Iraqis welcome Ramadan with "high prices" and an intensifying epidemic

[size=52]Iraqis welcome Ramadan with "high prices" and an intensifying epidemic[/size]

[size=45]Hajjah Umm Samir lives in a state of anxiety with the approach of Ramadan every year, as the month, sacred to more than a billion Muslims, is an occasion for her five children and their families, which extended to the “grandchildren,” she says.[/size]
[size=45]But every year, Um Samir’s fears are limited to the possibility of a certain food item missing from the trip. “I cook food for fifty people every Thursday, and all of them have favorite meals, and some of them I hear their names for the first time,” she says.[/size]
[size=45]And El Hajja adds that she is "transforming the meal, they say we want KFC, so I fry them chicken, flour and chili and give them to them."[/size]
[size=45]But this year is different, as the health measures imposed by the Iraqi government to prevent the spread of Corona virus more than it is currently make it difficult to move between the regions of the capital, as well as outside it or outside Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]“My middle son and his family live in Basra, and I have a daughter who lives in Turkey, and they used to meet in my house every year,” says Um Samir, who does not know whether her annual tradition will continue, especially since this year it acquired a special dimension after the death of the father, Abu Samir in Last August, he was affected by complications from Corona virus.[/size]
[size=45]Yesterday, the first, the Iraqi Parliamentary Crisis Cell said that it was discussing options to impose a curfew in Iraq during the month of Ramadan, one of which is to impose a comprehensive curfew for the first ten days of the month, and the second is to impose a partial curfew for about 10 hours a day before breakfast until after the pre-dawn. However, the Supreme Committee for National Health and Safety, yesterday, Monday, issued a set of new decisions to limit the spread of the Corona pandemic during the month of Ramadan, and the committee stated in a statement, which Al-Mada received a copy of, that “it was decided to impose a partial ban in Ramadan from 8 pm to 5 am, as decided. Imposing a comprehensive curfew on Friday and Saturday.[/size]
[size=45]The failure of relatives to meet in Ramadan is not the only thing that worries Iraqis. Markets that witness a rise in prices every year with the approach of Ramadan, this year recorded a record high in prices driven by the lifting of subsidies on the Iraqi currency at the end of last year.[/size]
[size=45]Hajj Samir Al-Obeidi, who is a pseudonym, says that “Ramadan this year will come somewhere bleak.” more difficult".[/size]
[size=45]Al-Obaidi refuses to receive aid from his relatives or neighbors, but he hopes that the Iraqi government will speed up the payment of compensation to his family.[/size]
[size=45]Mortada Al-Yaqouti, an Iraqi economist and businessman, said that "the prices of foodstuffs increased by about 40 percent from their prices last Ramadan, compared to only 8 percent last Ramadan compared to the previous Ramadan."[/size]
[size=45]Last week, the Iraqi government announced that it would allow the import of agricultural materials and products that it had banned from importing to encourage local cultivation and manufacture, but this is not enough, according to Al-Yaqouti, who said that “the habit of buying goods that lasts for a whole month and storing them in Ramadan has decreased greatly due to the high prices, and also because of Corona virus atmosphere ».[/size]
[size=45]According to Al-Yaqouti, "the embargo measures make traders lose the last remaining hope of compensating for their losses in the month of Ramadan," as it weakens large sectors linked to the movement of the market.[/size]
[size=45]"You can notice the impact of the economic decline very clearly. Carts used to carry foodstuffs ceaselessly every Ramadan, and you see women buying flour and ghee wholesale, but in Ramadan this is ... nothing."[/size]
[size=45]Like many Arabs, Iraqis buy their belongings in bulk before the month of Ramadan, and store them for use in this month to reduce the times they go to the market, which is a bother for those who are fasting.[/size]
[size=45]But Umm Samir bought what she needed despite the high prices and the possibility that she would not meet her children at a Ramadan table this month because “Ramadan must preserve its privacy,” she says.[/size]
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