KIRKUK, Iraq - Three months after the birth of his twin boys, Sirwan Ali died of COVID-19, cutting short his dreams of becoming a father.
“I didn’t know what caused this catastrophe that attacked his respiratory system," said Shilan Wali, the wife of Ali. “All I wished from God was for Sirwan to spend just one year with them [his twin sons] ... I just wanted him to be happy for a little while because he too had spent his whole life without a father.”
The couple attempted many times for a child, traveling abroad to consult with doctors. They suffered nine miscarriages in 14 years of marriage, but on July 9, 2021, twins Mustafa and Miran were born in Kirkuk.
“We went to Iran and many other places. It was not that we were unable to conceive children, but that every time, they would die, a miscarriage,” Wali said. “Eventually, God gave us these twins.”
The story of Ali's death has echoed in his hometown and went viral on social media.
"I even love the smell of their sweat. Come to me, you are my whole life. You are my everything,” Ali can be heard saying in a video shared online. “My only prayer was to be a father, even if it was for one hour.”
Ali died on October 1, a month after he caught the coronavirus.
“A week after contracting the virus, his health abruptly deteriorated, he struggled to breathe,” said Mohammed Wali, Shilan’s brother.
According to the Iraqi Ministry of Health, there have been a total of 2,016,623 cases and 22,406 deaths in the nation since the start of the pandemic.
