DIYALA, Iraq - The Nahrwan industrial area between Baghdad and Diyala is one of the most detrimental parts of the country to the environment given the black smoke emissions, posing a significant health risk to those living nearby.
Locals of the area work in these factories in order to make ends meet. Fatima Ali works in the factory in order to provide for her five children and has noticed changes in her breathing and health.
“I was about to die because of the toxic smoke I'm inhaling and my doctor asked me ‘if I smoke cigarettes?’ I asked the doctor ‘What cigarettes?’ I work in a brick factory," Ali told Rudaw’s Hiwa Hussamadin on Saturday of her life in the highly contaminated area.
According to health statistics of Baquba town, around 11 people are said to have been diagnosed with cancer and three others have died as a result of the damage done to the air.
"No services, no hospitals, we are left in this smoke and our situation is bad, the state does not pay us salaries and does not take care of us," Qasim Maluh, a worker in the industrial area said. "You can’t afford a house or basic expenses. The daily wage is not enough for our family."
Despite the cold weather and high levels of smoke caused by the brick factories, the lack of health facilities has made the work of the laborers in the area more difficult than before.
Workers in the Nahrwan industrial area make more than a million red bricks on a daily basis and pay taxes to the government, but the Iraqi government has not delivered the most basic service projects to the area.
The Iraqi government has sought to import brick as a solution rather than raising the wages of the laborers or helping them with improving the safety standards. The daily income of each laborer in these factories does not exceed 10,000 Iraqi dinars (under $7).
Air pollution across Iraq has become an alarming issue caused by industrial emissions coupled with climate change. Last year, the country witnessed an increase in dust storms causing serious breathing issues among the population.
Iraq's environment ministry in April said that the number of dusty days in the country has increased from 243 to 272 days per year over the past two decades, warning that this is expected to reach 300 dusty days per year in 2050.
Despite this, the government has done little to address the concerns and threats posed by both environment and industrial factors.
