With a population of more than two millions, Thi-Qar governorate has recorded about 23,000 cases of Coronavirus infections, while approximately 22,000 patients recovered. Severely affected by the pandemic, Thi Qar also suffered many side effects related to the pandemic, including some stemming from the measures enforced by the government to curb the propagation of the virus. The effect of confinement on society has been telltale on this level. Overal, the epidemic revealed that social exclusion and economic discrimination should not be underestimated and may produce as much damage on individuals as the virus itself. The story of Ahmed Hassan is revealing of this phenomenon.
With a population of more than two millions, Thi-Qar governorate has recorded about 23,000 cases of Coronavirus infections, while approximately 22,000 patients recovered. Severely affected by the pandemic, Thi Qar also suffered many side effects related to the pandemic, including some stemming from the measures enforced by the government to curb the propagation of the virus. The effect of confinement on society has been telltale on this level. Overal, the epidemic revealed that social exclusion and economic discrimination should not be underestimated and may produce as much damage on individuals as the virus itself. The story of Ahmed Hassan is revealing of this phenomenon.
On a normal day, Ahmed would start his working hours by cleaning the frontage of his barbershop, before doing the same with his tools, as well as the waiting room seats. He would then meticulously arrange all his equipment, never forgetting to disinfect all his tools after each customer, all of this while wearing a face mask. At the end of the day, Ahmed would disinfect everything again
The 48 year-old barber from Al-Shatrah, (Thi Qar governorate, 360 Km south of Baghdad) had always paid much attention to these preventive measures since the outbreak of Corona pandemic in Iraq. Back in March 2020, the country had witnessed the very first recorded infection, quickly followed by governmental measures to prevent the spread of the virus such as the lockdown of institutions, except vital activities for the population such as food stores and hospitals.
But before the confinement, and despite all preventive measures, Ahmed Hasan got infected by the virus. Unaware of his condition, he continued cutting his customer’s hair for a while. He eventually felt somewhat unwell during his work and went to a local hospital. After taking a test, he was diagnosed positive for Coronavirus. His condition also worsened because of his kidney illness.
During his talk to “The Red Line”, Ahmed Hasan recalls his surprise at learning about his condition: “With all the strict measures I followed, it came as a total surprise to me; I experienced breathing difficulties to the point that I lost consciousness. And I know I probably spread the infection to others before feeling the symptoms and getting confirmation of the infection”, he said.
Ahmed Hassan was placed in the intensive care section of the hospital for several days as his situation deteriorated. After long days of struggle against the virus, he started getting better. “Despite my health still being very weak, I was released to observe a quarantine at home.”, he explained.
His ordeal continued for many days before he could think of resuming his normal life: “It took me nearly a month before going to my barbershop again, but the situation had changed. Everyone I contacted, including customers, was afraid of being infected by me. I had carried the virus and held customers in my hands for days, and it seems that I did actually infect some of them. On top of this, people were generally avoiding barber shops so I was almost out of work; Despite my full recovery, my usual customers didn’t show up for a long time”, he said.
Three months after his recovery, his relatives would still avoid him. This “outcast situation” brought him much disappointment and psychological suffering. His barbershop couldn’t provide him even half of what he used to get before since many of his regular customers avoided the shop.
Economic vulnerability
Ahmed’s tale is representative of the stigmatization many victims of the COVID are facing during the epidemic in Iraq. Social exclusion is often synonymous with an economic one. Adding to this, governmental measures to curb the epidemic have had a serious impact on the livelihood of thousands of Iraqis, especially daily wagers and small shop workers. During the lockdown, many workers are forced to violate the curfew in order to make a living, risking fines on top of putting their health at risk in order to avoid starvation. Indeed, many low income workers depend on daily job opportunities to survive. For them, staying home is not an option, especially since the government failed to provide any support to the unemployed.
The worker’s vulnerability is also increased by discrimination they recieve at work: Ali, a worker from Thi Qar, shared his bitter experience with The Red Line: “After a seventeen days recovery, I told my employer I was able to come back to work, but he apologized, saying he couldn’t allow me back because my coworkers were afraid I might propagate the disease or even bring a negative reputation to the company. I replied that my last test result was negative, but that just wasn’t enough to change his mind”.
The head of union of workers associations in Thi-Qar province, Hisham Al-Ebaadi, explained that more than 80% of workers in the province suffered during lockdown, and a great many of them were fired from of their jobs due to curfew or Corona infection, which poses a great challenge for them. Al-Ebaadi told “The Red Line” that “many private factories, entrepreneurships, and companies have been shut down, leaving great numbers of workers unemployed. The minister of labour at the time, Mr. Adel al-Rikaby, was warned many times regarding these issues. Our union pledged for governmental intervention to alleviate the suffering of workers during these harsh times, and the Minister himself responded personally.”
The minister asked the union to provide a list of the names of workers who have gone out of employment due to the Coronavirus outbreak, supposedly to include them on the social security programme for the unemployed. A list of over 10,000 names was thus made and submitted with the help of the social security board and some MPs”. Nonetheless, till this day, they haven’t been compensated for the loss of their job.
Al-Ebaadi adds that “Even if they were implemented, none of these measures can be taken as a reliable and sustainable solution for all those who have been impacted by the COVID crisis. The country is going through an economic crash and a delayed government budget makes it difficult for the government even to pay the employees’ salaries, let alone paying the unemployed.”
The union’s purpose is to solve the many rising tensions between employers and workers. Issues are often settled swiftly, but sometimes end up in labor court. Since the COVID-19 crisis, there have been a surge in court cases by workers against their employers in both public and private sectors, and they ended up winning more cases than before”.
Legal expert Ali Hussain Jabir told The Red Line how the Iraqi Labor Code offers a few social guarantees to workers and unemployed although they are not being correctly implemented: “[a]ccording to the Iraqi Labor Code, the country has over 170 legalization laws that determine the nature of contracts between employees and employers, including the rights and mutual commitments of both parties”. Despite all the workers rights protected by these laws, legislative amendments are still required to offer full legal protection of workers against exploitation or victimization in the future.
Mr Jabir added that the pandemic impacted all sectors of society, causing some disruption in the contractual relationship between workers and their employers. Although this was predictable and occured all over the world, workers should not abandon their right to a protection in terms of wage and immunity against layoff.”, he defended. However, if workers engage in a judicial process to obtain their rights, they are not equal to employers on some levels. It is indeed difficult for workers to afford the expenses of several hearing sessions in courts, especially when they live in remote areas and villages, not to mention hiring lawyers to defend their rights”.
Jabir confirms this reality, stating that the law has not granted enough protection for workers, especially those from the private sector in case he or she suffers a mistreatment at work. The expert explains that Iraq has signed the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention No.87 for the year 1948, which demands amendment of legislations regarding penal and civil laws in accord with Iraq’s international commitment to upgrade legal and constitutional rights of the working class and facilitate administrative suing and appealing procedures. The amendments are still awaited.
Post-Corona health issues
Beyond the economic vulnerability, the psychological effects of the crisis are disastrous for Iraqis. Dr. Ibraheem Al-Saigh, head of Thi-Qar province psychological health department revealed that “cases of social isolation and emotional suffering were observed among recovered patients who came to his clinic, and the numbers are not low”. The doctor. Al-Saigh told “The Red Line” that “Corona-recovered patients could be classified into two groups: first are the patients who were already experiencing psychological disorders before being infected, which made their mental health issues worse. The second ones are those who were psychologically healthy prior to their infection, but manifested obsessive compulsive disorder and chronic anxiety after their recovery”.
Al-Saigh added that these post-recovery symptoms can be monitored by therapists. Still, they are the results of the generalized psychosis created by the mass media around the virus, which turned out not to be the invincible monster everyone expected”. Despite its mild deadliness, the Corona pandemic has deep socially and cultural impacts. It creates social isolation sometimes even within the family, especially when one of its members is infected. Professor of sociology Auday Al-Shibeeb explained in detail to “The Red Line”: “The epidemic has implications on domestic work, economic, educational, and intellectual activities. The psychosis generated by the virus exacerbates exclusion and discriminations”, he said. Iraqis have been forced to isolate themselves out of fear of the virus and it is this fear that segregated patients even post-recovery from social circles.
Another impact of the confinement is the surge in domestic violence cases. A security source from Thi-Qar province explained to The Red Line that the social police department of his region registered 1,054 cases of domestic violence and more domestic lawsuits than usual between May and November 2020; but the real number of these incidents is probably over two thousands. While there are many reasons for people to file these lawsuits, the people who make them don’t usually say that the root of their issues is the Coronavirus outbreak. Still, the police department’s monitoring unit sees a direct link between the effects of confinement, and a lack of resources and opportunities within a household. “Many of these problems are solved consensually within the department of social police, before reaching the court”, the security source added.
Poverty rates spike
On 21st September 2020, the Minister of Planning, Mr Khalid Battal Al-Najm stated that poverty rates in Iraq increased up to 30% because of Corona outbreak, pointing out that his ministry has made a plan to stop this increase while adding that the situation was exacerbated by the economic collapse in Iraq caused by the pandemic”. In its statement, the minister added that “in these harsh conditions, the government had established social plans to confront the current crisis and to alleviate the consequences of the pandemic on economy and society”.
Despite all the money and projects that the Iraqi federal government designated for Thi-Qar province and the exceptional priority that was given to improve the situation there in terms of economy, healthcare and public services, the province is still burdened by exponential unemployment rates. An unofficial estimation from 2018 claimed that there are more than 250,000 graduates and unemployed people in the province, which highlights the severity of the issues there.