ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The death of Erbil’s 42-year-old governor Firsat Sofi due to coronavirus-related complications on Wednesday brought a tragic end to his short tenure, which he mostly spent limiting the damage inflicted by the pandemic.
Over 55 million cases of coronavirus have been recorded since the world’s first known infection in November 17, and more than 1.3 million people have died. The first case of the coronavirus was reported in the Kurdistan Region on March 1, and almost 3,000 people in the Region have died after contracting it.
Sofi took office in September 2019, after the 15-year governorship of predecessor Nawzad Hadi. He was appointed by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, who had taken on the premiership a few months earlier.
"Without making political distinctions, we will serve the beloved people of Erbil province," he said in response to his appointment. "In my post I will have full coordination of, and respect for, the legal position of the Erbil Provincial Council, and we will seriously work together."
With much of his governorship taking place in the coronavirus era, Governor Sofi had to tread a fine line between protecting public health the livelihoods of his province’s inhabitants. Sofi began imposing strict lockdown measures the day after Erbil recorded its case of the coronavirus.
Kurdistan Region officials were lauded by the World Health Organisation and the offices of foreign representatives for their swift response to the virus.
But as the pandemic played worldwide havoc – including an instrumental role in the global oil price crash – Sofi acknowledged the blow coronavirus measures dealt to the finances of ordinary people, and ordered an early easing of virus-related restrictions on businesses in the Kurdistan Region capital. Provincial authorities had mulled a 28-day lockdown, Sofi said, but "we knew it would be very difficult."
However, when protesters demanding an end to strict coronavirus measures that they said had worsened their economic hardship sprung up across the Kurdistan Region, Sofi blamed “some people and political parties” for encouraging opposition to the restrictions.
Before and beyond the coronavirus pandemic, Governor Sofi was outspoken about the violations that he saw in his city and province. Within the first few months of his appointment, Sofi vowed to shut down the noisy, private generators that are ubiquitous in Erbil, and end encroachment of public property by "influential people".
"We are being very tough and have the necessary measures, and I dare say we have completely limited encroachment trend," Sofi said of encroachment in December 2019. "If they [the public] see any encroachment by anyone, anywhere, just inform us and reach out to us."
"We will also remove barriers and open the blocked roads in front of the institutions and officials' houses. We are taking strong measures," he added.
Ali Tatar, the governor of Duhok told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman on Wednesday that he had been in daily contact with Sofi and the Kurdistan Region’s other provincial governors to discuss preventing the spread of the virus with as little economic fallout as possible.
“On the one hand, we didn’t want to do something that would cause more people to contract coronavirus, because it is a deadly disease. On the other hand, we didn’t want to do something that would impact people’s livelihood and their daily lives,” Tatar said. “Dr. Firsat was well aware of how this deadly disease had impacted peoples’ lives, particularly people with lower incomes.”
Sofi knew that he would be at increased risk of exposure to the virus as a public official, but was adamant that he be among the people, Tatar said.
Sulaimani governor Dr Haval Abubakir called Sofi “an honest and fearless person”.
“He was on the forefront of fighting coronavirus… he would convey the concerns of the people to the cabinet’s meetings,” Abubakir said on Wednesday.
“We should not allow hope to die, we must protect ourselves and… wear masks,” Abubakir said of the death of Sofi and thousands of others in the Kurdistan Region.
Tens of thousands of condolatory messages flooded social media on Wednesday as news of the governor’s death spread. Sofi was described by Kurdish officials of all stripes as being honest and hardworking, and as a role model for his peers.
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