The coronavirus not only infected Bassim Al Kaabi and his family but also took away their livelihood.
The Baghdad taxi driver’s earnings have dried up since Iraqi authorities imposed long lockdowns in mid-March to contain the local outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We thought life would be back to normal in a short period of time," Mr Al Kaabi, 45, told The National. "But things have gone from bad to worse. The virus is still around and work is gone."
The coronavirus crisis is having a devastating socio-economic impact in the war-ravaged nation and threatens to increase poverty, according to an assessment by Iraq’s Ministry of Planning.
A ministry report published last week said the outbreak would push an additional 4.5 million Iraqis, about 11.7 per cent of the population, into poverty this year.
That would increase the national poverty rate to 31.7 per cent from 20 per cent in 2018, bringing the total number of poor to 11.4 million, it added. Iraq’s population stands at about 40 million.
“The results capture a worrying situation especially for the most vulnerable segments of the population,” Minister of Planning, Khaled Al Najem, said in the report.
The situation requires “a more effective response and one that focuses on social protection and cash transfers to the poorest”, according to Mr Al Najem.
At the same time, the government needs to continue and increase “investments in services such as health and education, and to support poor families, especially the younger members, to find employment”, he said.
But that goal could be hard to achieve.
Falling global prices have reduced Iraq’s oil revenue, which makes up nearly 95 per cent of state income, by more than 50 per cent. The economy had already been affected by mass anti-government protests over poor service and official corruption that began in October.
As a result, the government is struggling to pay salaries, is forced to delay projects and is working to introduce unpopular financial reforms.
_______________
Coronavirus in the Middle East
_______________
In the good times, Mr Al Kaabi’s daily net income averaged $40 (Dh147). Now he earns about $6 a day selling fuel on the street to support his wife, four children and his father.
The poverty threshold in Iraq is $3.20 per person per day.
“I was happy whenever I came back to my kids with full pockets,” said the resident of Baghdad’s eastern suburb of Sadr City. “We used to go out during the night, mainly to the park, have drinks and dinner.”
The family has now been reduced to just essentials, and the list of what they can afford is steadily shrinking – one chicken a week, a few eggs and dairy products with bread for breakfast. Dinner is falafel provided by a friend.
To make ends meet, Mr Al Kaabi had to sell his wife's gold ring and chain, followed by their oven. Using the air cooler is a luxury they cannot afford despite the scorching summer heat.
In early June, Mr Al Kaabi’s wife contracted the coronavirus, followed by him and his daughter. They stayed at home after testing positive for the virus, with Mr Al Kaabi relying on help from friends to pay for medicines and food until they recovered early this month.
“It’s a tragedy,” he said. “We have nothing but patience.”
The government can do nothing for people like Mr Al Kaabi, according Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs spokesman Najim Al Akabi.
Mr Al Akabi said that due to a delay in approving this year's budget, the ministry failed to add about 600,000 new poor families – who were identified before the outbreak – to the list of nearly 1.4 million families eligible for cash assistance. The monthly payments range from $160 to $264 depending on the size of the family, he said.
“We expect the poverty rate to go even higher, to at least 34 per cent, as large segments of society are badly hit by the outbreak,” said Mr Al Akabi. “We are unable to help all those due to lack of funding.”
Hadi Jalo Marie, chairman of the Political Decision Centre think tank in Baghdad, said the increase in poverty increased the risk of unrest across the country.
“There are no policies to solve problems in Iraq; instead there is only a patchwork approach,” Mr Marie said.
“Along with other woes, the poverty rate will definitely fuel the anti-government sentiment and we’ll see more demonstrations.”
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Usain Bolt's World Championships record
2007 Osaka
200m Silver
4x100m relay Silver
2009 Berlin
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2011 Daegu
100m Disqualified in final for false start
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2013 Moscow
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2015 Beijing
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
More from Aya Iskandarani
KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN MARITIME DISPUTE
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dual%20electric%20motors%20with%20102kW%20battery%20pack%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E570hp%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20890Nm%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERange%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Up%20to%20428km%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh1%2C700%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
You might also like to read
A%20MAN%20FROM%20MOTIHARI
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdullah%20Khan%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPenguin%20Random%20House%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E304%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
|
1.
|
United States
|
|
2.
|
China
|
|
3.
|
UAE
|
|
4.
|
Japan
|
|
5
|
Norway
|
|
6.
|
Canada
|
|
7.
|
Singapore
|
|
8.
|
Australia
|
|
9.
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|
10.
|
South Korea
|
The biog
Age: 19
Profession: medical student at UAE university
Favourite book: The Ocean at The End of The Lane by Neil Gaiman
Role model: Parents, followed by Fazza (Shiekh Hamdan bin Mohammed)
Favourite poet: Edger Allen Poe
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Notable cricketers and political careers
- India: Kirti Azad, Navjot Sidhu and Gautam Gambhir (rumoured)
- Pakistan: Imran Khan and Shahid Afridi (rumoured)
- Sri Lanka: Arjuna Ranatunga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan (rumoured)
- Bangladesh (Mashrafe Mortaza)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The view from The National
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
more from Janine di Giovanni
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
