This year I was blessed to spend my New Years in Lima, Peru for the first time with my huge family and warm next door neighbors which you can watch part of that experience in my Peru vlog to get a glimpse of it. Well, a tradition that is typically done to bring in the new year is something that's known as La Quema de los Munecos, dolls that are made up of old clothes and burned. This is done in representation of letting go of negative energy and bad luck. As you can imagine, this is dangerous because of how flammable clothes is and how easily the flames can get out of control.
Sadly, this very nightmare occurred that night a block from me when some kids had placed fireworks in their muneco (smh) and the sparks got into the school nearby .Luckily we had a firefighter among our neighbors. While the fire truck was coming, he first screamed out to see if anyone was in there and luckily there wasn't and then he stormed into his house and asked the neighbors to get buckets of water to help ease the fire. Without any hesitation, he climbed over the gates of the school and did all he can to end the fire. The firefighters soon came afterwords and in the end there were very minimal burns to the school which could've been a whole other story if it wasn't for the quick actions of our neighbor the firefighter who btw was definitely not even in his 20's.
This situation quickly replayed in my head as I watched the news earlier this week in shock over the disappearance of three firefighters who had gone in to try to rescue a man trapped in the inferno of a fire that occurred in La Agustino where there was a shoe factory and a health government building (which was going to be checked for corruption reasons). I was even more devastated when they were found dead.
In the United Stated, firefighters are paid well, have all the latest material and gear, and are given several benefits; deserving for risking their lives everyday to save ours, the utmost sacrifice. In Peru, that's not the case. Becoming a firefighter there is like being initiated in a beautiful brotherhood where they VOLUNTARILY sacrifice their life everyday, and they wouldn't even want to be a firefighter anymore if it meant that they had to get paid. It's still incredulous to me that these men go through so many ordeals, but to them it's still a complete honor to be able to serve others. This has been going on since 1860 and many times you see entire families that have been involved in this brotherhood for generations, their own legacy.
These men, who are asked of so much...are given so little. You would think...hey, if you're not getting paid for protecting and saving the lives of those in danger, might as well allocate money in order to provide them with the necessary equipment. Also, wouldn't you think that these heroes AT LEAST deserve a proper pension after retiring or health insurance benefits when they're injured from putting their life on the line? Unfortunately, nope. Peru is a country where politicians that spend their time in Congress playing PokemonGO and sleeping are paid WAY too much money, money that can be used to benefit the lives of many, even their own.
On average per week, there are 190 fires and 1,050 car accidents (how surprising) that goes on in Lima and in the whole country, there are only 12,000 firefighters that carry this heavy weight. They are only given one bunker gear, an oxygen tank that lasts only between ~ 30-40 minutes, and one pair of boots. The boots are typically worn out quickly so they then have to resort on using old ones from others which can many times not even adequately fit them. The firetrucks are very outdated, for the past 80 years, some of their equipment and gear has been renovated only 3 times so eveyone does their part in taking really good care of everything. They don't have an adequate health insurance, many times injured firefighters have been dismissed and turned down from hospitals for this very reason. They aren't given a pension after they're 70 years old, money is only given if they DIE and in that case, their families can be given at most...only 68,000 soles, about 22,250 dollars, that's if they die.
So many sacrifices on their behalf and it's so disheartening to me that the government and the people themselves don't take the action of doing something to help these heroes out, they need our help. I've seen first hand the passion these men and women have in this job where they are willing to give what's most sacred to us, our life. They have kids and loved ones waiting for them at home with great pride in what they do, even if it means not seeing them ever again. They don't ask for any monetary pay, only for money to go into getting the material they need to save as many lives as possible and also a proper health care and pension which they are SO DESERVING OF!
I've realized that true happiness is not found in seeking things of monetary value, those things don't come in the tomb with you. True happiness is found when you can make an impact in someone's life, leaving memories that no one can ever take away from you. This is exactly the reward for these heroes, los Bomberos Voluntarios del Peru.
How will you impact someone's life today?
Karen Monge
-The Chic Engiruvian
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