Yezidis fear COVID-19 'disaster' as Shingal struggles to rebuild

April 15, 2020, Holly Johnston

Read RUDAW article here.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The spread of COVID-19 has stoked apprehension across Iraq, shutting down most of the country as authorities battle to stem the spread of the virus which has caused chaos in recent months.

Nowhere in Iraq is the fear of an unseen threat more palpable than in Shingal. Once home to a vibrant Yezidi community at the foot of a mountain range nestled on the Syrian border, Shingal was witness to horrific atrocities when the Islamic State group (ISIS) overran the area in 2014, launching a genocide against the long-persecuted minority.  

Five years have passed since Shingal’s liberation, and around 120,000 Yezidis have returned to the area – known as Sinjar in Arabic. But much of it still lies in ruins. Basic services have yet to be restored, prompting fears that a coronavirus outbreak could spell disaster for the already vulnerable community.

Dr. Dilshad Ali Abdullah has worked at Shingal's General Hospital for 13 years, and is currently manager of the 50-bed facility. The hospital, which reopened two days after liberation from ISIS, was moved to a new location in July 2018. Abdullah boasts of the improvements made at the health facility, which serves those who have returned to Shingal’s remnants – around 20,000 of whom live in Shingal city itself. 

New operating theatres have been built with support from Nadia’s Initiative, a charity organisation set up by Yezidi survivor and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Nadia Murad, who invested energy into rebuilding what remains of the region. Despite a shortage of beds and specialist staff, Abdullah is confident that enough has been done to prepare for a possible outbreak.

“We are ready to deal with corona. I have the greatest team and best stock of medicines, protection and sterilization materials,” he told Rudaw English on Wednesday. “For now, we have enough resources.”

Others, however, are not so optimistic.

‘It will be a disaster’

“Sinjar is not prepared for COVID-19,” warns Murad Ismael, director of Yazda, a Yezidi-led NGO that operates mobile medical clinics in the area, including in remote displacement camps on Mount Shingal.

“The health system in Sinjar post-ISIS liberation was strong, in part thanks to international and local NGOs operating in the district. With the pressure on NGOs, many have either withdrawn or are operating at reduced capacity,” he added, saying that the local hospitals would bear the full brunt of an outbreak.

According to Ismael, several hundred medical staff work across Shingal’s two hospitals and twelve medical centres. However, the shortage of essential equipment predates the coronavirus pandemic.

“There are only a few ventilators, probably less than five. There is also a severe shortage of PPE (personal protective equipment) which won’t last a week if an outbreak is to occur,” he told Rudaw English.

“These hospitals are basically like health centres. They're small and do not have the capacity, [or] the equipment...they don’t have specialised doctors to deal with any sort of crisis, let alone COVID-19,” added  Abid Shamdeen, executive director at Nadia’s Initiative.

His organisation has been warning of a dire need for healthcare services in the area since 2018, citing a lack of water and electricity and transportation challenges as key obstacles to quality healthcare in Shingal. 

Two years on, some progress has been made – a new maternity unit and operating theater have opened with support from the French government. However, the spread of the novel coronavirus has halted some plans in their tracks with vital reconstruction work – including a new hospital slated to be started next month – now put on indefinite hold. 

'Everything is gone'

The lack of health infrastructure in Shingal is part of a wider problem preventing the community from returning to their former homes, according to Yezidi activists.

“The lack of clean water and basic services in Sinjar is a concern. Nadia and many survivors have been making the point that camps are not sustainable. The government and international community must take some serious steps to bring back services to Sinjar...and that’s not happening,” Shamdeen added.

“We failed the Yezidis in 2014. Let’s not let history repeat itself and fail this vulnerable population again,” Murad wrote on March 30. 

The vast majority of Yezidis who survived the genocide live in camps for internally displaced persons (IDP) across the Kurdistan Region. Many refuse to go back to Shingal; memories of the ISIS onslaught are too fresh. For those who do wish to return, however, the quest for a normal life is impeded by political wrangling between a multitude of political players who claim Shingal as under their jurisdiction.

Located in Nineveh Province – territory partially disputed between the governments in Erbil and Baghdad — various factions have vied for control over Shingal for years, including the paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces (Hashd al-Shaabi), Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga, and local militias affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Competing factions have prevented many Yezidis from returning home, and have also hampered basic services from being brought to the region.

“Now there is no ISIS, but we cannot go back because the Kurdish government and the Iraqi government are fighting each other over who will control my area,” Murad told US President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House in July of last year. 

 “The lack of governance is one of the main barriers,” said Shamdeen of the obstacles to rebuilding the area, citing the presence of two mayors in both Shingal and Snuni, a town which is home to many Yezidis who have returned to the region. Located on the northern side of Mount Shingal, settlements in this area were liberated from ISIS quicker than their southern neighbours, many of which are still riddled with landmines. 

“I do not think the government is taking this seriously. They do not have a plan, a timeline to restore basic services,” Shamdeen said, adding that some towns have no police force, among other basic services.

“A lot of families are very poor, they have very limited resources and now they are under lockdown it is even harder for them. Everything is gone.”

NGOs have been distributing food packages to the most vulnerable of returnees, who, like the rest of Iraq, have been on lockdown since last month.

Access to Shingal from the Kurdistan Region was cut off by authorities in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus across the rest of Iraq, which has seen a higher number of COVID-19 cases than the Kurdistan Region. 

Local residents who spoke to Rudaw English expressed satisfaction say they are satisfied with the lockdown measures, but echo concerns over the limited healthcare available.

“People respect the [lockdown], because they know it is done for their safety. But if people don’t follow procedures from the security forces, it will be a disaster,” said student Farhad Ali, who lives in Solagh – a small village east of Shingal city where dozens of mass graves have been uncovered. 

“A small hospital with less than 20 beds won’t be enough,” he added.