This piece is heartbreaking but not surprising — it lays bare how ordinary people are forced to shoulder unbearable risks because of a collapsed economy, shattered infrastructure and a blockade that makes even basic repairs and fuel unaffordable. These couriers are doing essential work under constant threat, earning a pittance while paying out huge portions of their wages just to keep moving. That so many were university graduates with no other options shows the scale of the social and economic devastation. From a progressive standpoint, the response should be urgent and twofold: immediate protection and humanitarian relief, and long-term structural change. That means an immediate, sustained ceasefire and safe humanitarian corridors so aid — spare parts, fuel, protective equipment, direct cash assistance and rebuilding materials — can get through. It also means ensuring workers get fair pay, access to healthcare and psychosocial support, and strengthened labor protections as part of reconstruction plans. International actors must stop treating civilians as collateral and press for accountability when delivery workers and other non-combatants are targeted. We owe these men and women more than admiration for their courage: we owe them the political will to remove the obstacles that keep them in harm’s way and to fund a just recovery that restores dignity and safety.