Ms. Müller with Fatima kissing her on the cheek and Marius in the background
Yesterday I was watching a two-part Dutch documentary on-line, which is called Voor de Leeuwen. This title can be translated in two ways. Firstly, in Dutch there’s a saying that goes “voor de leeuwen gooien”, which is the same as “t0 throw to the wolves”. Secondly, literally translated it’s “for the lions”. The title is tremendously appropriate in both ways.
In the Netherlands there’s an extreme shortage of geriatric helpers. In search for a solution to this problem, the regional center of vocational training in Amsterdam together with Osira Groep has started a project in which inexperienced students care for the elderly in an old people’s home (De Rietvinck). In this documentary the viewer shadows three of these students: Marius, Purnall and Fatima.
On the outside, Marius looks like a tough guy, but it soon becomes clear that he has a lion’s heart. Mostly we see him interact with Mr. Suurhoff. Mr. Suurhoff is an intelligent man, who had suffered a collapse and wasn’t able to walk again afterwards. He’s very sad that he has become dependent on others for his care. He tells Marius this openly. There’s a sad moment when it becomes clear that jerry hadn’t been placed correctly beneath the Mr. Suurhoff’s wheelchair and he’d been relieving himself next to the jerry because of this. He also confides in Marius by telling him that he loves the opera and Marius sets out to fulfill that wish. Eventually he manages to take Mr. Suurhoff and his wife to the opera in Amsterdam, which all three of them enjoy immensely.
Purnall seems a laid-back type of guy. In the documentary, we frequently see him messaging or doing games on his mobile. He comes late to work a few times, brings family into the home without asking for permission first, and in unable to keep to the dress code. He is laid off eventually.
We see Fatima care for Ms. Müller. The lady suffers from lung emphysema and osteoarthritis. She tells Fatima that she was married at eighteen and divorced by the time she was twenty-three due to the fact that her husband had been physically abusing her. Her son had committed suicide, which left the poor Ms. Müller heart-broken. Ms. Müller has a certain type of humor and directness that can only be found in Amsterdam. She can also be very moody and rude. Her mood swings could definitely take some getting used to, but Fatima manages to build a loving bond with the lady and when Fatima’s internship ends, the supposedly hard Ms. Müller is the only one who cries.
Then there’s another woman, Mrs. Schijffelen, who starts out pretty good, but when her husband dies, she just gives up. The students can see her slowly fading away, refusing to get up, clean herself and eat. Eventually she passes away. Marius attends her funeral.
After watching this documentary, I am convinced that it takes someone with a lion’s heart and courage to take on a task like this; physically taking care of the elderly who are unable to take care of themselves is a heavy duty job. Taking into account the emotional burden of talking with the elderly about difficult subjects, a non-stop job with alternating shifts, the responsibility they have to take and the loss they inevitably have to face, I think these students are strong and brave.
However, I doubt that this documentary will enthuse people for the profession; I think it would actually scare people away from it since the pressure and responsibility are highlighted. Can we, as a society, ask this from these students and however good their intentions, put our fragile senior citizens in their hands?
In found the documentary both depressing as uplifting.
