Afrinpost – Special
The whole world is witnessing an unprecedented alert in light of the threat posed by the emerging Corona virus, which led it to take strict measures that included the closure of educational institutions in schools and universities and the use of armies to control the population, and the imposition of curfews and the mobilization of medical personnel to prevent the spread of the epidemic or reduce it through preventive measures and awareness, while Turkey took advantage of taking a strange position, which president considered the Corona epidemic an opportunity to move forward, as Erdogan stated?
Although the medical and health situation in Afrin is fragile and weak, those who live in it do not feel that there is an epidemic threatening the whole world, as there is not even the lowest level of coordination between the Health Bureau and medical and health facilities such as hospitals, clinics and laboratories, as a Kurdish laboratory technician says (Afrinpost refrains for mentioning any coordinate about him for security reasons).
And the laboratory technician adds: “There is a lot of negligence even from the Turks, so there are no instructions, directions and monitoring yet, although it was not officially announced cases or death (corona), but the Turks emptied a large part of the (Martyr Farzenda Military) hospital and prepared it to receive such cases ”, indicating that patients are seen roaming in this hospital, without understanding its problem and then being transferred to Turkey!
The laboratory technician continues: “There are no medical devices for detecting Corona’s disease in the city’s laboratories, and in case someone is suspected and one of the hospitals intends, they send a swab from the patient to Turkey, and some of the patients send medical pictures to Aleppo laboratories, to make sure whether or not they have corona.
Protective measures Ink on paper
Similar to the measures taken by Turkey, the local occupation councils announced their intention to take preventive measures, but their instructions remained ink on paper, as there is no sterilization or curfew only for those who are sixty and over, and there is no indication that the militants and settlers are committed to that instructions at all.
For its part, “Amina / a pseudonym” said that Afrin is experiencing more chaos than any other Syrian region, and that no one will abide by the prohibition under Corona, due to violations by Islamic militias.
Amina pointed out that “the Kurdish citizen does not dare to leave his commercial store closed for a long time, because it will surely be stolen by the militia, as there are families whose only source of livelihood is the commercial stores after the Turkish occupation’s seizure of olives, so stealing the store means homelessness and death for many of families, and in both cases there is no safety. ”
“We have been in quarantine for two years after Turkey and the Islamic militia occupied Afrin, meaning that the things they will prevent are now normal for us, because we live in them before. Even if I have capital, I cannot open a project even if it is small, I cannot visit my neighbors or my friends,” Amina added. , And you don’t even want to go out on your balcony. ”
Amina stated in her interview to “Afrinpost” that “an organization came to Afrin to examine civilians whether they were carrying corona or not, but because of the chaos caused by the militias in Afrin, the organization was unable to continue and exited Afrin.”
On the 14th of April, “Al-Hamza ” militia announced a health quarantine on the village of “Marateh / Maratah” affiliated to the Afrin center, and closed all the roads leading to the village and prevented the entry and exit movement to and from it, justifying this step, with five cases of the Covid virus – 19 in the city of Afrin, but without the formal announcement of the local occupation authorities.
The “Sulaiman Shah” militia also announced similar measures in the center of the Shiye / Sheikh Al-Hadid district and its villages, which legitimized the question about the fact that the Corona virus had already reached Afrin already endemic to the occupation.
Corona suspected case
In this context, a 55-year-old Kurdish woman suffered from blood pressure and diabetes, after she showed symptoms of fever and worsening her health condition. She was treated to a hospital in the city, and she was suffering from shortness of breath and was placed in intensive care, but she died on the fourteenth of February Last February, the medical staff did not explain the cause of death, and were buried after the corpse was held in the “Martyr Farzenda Military Hospital” for two days without clarifying the cause.
However, immediately after the death of the Kurdish woman, a member of her family was afflicted with a disease whose symptoms were similar to the symptoms of Corona, so he went to the same hospital, which stood on the condition of his relative, and one of the doctors asked him to stay in the hospital for a minimum of two days to confirm his health condition, and he was suffering from fever and shortness of breath however, he refused to do so, which prompted the treating doctor to say that “your cousin died of Corona’s disease, and you have to stay in the hospital so that the infection is not transmitted to the rest of your family”, which caused him to panic and returned to his home to treat himself through the process of “spray”, but the stranger Other individuals did not have the same disease.
A doctor revealed to “Afrinpost” that the medical situation is very bad, and there is complete disdain by the health and medical authorities, as he stressed that there are many who practice the medical profession in the city’s hospitals and do not have university degrees, as they were students in the medical school in the second year or third, they work as doctors !!
Pay five hundred Syrian pounds and breach the curfew!
In a statement, the so-called “Syrian Provisional Government” affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood announced the imposition of a curfew in Afrin, Azaz, Jenderes, Sheikh Hadid, Rajo, Maabatli, Bulbul, Sharan to prevent the spread of the Corona virus.
In order to counter the outbreak of the Corona virus, and in reaction to the recommendations and instructions issued by the Ministry of Health in the Syrian interim government to limit the spread of the Corona virus, it was decided: Stop the transit traffic (entry and exit) for people and public and private vehicles between the areas of: Afrin, Azaz, Jenderes , Sheikh Hadid, Rajo, Maabatli, Bulbul, Sharan, on 4/17/2020 at 6:00 pm until further notice.
Whereas, the occupation militia gunmen found these decisions and the epidemic, a new opportunity to exploit and blackmail people, for example, the leader of “Hamza ” militia called “Abu Ahmed” sells medical masks to the population through grocery stores in the village of “Jouqiyyah / Juwaiq”, although it is provided by relief organizations, and each mask was sold at “300 Syrian pounds”, while other militias set a price for those who wish to breach the declared curfew, whereby an amount of 500 Syrian pounds is collected for those who pass through the checkpoints without regard to these decisions.
Although the World Health Organization has called on the parties to the conflict in Syria to release the detainees, the Turkish occupation authorities have intensified their arrest and kidnapping campaigns by kidnapping the remainder of the original Kurdish population. In March, more than 53 Kurdish citizens were kidnapped, and it is not known what they face in detention centers and abduction centers.
