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Sanaa, Istanbul, Tripoli – Muhammad Rajeh, Adnan Abdul Razzaq, Ahmed Al-Khamisi
The Corona pandemic has added to the pain of tens of millions of citizens in troubled Arab countries, namely Yemen, Syria, Libya and Iraq, as these countries are threatened by the widening of the circle of hunger and food shortages.
Whose
In light of a raging war that is still ongoing, causing direct suffering to an estimated 22 million Yemenis in urgent need of humanitarian assistance or providing any kind of protection, 12 million of whom are at risk of massive famine, the Corona virus threatens catastrophic economic consequences which make it another additional war imposed on Yemenis, According to observers of the “new Arab”.
Yemen is currently facing a triple disaster represented in the conflict, the deterioration of the economy and the Corona virus, as the first and second disasters caused the Yemenis to lose their sources of income and provided a living for a large part of the population. between them with only two meals a day, while the third disaster threatens to lose the rest of their meals at a time when many of them were struggling. To resume the third meal.
About 360,000 children suffer from severe acute malnutrition, and it is critical high numbers that put Yemen at the top of the map of global food crises, affected by a number of factors related to the impact of conflict, economic crises and climate change.
Yemeni food bank chief Muhammad Al-Onsi told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed humanitarian crisis exceeded capacity with 22 million starving people in Yemen, while Corona virus exacerbated suffering human in a country that has been on the brink of ongoing war for more than five years. Global famine, which requires changing and expanding the system of humanitarian interventions to focus on designing programs and projects that provide employment opportunities to people in all parts of Yemen.
As the Corona virus began to spread widely in most Yemeni cities, and instead of mobilizing efforts to combat it and limit the impact of its devastating economic consequences, the two coalition countries surprised everyone. , as economic expert Bashir Wazaa confirms to the “new Arab”, fueling a conflict between the parties The components of legitimacy and the “transitional” support supported by the Emirates for the rebellion against the legitimate government, undermining its presence in Aden, plundering money and wreaking havoc, thus exacerbating the suffering of the people and spreading living crises.
Syrian
The Syrian economy has been suffering from stifling crises for five years, the unemployment rate has reached over 80% and the poverty rate has risen to over 90%, due to the policies of the Syrian regime and its war on revolution and economic sanctions imposed since 2011, so that the Corona epidemic occurred at the beginning of this year, worsening the miseries of the Syrians and warning of a famine mentioned by the United Nations World Food Program a few days ago. A spokeswoman for the program, Elizabeth Byers, said 9.3 million Syrians lack adequate food, following the surge in high prices this year and the rise of the 1.4 million poor this year.
According to media sources, the Syrian government’s health ministry recorded 146 cases of infection with the “emerging corona” virus (Covid-19) last June, bringing the total number to 269 cases.
The closures and the effects of “Corona” increased the paralysis of the Syrian economy, so that tourism and domestic services ceased and production was disrupted, after the regime of Bashar al-Assad stopped funding imports and wages set at 50,000 pounds, with the family spending over 500,000 pounds.
Syrian economist Imad al-Din al-Musbah told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed: “The impoverishment of the Syrians came to ration bread and distribute it through the ‘smart card.’ The Syrians were also forced to sell goods to survive in the light of the Corona outbreak.
The risk of famine in Syria increases the cost of drugs and their depletion in pharmacies, according to what Dr Ibrahim Shahoud told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, especially after the regime stopped funding imports of drugs and of materials used in its manufacture and increased the dollar of imports from 700 to 1,250 pounds.
Libya
In Libya, the Corona pandemic has worsened the suffering of Libyans, who live in difficult situations due to the continuing conflict between the parties for a long time.
Citizen Khalifa Al-Tohami confirms that he has been waiting for the monthly grant from the Economic Development Fund for so-called wealth-deprived families for four years without success, and he has no source of income now due deteriorating economic conditions.
Tohami tells Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that he used to work as a truck driver in a contract company, but it stopped due to Corona delinquency, and that he has a family of five, aged seven to 20.
In front of his war-destroyed house in the south of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, citizen Ali Bin Issa tells Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that his living suffering has increased due to Corona delinquency and high commodity prices necessary, in addition to the lively crises of previous years, such as the lack of liquidity in commercial banks and the gasoline and cooking gas crises.
The internationally recognized government of national agreement has allocated 500 million dinars to fight the epidemic, but this is not enough, according to observers of the “new Arab”.
Economic analyst Ali El Solh said the economic indicators of the country’s situation are very dangerous, with the continued division of government in the country, adding that the country imports most of its needs from abroad.
Solh added that food security in Libya has become threatened in light of the Corona pandemic, as well as political instability in the country, the suspension of oil exports and the shrinking economy.
For his part, economic analyst Abu Bakr Al-Hadi confirmed that poverty rates are increasing every day in Libya, which has 7.3 million inhabitants, explaining that the living crises will increase due to the paralysis of the sector. private following the Corona outbreak. And he expected poverty to reach 44%.
Iraq
The Corona pandemic and accompanying curfews across Iraq, as well as the damage inflicted on the private sector in conjunction with the collapse in oil prices and the country’s entry into a stifling financial crisis , resulted in the payment of the salaries of retirees and those included in the social protection network to curb the spread of poverty in the country.
The sidewalks on which Iraqis offer their furniture or household items for sale have become familiar, especially in Baghdad and in cities in the north and west of countries already affected by the grueling war these areas have witnessed in the past two years, which brings to mind the image of the conditions Iraqis lived in in the 1990s due to the blockade. Economic imposed on the country after the Gulf War.
In this regard, the spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Planning, Abdul Zahra Al-Hindawi, said in an interview with Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that “the suffocating economic crisis that the world in general and Iraq is going through especially due to the spread of the Corona pandemic, the collapse in oil prices and the suspension of many business activities, led to an increase “. The poverty rate in Iraq ranges from 20% to 34%, and it is expected to increase more than that, but at limited rates.
He explained that “ the number of families living below the poverty line in Iraq is estimated at two million Iraqi families who have not received any state government funds, do not have a stable source of income and were greatly affected by the Corona crisis. The average number of family members varies between 5 and 6 people, which means that around 10 to 12 million people live below the poverty line in Iraq. “
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