Stigma and Incessant Suffering

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

An officer wearing protective gear takes a picture of an asymptomatic COVID-19 patient posing with her fist held high upon her arrival at U Stay Hotel, Sawah Besar, Central Jakarta, on Sunday (27/9/2020) from the Kebayoran Lama community health center.

Covid-19 is indeed contagious and deadly. However, social stigma can lead to long-lasting suffering, as experienced by Inriaty Karawaheni, 54, a woman from Muara Teweh, North Barito regency, Central Kalimantan.

After losing her husband and son to Covid-19, she has been forced to leave her house because she has been stigmatized by her surroundings.

On 27 April 2020, her eldest son, Berkatnu Indrawan, 28, died of Covid-19. This young doctor contracted the disease while on duty at Soewandhie Hospital, Surabaya, East Java, and died after being treated. Two months later, on 27 June 2020, Inriaty\'s husband, Suriawan Pribandi, died with symptoms of Covid-19 at a hospital in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan.

Also read: Stigmas Worsen Transmission

Until he died, the test results of the deceased had not been available. Inriaty and her youngest son, Andika, 18, underwent a swab test and independent isolation. Both lived in a residential complex in Palangkaraya. "I told the neighbors in front of the house that we are undergoing independent isolation and only leave the house to pick up food deliveries from relatives over the fence. They seemed to understand our situation," she said.

However, that evening Inriaty received a call from the neighborhood unit administrator, interrogating her about her test results. "I answered that I had not received the results, but I had already undergone X-rays and blood tests, the results were good. He didn\'t believe it and accused me of running away from the hospital,” she said.

On Monday morning 29 June 2020, Inriaty received another call from the neighborhood unit administrator. Without further ado, she and her son were asked to leave the house. "He said my son and I were positive and that residents were worried that we would infect the surroundings. I don\'t know where he got my test results, possibly from the Puskesmas (community health center), even though I haven\'t got them yet,” she said.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

A man receives a vaccine injection during a simulated trial of giving the Covid 19 vaccine at the Tanah Sareal Community Health Center, Bogor City, West Java, Sunday (4/10/2020). The simulation was carried out for the readiness of the Tanah Sareal Health Center in Bogor City, which is one of the two health centers in Indonesia designated for the implementation of the Covid 19 vaccine trial.

I am sad because I have to be kicked out of my house. We are the first in the complex.

In the afternoon, Inriaty received test results from the Puskesmas stating that she and her youngest son were positive for Covid-19. Having lost their husband and eldest son, now the lives of her and her son were threatened. "I tried to be calm because my son and I did not feel sick even though I was afraid and confused because I was asked to get out of my home," he said.

Instead of being supportive, the neighborhood unit administrator asked Inriaty to leave immediately. That same day she and her son left the house where she had lived for the last 20 years. Luckily, her relatives lent her an empty house away from the crowd. "I am sad because I have to be kicked out of my house. We are the first in the complex," he said.

Uncertainty

Being expelled from their homes is a form of discrimination triggered by social stigma against Covid-19 survivors in Indonesia. This condition is also experienced by Budi, 23, not his real name, an employee of a state-owned company who lives a rented room in Depok city, West Java.

Initially, one of Budi\'s colleagues, who worked as a nurse, was positive for Covid-19 and was hospitalized. Budi and four of his friends who had a history of contact and experienced symptoms took the initiative to undergo an independent test.

Also read: Legal Basis for Covid-19 Vaccination Issued

Once declared positive for Covid-19, Budi informed the results to the rented room owner. He asked for help from the nearest Puskesmas to the subdistrict office to find a place for isolation, but there was no response. He also contacted the Covid-19 service center in Depok and Wisma Atlet Emergency Hospital, but until evening there was no response. "My illness was not severe, but I needed a place for isolation. It is not easy to do the isolation in the rented room because the bathroom is separated outside. It is feared to infect others," he said.

In the middle of a deadlock, the rented room owner gave an ultimatum that Budi had to leave the rented room on the next day at the latest. "I don\'t know where to go. My family is in Kalimantan. It\'s impossible to go to the friends’ rented rooms," he said.

Kompas/AGUS SUSANTO

A man undergoes a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or swab test at Moh Ridwan Meuraksa Hospital, East Jakarta, Tuesday (16/6/2020). The mobile testing will serve people who have registered through the Covid-19 monitoring app and the results will be sent to their respective mobile phones.

Budi finally contacted one of the volunteers of Laporcovid19, a platform for citizens to share Covid-19 data and information. A Laporcovid19 volunteer, doctor Tri Maharani, helped Budi find a hospital. Maharani called the Depok Health Office and a doctor friend working at an emergency unit of one of the hospitals. At 1:30 a.m., Budi was taken to the hospital.

On the next day, Budi\'s friends also tested positive for Covid-19 from an independent swab test. "I looked for a place at the Wisma Athlete. The Puskesmas just needed to prepare an ambulance, but it didn\'t come,” said Maharani.

Also read: Encouraging Mass Testing

Maharani then contacted the Depok Health Office and asked them to help. Finally, the patients were taken to the Wisma Athlete Hospital. "I have an experience to be infected with Covid-19, so that I know the pain and thought that I would not survive. When further laden with a mental burden due to being stigmatized, it will be hard,” said Maharani.

I was not allowed to work because the parents of the students were afraid about my condition even though the students had not started the teaching and learning activities.

The stigma associated with Covid-19 has made suffering be psychologically and economically prolonged. Even those who have recovered are still suffering this kind of pain, as experienced by Kristin from Mojokerto, East Java. "I was not allowed to work because the parents of the students were afraid about my condition even though the students had not started the teaching and learning activities. In fact, I already recovered two months ago,” said Kristin, a laborer at a private school.

Stigma deepens the impact of the pandemic. According to Akmal Taher, a professor of the School of Medicine at the University of Indonesia, stigma even hinders efforts to cut transmission. "Many people avoid checkup and don\'t open up when they are infected. This hinders the mitigating and tracing," he said.

Covid-19 is deadly and requires us to keep our distance. However, this outbreak should bring us closer socially. Togetherness and mutual strengthening become the last stronghold against the pandemic.