Iraqis in India feel stranded after flights cancelled
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraqis are demanding to be repatriated from India feeling left stranded following Iraq’s decision on Tuesday to cancel all flights to and from the country due to the spread of a new coronavirus variant.
Muhammad Fadil, a graduate student in the Indian capital of New Delhi, told Rudaw English on Wednesday of the experiences of many Iraqis living in the country, which is recording hundreds of thousands of infections daily.
"The situation of the Iraqis stranded here, especially the ill, is tragic,” Fadil said over the phone. “Many are staying in hotels, which means they are paying a lot of money, and they do not know the city well, in addition to the curfew in Delhi that restricts their movement."
Fadil, who currently has coronavirus himself, has feared that his health will deteriorate and he will not be able to go to a hospital, many of which are turning away patients, unable to cope with the surging number of people requiring care.
Dijla, an Iraqi TV channel, on Tuesday interviewed a group of Iraqis who visited India for medical treatment, but now do not have a way to return home. They demanded that Iraqi authorities return them to Iraq, and subject them to PCR tests.
Iraqi student Hudhaifa Ismail told Rudaw English that life in New Delhi is continuing normally, and he believes the media is exaggerating the extent of the spread of coronavirus in India.
"Many Iraqi students here know the city and have lived in it during the first wave of the pandemic, but the Iraqi patients who come for treatment in India are in a very complicated situation, as they are terrified of their stay in an afflicted city," said Ismail over the phone.
The Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) in Basra on Wednesday demanded the Iraqi government to return Iraqis stranded in India as soon as possible.
In an official statement issued on Telegram, the commission said its office in Basra has received appeals from citizens stuck in India who cannot afford to stay in hotels longer.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday that the Indian variant of coronavirus has been detected in at least 17 countries, including Belgium, Switzerland, Greece and Italy.
Around 18 million coronavirus cases were recorded in India so far, including six million cases in April alone.
A large number of Iraqis travel to several countries for medical treatment, including Jordan, Turkey and India, due to the dilapidated health system in Iraq.
"The delay in hospital construction forced ill citizens to visit private hospitals inside Iraq or abroad to receive treatment, which created the medical tourism phenomenon," reads a statement from Iraqi Parliament’s Integrity Commission.
Muhammad Fadil, a graduate student in the Indian capital of New Delhi, told Rudaw English on Wednesday of the experiences of many Iraqis living in the country, which is recording hundreds of thousands of infections daily.
"The situation of the Iraqis stranded here, especially the ill, is tragic,” Fadil said over the phone. “Many are staying in hotels, which means they are paying a lot of money, and they do not know the city well, in addition to the curfew in Delhi that restricts their movement."
Fadil, who currently has coronavirus himself, has feared that his health will deteriorate and he will not be able to go to a hospital, many of which are turning away patients, unable to cope with the surging number of people requiring care.
Dijla, an Iraqi TV channel, on Tuesday interviewed a group of Iraqis who visited India for medical treatment, but now do not have a way to return home. They demanded that Iraqi authorities return them to Iraq, and subject them to PCR tests.
Iraqi student Hudhaifa Ismail told Rudaw English that life in New Delhi is continuing normally, and he believes the media is exaggerating the extent of the spread of coronavirus in India.
"Many Iraqi students here know the city and have lived in it during the first wave of the pandemic, but the Iraqi patients who come for treatment in India are in a very complicated situation, as they are terrified of their stay in an afflicted city," said Ismail over the phone.
The Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) in Basra on Wednesday demanded the Iraqi government to return Iraqis stranded in India as soon as possible.
In an official statement issued on Telegram, the commission said its office in Basra has received appeals from citizens stuck in India who cannot afford to stay in hotels longer.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday that the Indian variant of coronavirus has been detected in at least 17 countries, including Belgium, Switzerland, Greece and Italy.
Around 18 million coronavirus cases were recorded in India so far, including six million cases in April alone.
A large number of Iraqis travel to several countries for medical treatment, including Jordan, Turkey and India, due to the dilapidated health system in Iraq.
"The delay in hospital construction forced ill citizens to visit private hospitals inside Iraq or abroad to receive treatment, which created the medical tourism phenomenon," reads a statement from Iraqi Parliament’s Integrity Commission.