If they are supported every evening at 8 p.m., everywhere in France, by warm applause emanating from the balconies of the buildings of the city centers, the carers are also the target of numerous threats and incivilities: broken cars, stolen caduceus, materials stolen from cabinets, letters of insults and threats. Samia Maazi, 43, a part-time liberal nurse and part-time in a hospital in Rive-de-Gier in the Loire region, was unpleasantly surprised to discover last week, in her mailbox, a threatening letter, asking her to leave their accommodation.
An anonymous letter that prompted the caregiver to file a complaint for violence against a healthcare professional because "the comments made in this anonymous letter are likely to cause psychological injuries", specifies David Charmatz, prosecutor of the Republic of Saint-Etienne. If found, the mailer faces up to three years in prison.
How are you since the discovery last Wednesday of this anonymous threatening mail in your mailbox?
SAMIA MAAZI. I live with. I have no choice anyway. I have to move on and my family with it. I don't know who dared to write this letter in the building. Can that be my next door neighbor? So I'm on my guard. But it is clear that I do not feel safe. Who knows what this person can do? Tomorrow, she could very well attack my car, my accommodation and then my children?
What was your first reaction when you read this letter?
I was shocked. It had been several days since I had opened the mailbox. I do not believe it. I tried to sleep a little, but I couldn't. So I went to knock on the door of all the neighbors, one by one, to try to find out who had sent the letter and to tell them that we are all the same boat facing the Covid-19.
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Did they show you support?
Yes, I had three or four words of support from neighbors in the lobby of the building. It obviously made me very happy. Most of the neighbors had the same reaction as me, a reaction of amazement.
Do you understand such a gesture?
What I understand is the fear that people can feel. They live in a psychosis which can push them to write this kind of letter. It is a collective, global fear. Myself when I do my shopping, I can feel it. But that's not why I'm going to evacuate the big box. I cannot condone such a gesture. Receiving a letter of this nature is extremely rare, both for me but also for my family, who is very worried.
You have filed a complaint. An investigation is underway. What do you expect from justice?
That we find the author of the letter. This person seemed determined when she wrote the word. She even called me arrogant . My son goes to high school, my daughter is a college student. For my part, I work hard every day like all health personnel to try to treat people. We are a quiet family from Rive-de-Gier. Is that being arrogant? I have lived in the building for ten years and we had never had a problem until then.
What psychological state are you in?
I am wary of everyone. It would be a relief to know who sent this letter because in this kind of situation, everyone is suspected.
Have you thought about leaving your accommodation?
No. I was asked to leave but I never thought about doing it. As a nurse, I know the barrier gestures and I feel that I am no more at risk than any other person who lives in this building.
You supported the outgoing mayor of Rive-de-Gier during the municipal elections. Can there be a link between this political commitment and the threatening mail received?
I added myself to the list of mayor M. Charvin as a running mate, a little at the last minute, to please a friend. Politics is not my domain. I am too invested in my work as a nurse.
The National Order of Nurses is concerned
Faced with the upsurge in verbal and physical violence targeted at nursing staff in the hospital but also in their everyday life, the National Order of Nurses decided to raise the tone but also to investigate. To understand the needs of nurses in the field but also to know what psychological state they are in, he conducted, from April 4 to 7, a large online consultation, to which nearly 70,000 nurses responded, or more than 20% of nurses registered with the Order. It appears that 12% of nurses surveyed said they had been pressured, threatened or insulted and 6% assaulted to steal equipment. "The National Order of Nurses calls all nurses victims of such acts to file a complaint" and plans to bring a civil action in many cases. "Ordinarily, we are a profession that does not complain too much," said Patrick Chamboredon, president of the Order. "But this is too much. The nurses sometimes experience scenes of extreme violence. It's quite worrying, the turn things are taking at the moment. "
