July 6: Everyone Is on Strike!

Good evening! I am anxiously awaiting my trip this weekend--tomorrow we leave for tours around Chinchero, Maras, Moray, Urubamba, and Ollayantatambo from which we head on a train to Aguas Calientes where we will spend the night before heading to Machu Picchu Saturday morning. To be honest, I am currently most excited for the train ride, but going to one of the wonders of the world comes in close second. Before I head off into this trip, here's a quick summary of the past week:

Tuesday (Happy Birthday USA!), we arrived to work to find a poster saying (translated) "Indefinite Strike of Doctors. There is no medical attention." And since Tuesday, the doctors have not been working. And the doctors aren't the only ones striking, the public school teachers are also on strike (and have been for almost one month!)

So, why are they striking and what kind of impact does this have on the community?

The doctors and teachers are striking because their pay is unreasonably low given the cost of their education and the impact and effort of their work. The doctors payed S/. 1500 (~$500) per month for their education, and receive on average, S/. 2000 (~$650) per month for their work. Teachers earn a monthly salary of about S/. 1200 (~$400), while the minister of education receives S/. 30000 ($10,000) per month. As a comparison, the average salary in Cusco is S/. 800 ($250) per month and police officers earn more than S/. 30000 per month. The money isn't fairly distributed, but this isn't an easy problem to fix.

The strikes are occurring throughout the country of Peru. This means that kids have been out of school for almost a month, and that no one in the country is able to receive medical treatment except for emergencies at the hospital and at private clinics. However, medical treatment is different from health attention; the nurses are still working, and the dentist, obstetricians, and psychologists at our clinic are still working too. This means that children are still coming in for their check-ups and vaccinations, soon-to-be-mothers are coming in for their control appointments, etc. However, the people who usually come to the doctor for medical attention--people with cold/flu symptoms, infected wounds, headaches, etc.--are not receiving care.

For me, this means that the workload at the clinic has been light and variable. On Tuesday, there were almost no patients for any of the departments, but now word is spreading that the clinic is still open for everything but medical consultation, so the usual amount of patients are arriving to each of the specialties. It will be interesting to see how long the strike will last and what the result will be (if any).

As for other things,  Lexi and I enjoyed hosting a 4th of July celebration here for our family. This consisted of searching the supermarket for s'mores and burger supplies, followed by cooking an "American" meal at our house which consisted of hamburgers, Pringles, and french fries. The meal began by us singing the national anthem and performing the "American" dance of "Cotton Eye Joe." Soon after, we live-streamed the Disney and Atlanta fireworks and made s'mores over the open flame of the stove. It was by far the coldest 4th of July I've experienced, but also one of the most memorable!

I hope you also had a great Independence Day celebration! I certainly appreciate the stability of our government and the freedoms we have!