
largely serve the communities
where we live, learn and pray.
We know well that even before
the pandemic and the protests,
our communities were already
decades behind the fi nancial
and health advances of the general
population. COVID-19 has
magnifi ed those disparities.
Many of our community
members work low-income jobs
– as line-cooks, nurse’s aides,
grocery store clerks – majority
of which can’t be done remotely
and don’t offer paid sick days.
Many of our families live in
smaller quarters with shared
bathrooms and living spaces
with multiple people, so they
are not able to self-quarantine
as effectively. And many have
limited access to quality healthcare
and less likely to have a
connection to general practitioners
if they come down with a
fever, dry cough or shortness of
breath—some of the top symptoms
of COVID-19.
They are in crisis.
And in a crisis, everybody
needs a partner to rely on. Who
share common values, and are
joined by a common mission.
That’s why the partnership
that community doctors have
formed with the Archdiocese
of New York to test and treat
the coronavirus is giving thousands
of lower-income New
Yorkers hope. In immigrant
communities, there may be little
trust between vulnerable
populations and offi cial institutions,
including government
and big corporate hospitals.
But there is trust with the family
doctor and the church.
For many, doctors and faith
leaders alike are the essence of
essentiality. People are seeking
the care they need and together
we are bridging the gaps by helping
restore hope in our hard-hit
communities and sharing a
message of healing and restoration
preached and practiced by
the church. Priests are working
alongside doctors in nearly
fi fty churches and, so far, have
tested and treated over 100,000
New Yorkers for COVID-19.
And since they are on the front
lines, priests and church staff
are also being tested.
Like doctors, the church has
long recognized healthcare as
a basic human right that’s essential
to the development of
each of our humanity. Pope
Francis and Cardinal Dolan
have joined health workers in
their cities and in crisis zones
all over the world to spread this
message of healing for the sick
and caring for the poor. That
mission has also opened access
to many who experience barriers
to health care even on good
days. That is why it is critical
that testing sites are purposefully
located in communities of
color and are staffed by priests
and doctors that speak Spanish
and Chinese as well as English.
It is in this time of disconnection,
despair and disunity,
our parishes, and our community
doctors open the doors
and create safe spaces. It’s our
calling and our mission to care
for, treat, and uplift all who are
weary and burdened.
Our churches and our doctors
are ready. Together, let’s
rebuild and come back stronger
than before. Through this, we
can piece together our brokenness,
unite and begin the process
of healing.
Dr. Ramon Tallaj is the
Chairman of SOMOS, a nonprofi
t, physician-led
Here are two opinions that
we believe every New
Yorker should embrace.
First, we need reform at
the NYPD and other police departments
across the country
to end inequality and police
brutality.
Second, we need to support
the men and women at the
NYPD who bear the responsibility
of keeping us safe.
These are not contradictory
thoughts. In fact, one
can’t work without the other
in order to establish a safer,
more just New York.
And yet, that seemed to be
completely lost upon demonstrators
who took to the streets
this weekend in Brooklyn and
Queens.
The “Back the Blue”
movement claimed that they
marched in support of the
NYPD. They were met by
counter-protesters from the
Black Lives Matter movement,
and that’s when the ugliness
surfaced.
Peaceful protest devolved
into a childish spectacle fi lled
with protesters trying to shout
each other down, with some
on the pro-police side resorting
to racist epithets to make
their point. Ironically, the
cops present at the protests
did their best to keep the affairs
from turning into something
worse.
And what was gained from
this? Did either side really advance
their respective cause?
No. If anything, there was just
more bad blood, more embitterment,
more entrenchment
— none of the things this city
can afford at the moment.
After weeks of protests
across New York, the Black
Lives Matter movement has
made clear just how many
New Yorkers are hurting from
decades of injustice and police
brutality. They want a better
city, and we can’t ignore that.
While the Back the Blue
movement wants the city to support
those who risk their lives to
protect others every day without
criticism, they seem more
keen on asserting their opinion
rather than acknowledging the
grim reality of police brutality
and racial injustice in the city
and country.
We should support the
NYPD. And because we should
support the NYPD, we should
also want them to be the best
they can be. That means embracing
the call for reform
that puts an end to injustice,
improves law enforcement efforts,
keeps our city safe and
avoids the wanton brutality
that has gone on for decades.
New Yorkers should put
aside their differences and
rally behind a cause for peace,
justice and equality — and in
support of an NYPD that better
serves this city “with liberty
and justice for all.”
EDITORIAL
Photo via Getty Images