She appears to be an elderly woman with a yellowish face and heavy breathing, but in reality, Gawhar (Gem in Kurdish) Hussain is in her forties and has been battling asthma for 15 years in a city that the local government proudly compares it to the most modern and developed cities in the world.
Whenever the weather is unfavorable and foggy, Hussain says, “I can't breathe that day,” indicating that she doesn't get fresh air and her illness troubles her.
Her house in Bahari Nue neighborhood in southern Erbil, capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region IKR is only 50 meters away from a land full of garbage. The land is one-kilometer-long and 50 meters wide, where litter has risen one meter.
Gawhar has been living in the neighborhood for 20 years.
“Do us a favor and rescue us. I have never had any illness before, but since I came to this neighborhood, I am suffering from asthma,” she said.
Do us a favor and rescue us
Asthma is an inflammation of the airways and small airways to the lungs. It is a common chronic disease that causes difficulty breathing, wheezing, and coughing, along with shortness of breath.
However, the causes of asthma are still unknown scientifically. Chronic conditions play a role, as health departments in the IKR point out, but emphasize that dust, smoke, cold air, and pneumonia have an impact on the disease.
Gawhar suffered from severe asthma on August 6 when the garbage in front of her house caught fire.
“I almost suffocated... I wouldn't have stayed here if I didn't have to. I didn't know what to do!” she said.
The land near Gawhar's house is located between Bahari New neighborhood and Nasij neighborhood. This land was previously turned into a public park.
The passage of electricity towers through the park and the installation of generators on the other side have further caused neglect and pollution of the environment.
Tofiq Mohammed, a food distribution agent, has a store opposite Gawhar Hussein's house, next to the garbage-filled land. His house is in Nasija neighborhood and 500 meters away from the land. He is inhaling smoke of burnt litter and the odor both at work and at home.
“I have been working here for two years. This is the situation of the people living here. This garbage smells awful... It is both the people's fault and the government's,” he said.
It is both the people's fault and the government's
“The municipality sends shuffles to pile it but later it is not moved.”
In addition to household garbage, most of the garbage accumulated between the two neighborhoods of Bahari Nwe and Nasij are debirs of houses demolished in those neighborhoods.
According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), in 2022, there are about 1,500 tons of solid waste in Erbil daily, mostly plastic, including plastic bags and water bottles, all of which are buried or burned, while being dangerous to the environment and human health.
Six companies have been entrusted with the task of collecting garbage in Erbil. The city is divided into six zones, all working under the supervision of the Erbil Services and Environmental Protection Office. The office has launched a garbage collection campaign in the city.
Hana City is another place where a lot of garbage has accumulated. More than 200 trucks of garbage have been dumped in the past two days alone.
Bakhtiar Mohammed, who is temporarily the director of the Erbil Environmental Services Office, attributed the increase in garbage in Bahari Nwe neighborhood to the fact that irresponsible people have been throwing garbage there for several years.
“We have punished several people for trying to throw garbage there,” he said.
According to Directive No. (2) of 2023 on investigating and enforcing environmental violations, anyone who throws garbage in any place in the city will be fined not less than one million Iraqi Dinars (USD700) and to move 25 trucks of garbage.
In addition to hundreds of factories and refineries that affect air pollution, there are more than 1,100 private, diesel, power generators in the center of Erbil alone to provide electricity to neighborhoods, in addition to hundreds of generators in public places, public offices, and companies.
According to the Kurdistan Regional Government’s KRG Ministry of Health, 9,911 new cases of cancer were registered in the IKR in 2023 alone, half of them in Erbil. Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in the world, according to statistics released by the ministry on World Cancer Day (February 4).
Environmental pollution, oil and gas refineries, dust, and an unhealthy environment are the main causes of asthma and lung cancer
Last year, 300 cases of those who visited one respiratory center in Erbil had asthma.
"Environmental pollution, oil and gas refineries, dust, and an unhealthy environment are the main causes of asthma and lung cancer," said Dr. Zrar Hussein, a respiratory specialist.
Aso Shikak, president of the Aviar Environmental Organization in Erbil, believes that along with the government's duty to clean the city of garbage, the issue of raising awareness among citizens is important to protect the environment.
“One of the reasons for environmental pollution is a lack of awareness... Some people constantly throw garbage without regard to responsibility,” Shikak said.
However, neither the municipality's efforts nor the punishment of those who throw garbage have been able to save Gawhar and hundreds of other families from this misery while Hawler is sister city of Paris, France and Nashville in the United States of America USA, and officials compare it to Dubai, United Arab Emirates on several occasions.
Even in the evening, as the yellow sun sets, the density of the smoke from the garbage fire in Bahari Nwe neighborhood rises to the sky.
*This article was produced within the framework of the “Expanding the Role of Women Journalists in Environmental Coverage” program, implemented by KirkukNow Media Outlet and financially supported by the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany.
