The withdrawal of the majority of humanitarian organizations from the Yazidi IDP camps and the increasing number of IDPs and refugees in Iraq,  and Kurdistan region of Iraq in particular, have created a service vacuum in camps, and most of the camps are complaining from the services  deterioration, and this facilitates the spread of Corona virus in these camps.

The sites where the camps were established are also a part of fears for the  IDPs living in, where the environmental pollution and their proximity from  waste collection sites increases the fears of the spreading of the virus in the camps.

The nurse, Kamal Hassan, who lives in one of the camps, spoke to “Ezidi 24”, and said, “The camps in general  are different from the cities and districts, because the reality experienced by the IDPs is very bitter, especially in terms of health, because there is rapprochement and solidarity between them, also, the presence of the quantities of waste in or near the camps and the common tools that are using by more than one family. However, the procedures somehow are good, compared to the situation. ”

“The procedures went beyond health awareness and preventive steps in health centers inside the camps, where cafes and gathering places were closed in good steps just as  the decisions issued by government agencies to limit the spread of Corona virus”. He continued.

“The health reality  in the camps is very poor and foreshadows a catastrophe, God forbid, In case  the infection with this dangerous virus, because the developed countries such as Italy, China and others are unable to face the virus, so how a simple health centre will face this danger, the IDPs camps are extremely overcrowded, and health facilities are mutual for most of them , which poses a danger for  the IDPs in case of existance any case of corona virus ”. added Hassan.

Hassan Confirmed that, “all IDPs must implement the health plan submitted by the World Health Organization, avoiding  gatherings, and to not visit health and social centers except in emergency cases, as a large number of people visit the aforementioned places, and we, as health cadres, are also at risk for that reason. The virus has become an epidemic that threatens the whole world. If we didn’t abide by the decisions, the virus will destroy the entire societies”.

He concluded by saying, “We hope that the IDPs will adhere more to the health plan and the procedures  taken and not mock this disease, unfortunately, this is what we see through our follow-up, where many of them are ignoring the preventive methods, and this is what we fear of, because it will cause great harm to everyone”.

“Barzan Shaqo” also spoke to “Ezidi 24,” and said, “The decisions were applied as soon as they were issued in the majority of camps, just as the cities and districts, including the isolation of cafes and some shops that were considered centers of people gathering, and after increasing fears, and some government decisions such as closing barber shops, Salons and restaurants, and  also preventing the setting up of the tents in condolences, weddings and other social events for the safety of the people.”

He noted that, ” This matter saw  people acceptance relatively at first, because some of them linked it with psychological matters, some others linked it with the breaching of social customs and traditions, and after  being convinced by the dangerous of the virus and its spread rapid , the acceptance shifted from relative to complement”.

“Either commitment In terms of preventive methods, and not to go out and shake hands as required by virtue of the environment, people are inevitably gathered, God forbid, if such cases have found in the camps, the situation will become more dangerous than the cities by virtue of the mixing, the proximity of tents, daily life, the lack of protective supplies and the conditions of complete isolation”, He also said.

Shaqo indicated that,   “Some fear and accept the matter very seriously and follow the preventive methods , others didn’t fear and do not follow the preventive methods, but they are psychologically affected, not to mention the storage of food. And here I send a simple message to our young men ,I wish you be aware and careful of how to transfer  the information to your families, and choose the appropriate method, without deterring and intimidation, and follow the right preventive methods, not to mock and intimidate in front of them, because the old men and a high proportion of women and children are all in the same palm of the balance in the term of contentment”.

In conclusion, he said: “I demand to put a supervision on the prices of dry foodstuffs, fruits and vegetables, and to provide a thermometer in the camps system doors to monitor the situations”.

Saja Sherzad, a journalist and activist from Duhok Governorate, spoke to “Ezidi 24” and said, “In Kurdistan Region in general and Duhok Governorate in particular, there are many IDPs camps from conflict areas such as Sinjar, Mosul, etc. ,after 2014.And  after the spread of Corona virus in the world, all the gatherings have  become suspicious of the presence or spread of the virus including camps  ”.

“In each camp there are at least 5 thousand displaced people and hundreds of families, and this poses a danger in the ease of catching the virus from the air and the ease of its spread among camp members, especially that  the health situation in the camps is not at the required level and does not contain the medical supplies that can be used to counter the viruses. ”, she said.

“There are large gatherings in which they do not have their own health facilities but rather collective and somehow  general, even that the way to eating meals may be collective and it does not prevent the eating of two people from one spoon and this causes a great risk because the virus is transmitted primarily through the mouth and direct contact  “, She added.

“There is a great reservation in Kurdistan region against the spread of the virus. The provincial government has taken the necessary procedures which are not less than the developed countries, but it is sometimes better, so the government must continue taking the procedures until it is confirmed that the epidemic is over.  And as far as the camps are concerned, the competent authorities must isolate them from the cities and  districts, until the risk of proliferation is eliminated, while providing all health supplies such as masks, sterilizers, paws, and even food containers and spoons for them to avoid the risk of infection”,  Sherzad continued.

Sherzad warned that, “the camps are not the main point in the spread of the virus, as everyone knows. The virus came from the developed countries in the world and has spread to most of the neighbouring countries. The virus does not know the person before infection, is he a displaced person or a resident in the city?  A new and sometimes deadly virus infects everyone who did not adhere to health instructions such as cleaning, sterilization and prevention, but this does not mean that the displaced do not adhere to the instructions from the World Health Organization and the local government, everyone must adhere to sustainable prevention because it is better than treatment, especially in areas such as camps because they contain  a large number of people.”

Ezidi24.com