Later this afternoon, broadcast journalist Atom Araullo explores the realities, benefits, and hazards of working at night in The Atom Araullo Specials: Night Shift.
While most people are already winding down or getting ready for bed, the day is just about to start for some. In this documentary, Atom features some of these “night shift workers” and attempts to do their jobs as well.
Atom joins slaughterhouse workers who prepare the meat while most of the people are already asleep. He meets Oscar, a 61-year-old veteran on the job, with three decades of experience under his belt. Atom tries his hand at slicing huge chunks of meat to retail-ready portions for delivery. At the same time, he ventures into cleaning the pig’s innards with the very tough and thorough Ate Merly. As a single mom, her late nights are spent working far from home for the sake of her two children.
It is also during nighttime that laborers fix the pipes that deliver water to homes. As Atom takes on the challenge of going underground to lay new pipes, he meets 23-year-old Onyok who braves the job even with his left eye blinded by cataract. Onyok defies time by working day and night for his family in Tarlac.
As a journalist himself, Atom joins the adrenaline-filled job of a nightshift photojournalist like Vincent Go, who rushes to breaking scenes of trauma and drama, working on stories that would make the news the next day.
Atom also accompanies four children who are supposed to be asleep at night but are compelled to work due to poverty. Abandoned at an early age, they were left by their parents to fend for themselves. Atom gets personal with the kids as they pick up garbage from house to house, and trade them for money for their day-to-day living.
Join Atom on another meaningful journey and extensive discussion of today’s issues in The Atom Araullo Specials: Night Shift, today at 4:30 p.m. on GMA-7.