American report: Oil waste exacerbates cancerous diseases in Basra

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[size=52]American report: Oil waste exacerbates cancerous diseases in Basra[/size]

[size=45]Translated by: Hamed Ahmed[/size]
[size=45]An American report stated that oil waste exacerbated cancerous diseases in Basra, pointing out that the wealthy province suffers from a great deterioration in services and a rise in unemployment rates.[/size]
[size=45]A report by the American Associated Press, translated by Al-Mada, stated that “the oil is being pumped 24 hours a day from the oil field, which is located several meters from the house of Ragheed Jassem, in the village of Nahran Omar in the city of Basra, in southern Iraq.” The report added, “The flame of the flaming gas fire emanating from the field lights up the night sky of the village.” He pointed out that it is “orange in color and at the same time emits pungent, polluted smoke, which is carried by the wind towards the village and its inhabitants, covering the roofs of houses and clothes in black.”[/size]
[size=45]The report stated, “Jassim’s financial savings ran out when he was diagnosed with cancer last year. He is very convinced that toxic fumes are the cause of his disease, and Jassim said: There is no future for my children in this place.” The report noted that "Basra Governorate, which includes most of Iraq's oil reserves, is a symbol of unequal opportunities and corruption that has befallen the country since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003." He pointed out, "Basra is a source of continuous bewilderment for experts, residents, and envoys. How can a relatively stable province that is very rich in resources be included in its sequence among the poorest regions in the country and the least services?" Jassim, a man working in the police force, added, according to the report, “Yes, the reason for this is corruption and the lack of services.”[/size]
[size=45]And the report stated, “Jassim had spent the loan he received to build a house in paying the bills for private cancer treatment, which cost him $30,000.” And he stressed, "Basra's outdated government hospitals are full of patients, as Jassim says, they are unable to provide him with treatment." And the report continued, "Local notables from the people of Basra talk about the oil wealth in their city as a blessing and a curse at the same time."[/size]
[size=45]And he continued, "They say about the resources that they bring wealth, but at the same time they fuel fierce rivalries between political elites and armed groups at the expense of the people." The report stated, “The sectarian system of governance that was followed in the country’s leadership after 2003 divided the state and its government institutions on the basis of nepotism and partisan and sectarian affiliations, and this resulted in rampant corruption that drained the country’s oil wealth.” It is based on, “The International Monetary Fund, that the number of public sector employees in state institutions during the year 2013 increased three times over their number during the year 2004, but the services provided in the health and educational sectors and the electricity sector remained low and suffer from deficiencies.”[/size]
[size=45]In addition to the lack of services, the report emphasized that “the air in Basra is widely polluted, and according to local researchers, the high levels of salinity resulting from the water crisis lead to several diseases.” And he added, "The unemployment rate is on the rise, as young people under the age of twenty-five constitute half of the population of the province." The report stressed that "the conditions in Basra are among the worst in the country, and according to a study conducted by the International Labor Organization in 2022, the unemployment rate in the province is 21% of the general unemployment rate in the country, which is 16%." And he added, “Studies and statements by local economists showed that poverty rates range from 10 to 20 percent, at the same time, the province contains nearly 70 percent of the country’s oil production.”[/size]
[size=45]And he quotes, according to “the mukhtar of the village, Bashir Jaber, saying: Every family here has a story about a particular disease, in addition to the burden of debts resulting from that.”[/size]
[size=45]Jaber added, “After 2003, oil production and export from the field were doubled, and we expected to benefit from this matter, but instead, its impact was more harmful to us.” The report indicated, "The government has long been underestimating the hypothetical link between high rates of cancer and oil production activities in the south, by saying that there is only a marginal increase compared to the rest of the country." And he added, “This changed in the year 2022, when the former Minister of Environment, Jassem Al-Falahi, acknowledged at the time that pollution resulting from oil wells is the main cause of the increase in disease cases.”[/size]
[size=45]And the report finds, “What is ironic and ironic is that if the natural gas burned in these fields had been collected and manufactured instead of burning, it would have provided a solution to the frequent power outages in Iraq by providing fuel for the power plants, and the percentage of air pollution would have decreased as well.” He stated, "The process of securing investments to achieve this faces a series of obstacles represented by lengthy negotiations to conclude contracts and routine and bureaucratic procedures that constitute a headache for most major foreign investment companies."[/size]
[size=45]The sheikh, Muhammad al-Zidawi, who heads one of the councils of tribal leaders in the south, says, according to the report, that “the entry of foreign investors into the region raises competition between the clans.” Al-Zidawi added, "The influential clans often put pressure on foreign companies in order to obtain job opportunities for their children, compensation, or training for the youth and the development of their villages."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Zaidawi pointed out that “most of the problems occurring between the clans today are caused by the presence of foreign oil companies in the region. Everyone wants to benefit, and these clan disputes often turn into deadly gunfights.”[/size]
[size=45]About: The Associated Press[/size]
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