1

00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:18,840

Honestly, I'm worried.

 

2

00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:21,320

You feel the need for oxygen,

you can't...

 

3

00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:23,040

You [breathe] like this.

 

4

00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:44,360

If you’re coughing, you use it.

 

5

00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:46,720

Those coughs,

 

6

00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:48,080

the bad ones.

 

7

00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:56,680

Do you cough blood?

 

8

00:00:56,800 --> 00:00:58,480

Yes, I’ve been coughing

a lot of blood for months.

 

9

00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:02,680

There is an increase in the rates of chest diseases

and the number of patients.

 

10

00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:33,200

We're paying the price.

 

11

00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:36,120

With our health, with our lives.

 

12

00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:37,600

What do we get in return?

 

13

00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:06,360

Whenever I do anything physical,

 

14

00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:08,280

I keep on coughing and coughing.

 

15

00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,800

It's because of my asthma,

my lungs are inflamed.

 

16

00:02:12,640 --> 00:02:15,760

I can't walk much because

of my lung condition

 

17

00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:19,160

Yes, it suffocates me.

 

18

00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:51,560

I’ve lived in Basra for 17 years,

 

19

00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,080

I had been suffering from asthma.

 

20

00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:57,280

But it’s got worse

 

21

00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:00,680

since I moved to Basra.

 

22

00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:06,120

Most people tell me that it’s possibly

because of these gas flares

 

23

00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:09,000

and the dirty fumes that come from them.

 

24

00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:16,480

It’s not just me but also, people around me

have developed the same health problems.

 

25

00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:54,960

Greetings, God bless you

-God bless you

 

26

00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:56,720

Are you having trouble breathing?

-Yes

 

27

00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:59,240

How old are you?

-30-years-old

 

28

00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:02,800

Volunteer

nurses on the Arbaeen route

 

29

00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:06,280

say that many pilgrims

are reporting health issues.

 

30

00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:10,200

We receive many cases inside the medical camp

 

31

00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:15,520

I personally have treated

many cases of asthma

 

32

00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:20,680

due to the polluted environment

and the weather conditions in Basra.

 

33

00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:16,400

Come on in.

 

34

00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:17,720

What’s your name?

 

35

00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:19,200

Samira Kamel Abbas.

 

36

00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:20,560

Samira Kamel...

 

37

00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:21,360

Abbas.

 

38

00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:22,840

You're 38-years-old?

 

39

00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:24,680

Yes, I’m 38-years-old

 

40

00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:33,720

Show me the test results

 

41

00:05:33,840 --> 00:05:35,400

Yes I have the X-Ray here.

Yes

 

42

00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:39,040

These are infections

 

43

00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:41,080

Do you cough blood?

 

44

00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:43,760

Yes, I cough a lot of blood

 

45

00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:44,960

OK

 

46

00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:54,320

Don’t let anyone smoke near you.

 

47

00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:55,760

I don’t know anyone who smokes.

 

48

00:05:55,840 --> 00:05:56,720

Avoid very cold weather,

 

49

00:05:56,800 --> 00:05:58,120

strong perfumes,

 

50

00:05:58,200 --> 00:05:59,640

detergents,

 

51

00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:01,520

benzene, gas and oil.

 

52

00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:02,600

All of these are banned.

 

53

00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:03,360

All banned...

 

54

00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:04,920

OK.

 

55

00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:08,920

May God grant you good health.

 

56

00:06:12,840 --> 00:06:17,960

He said that this area is close to oil,

smoke from oil isn't good for me.

 

57

00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:22,840

It’s true that this area is very polluted.

 

58

00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:27,920

But where would I go? This is where I live.

I'm settled here

 

59

00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:45,880

Previously, my husband used to help me.

 

60

00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:47,640

But after he died, everything was lost.

 

61

00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:52,240

I mean, this big burden was carried by me and

my little daughters.

 

62

00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:54,560

You know, as a mother,

 

63

00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:58,000

I want them to go to school.

 

64

00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:05,040

The gas flares here are increasing every year.

 

65

00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:11,200

They were previously only on this side,

and a month ago, they added one on that side.

 

66

00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:14,840

They put a new one there, and also there.

 

67

00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:19,120

It means that when the wind blows,

the smoke comes to us.

 

68

00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:23,040

I feel like I am dying from the smoke

 

69

00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:20,560

Hello.

 

70

00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:21,920

Hello.

 

71

00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:23,600

How is it going?

 

72

00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:39,320

Unfortunately, we do not have official

data [on respiratory diseases].

 

73

00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:41,920

However, from my own observations,

 

74

00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:45,560

I have noticed that there is an increase

in the rates of chest diseases

 

75

00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:47,160

and in the number of patients.

 

76

00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:49,560

Put this in your mouth.

 

77

00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:52,000

I want you to take a deep breath.

 

78

00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:57,280

Then exhale as hard as you can, and repeat.

 

79

00:08:57,360 --> 00:08:57,840

OK?

 

80

00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:01,480

The first factor is pollution,

 

81

00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:04,320

which includes different things,

 

82

00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,920

such as the gas flaring from the oil industry,

 

83

00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:10,120

the increase in traffic and the number of cars,

 

84

00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:13,920

and the frequent sandstorms,

due to global warming.

 

85

00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:17,160

I wish you a happy life.

Thank You.

 

86

00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:22,520

I believe that in about five to six years,

 

87

00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,600

all of Basra will have chest and

respiratory problems.

 

88

00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:16,560

In recent years, lung disease has increased here

 

89

00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:19,960

due to worsening air pollution.

 

90

00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:25,640

The air here is constantly polluted,

 

91

00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:27,680

and unfortunately the size and intensity of the flares

 

92

00:11:27,680 --> 00:11:29,480

has increased.

 

93

00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:46,640

The pharmacies and hospitals have a huge demand

 

94

00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:49,280

from people who need respiratory medicines.

 

95

00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:52,840

This has led to a shortage of these drugs.

 

96

00:11:56,960 --> 00:12:01,480

The entire area is engulfed in dense, grey smoke.

 

97

00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:10,000

The residents believe that most of them will get cancer.

 

98

00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:13,720

And some say the death rate due to cancer here

 

99

00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:17,080

has already gone up.

 

100

00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:25,160

Brothers in Kuwait, this is the sandstorm

 

101

00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:28,120

I hope that it doesn’t hit you

but it seems to be heading towards you.

 

102

00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:31,080

All maritime and aerial routes are closed

 

103

00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:35,480

because of the sandstorm that

has hit the whole country.

 

104

00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:39,440

In Kuwait, all the flights have been cancelled

 

105

00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:44,360

because of the dust storm that has

hit the whole country.

 

106

00:14:29,560 --> 00:14:33,080

Using inhalers here has become

like drinking water.

 

107

00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:36,320

Many kids in Kuwait have asthma.

 

108

00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:38,600

My children suffer from this illness.

 

109

00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:43,000

But the one who suffers the most is Jasem.

 

110

00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:47,000

The first time he had an asthma attack,

 

111

00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:48,680

he was unable to breathe.

 

112

00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:51,080

He turned blue.

 

113

00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:52,720

I got scared.

 

114

00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:55,680

When it comes to my children,

 

115

00:14:56,080 --> 00:14:58,440

my brain stops. I don't...

 

116

00:14:58,600 --> 00:14:59,560

I don't know what to do.

 

117

00:14:59,920 --> 00:15:01,560

I sit outside and wait.

 

118

00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:03,800

I listen to his mother,

she talks to [the doctors].

 

119

00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:05,760

She's stronger than me in this situation.

 

120

00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:07,080

I'm not strong.

 

121

00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:10,680

He was deprived of learning for an entire year.

 

122

00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:13,520

He stayed at home,

 

123

00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:15,800

in his room, in the living room...

 

124

00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:21,360

If I see on the weather app

that there’s dust,

 

125

00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:23,080

I don’t take him to school.

 

126

00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:25,400

I won't gamble with my son's life.

 

127

00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:37,200

When I woke up, the first thing I’d see,

especially in spring time, in Kuwait.

 

128

00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:43,000

You look at the window, and see if the colour

is orange or yellow,

 

129

00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:46,240

meaning it’s a dusty day in Kuwait.

 

130

00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:03,760

Personally, when I was six, seven or eight,

I suffered from asthma

 

131

00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:07,800

and I think that when we went to school,

with this inhaler,

 

132

00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:11,320

we used to get it into our pencil case.

 

133

00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:19,440

Most of the children had an inhaler,

we all had this inhaler.

 

134

00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:09,360

Look at this.

 

135

00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:10,560

I look a lot like you.

 

136

00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:11,520

Right?

 

137

00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:12,520

Right.

 

138

00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:14,240

Do I look like you, or do you look like me?

 

139

00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:37,600

During the invasion, when I was six

or seven-years-old,

 

140

00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:39,920

the situation was very bad.

 

141

00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:44,040

In the middle of the day,

the sky was black.

 

142

00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:47,840

Pollution was extremely high.

 

143

00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:50,680

This is when my asthma got worse.

 

144

00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:56,080

In Iraq, they burn, burn, burn...

 

145

00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:57,520

Here, we burn...

 

146

00:18:58,280 --> 00:18:59,200

I mean...

 

147

00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:00,520

It's a disaster.

 

148

00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:04,040

We don't realise that in Kuwait

 

149

00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:05,920

we have pollution, and problems

 

150

00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:09,680

that will keep affecting health, lungs,

and children in the future.

 

151

00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:10,960

Nothing.

 

152

00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:12,800

Oh, me.

 

153

00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:13,920

Where is this?

 

154

00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:14,840

The doctor’s.

 

155

00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:16,800

Because of the asthma, right?

 

156

00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:17,320

Yes, asthma.

 

157

00:19:17,360 --> 00:19:18,520

Getting bad.

 

158

00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:19,600

Did you cry?

 

159

00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:22,680

I cried a little.

 

160

00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:24,000

What did you feel there?

 

161

00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:25,320

I feel like...

 

162

00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:27,880

Like...

 

163

00:19:28,360 --> 00:19:29,400

Like that feeling.

 

164

00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:30,200

The last time I had symptoms,

 

165

00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:36,520

they were the worst in a decade.

 

166

00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:40,760

I became short of breath and had to go

to the emergency department twice.

 

167

00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:43,680

I was put on oxygen so I could breathe.

 

168

00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:45,600

You really cannot breathe.

 

169

00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:50,200

You feel pain from the chest to the nose.

 

170

00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:54,000

Shortness of breath

is the most uncomfortable thing for me.

 

171

00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:57,960

Because it comes with a

suffocating cough

 

172

00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:00,600

You feel the need for oxygen, you can’t...

 

173

00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:02,320

You [breathe] like this.

 

174

00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:06,640

You feel that the air is not pure.

 

175

00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:10,160

The air is heavy.

 

176

00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:14,040

Maybe these are things we don't see.

 

177

00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:30,200

Honestly, I'm worried.

 

178

00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:32,920

I am worried.

 

179

00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:36,200

And sometimes I feel like my heart...

 

180

00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:40,280

I went for a heart examination, twice.

 

181

00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:42,840

I don't know if it's connected...

 

182

00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:44,400

Maybe because it is close to the lungs.

 

183

00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:46,360

I don't know what the relationship is between them.

 

184

00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:49,040

But I feel something strange with my heartbeat.

 

185

00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:51,560

It’s like I can’t breathe.

 

186

00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:30,760

Today is his first day in first grade.

 

187

00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:35,360

So I hope he will be able to fit

in with other kids.

 

188

00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:43,400

I’m so happy he’ll experience a new world,

 

189

00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:46,080

he'll meet new kids,

 

190

00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:47,520

he'll make friendships.

 

191

00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:50,000

We’ll see how he’ll deal with his asthma.

 

192

00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:54,640

I can only hope for the best.

 

193

00:25:57,120 --> 00:25:58,680

When the pollution is increasing,

 

194

00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:00,360

what becomes of their future?

 

195

00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:10,880

When it comes to the Gulf countries

 

196

00:26:11,120 --> 00:26:14,560

They're the countries that extract and sell the most oil.

 

197

00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:18,880

What do we get in return?

 

198

00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:21,800

It's on us

 

199

00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:23,080

Not on anyone else.

 

200

00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:24,240

We're paying the price.

 

201

00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:27,880

With our health, with our lives.