These people in the Netherlands deserve a standing ovation

‘Safe’ from home I type this. Because I have, just like many others with me, the opportunity to work from home. Not everyone has that, of course. Unfortunately, many freelancers are also at home without work, about which Minister Eric Wiebes made some not very smooth statements. Texts like “they chose this risk themselves, this is to be expected” are not necessarily what you want to hear as a freelancer at this time, while all your jobs are falling away.

But many people still have to go to work. Many teachers, who fall under ‘vital professions’, are expected to show up for work, as care for children. My mother is one of them, and just like her colleagues all over the Netherlands, she has gone to work without complaint. It's nice to see that in such a crisis we still form a kind of unity and help each other. Teachers who stay at home are busy continuing the lessons online.

A special example of this is also the Corona Quarantine Contact. This initiative from KRO helps people to connect with each other. People who are in quarantine, people who are sick, and people who want to be there for someone else. Because three weeks with very little social contact, nobody is happy about that. I have signed up in any case.

And of course, the healthcare in the Netherlands really deserves a standing ovation. I read on the internet that the most underpaid jobs are now precisely the ones that are most needed. That is of course (as with many things on the internet) a bit more nuanced, but there is absolutely a kernel of truth in it as far as I'm concerned. The people in healthcare who are making a huge amount of overtime, putting themselves in danger by caring for others, making them better... They are currently the great heroes in the Netherlands.

Alain Clark thought so too, and he sang a praise song for healthcare on NPO1. A very beautiful song. Do you also want to express your appreciation for healthcare? There is currently a message going around calling us to give a massive applause for healthcare workers this Tuesday evening, March 17, at eight o'clock in the evening. I personally think it's a very nice gesture, and a good sign of appreciation. So open that window this Tuesday and give that standing ovation.