On June 18, in Madrid, the King and Queen of Spain presented 24 medals for civil merit to essential workers representing important sectors that continued operating during the lockdown. Undoubtedly, the view from Madrid is very different and distant from the one we have in the Archipelago. Our territory is fractured, insular, and located many, many kilometers from Europe, with whom mercantile exchange is prioritized: there we are, forever, at least ultra-peripheral.
The Bourbons touched on many areas: healthcare, education, hospitality, small businesses, transportation (land, of course), supermarkets, etcetera. There, everything must seem very logical and complete, but in the Canary Islands, we have a different reality.
Let's set the scene. March 2020: Air passenger transport is restricted, and only cargo planes enter the Canary Islands; contingents of airport workers, from private and state security teams or AENA personnel, to the essential plane crews or stevedores, continue to operate. The entry and exit of goods does not cease.
Binter Canarias is the one that keeps the 8 airports of the Archipelago open. Blood is transported daily between the different banks according to demand, mail and parcels, press, medicines, biological samples, human organs, patients... And it continues to be done to this day without ceasing. Working conditions worsened significantly, due to a lack of sanitary material at the beginning, due to AENA's tax increase, due to the special conditions of limitations imposed by the health crisis... But nothing completely stops this essential service that worked silently, fulfilling its mission and adapting promptly to any regulations as it continues to do today.
I know I'm missing details, maybe even some important ones, but in reality, all I want is to convey to my colleagues my recognition for the effort made and that of my loved ones, for whom it has not gone unnoticed.
Furthermore, I promise you that I don't need any medals or recognition from any king: I know, we know, what our mission is and we are delighted to carry it out with professionalism.
Pedro M. González Cánovas
(Airport worker in Tenerife North)
