Among the most painful stories during the tragedy of the fire at Al-Hussein Hospital, which was treating patients with COVID-19 in the city of Nasiriyah, the capital of Thi Qar province in southern Iraq, is the story of the Rashid Al-Saeedi family, who lost seven of their loved ones in this disaster. The family hails from the Al-Diwaniyah district in Thi Qar.
To shed light on this tragic story that has become a topic of discussion among Iraqis, "Sky News Arabia" interviewed Salim Al-Saeedi, a relative of the bereaved family. He said, "We lost seven family members due to corruption, negligence, and a lack of conscience and accountability from the Iraqi authorities." He added, "What compensation can match the innocent lives lost? We share the same plight as the rest of the oppressed and marginalized Iraqi people; this is a catastrophe among thousands of disasters that affect Iraqis daily. You surely recall the recent tragedy at Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital, which was strikingly similar to the Al-Hussein Hospital disaster in Nasiriyah."
Al-Saeedi continued, "Two of the victims were patients in the isolation department due to their COVID-19 infection, and the other five were there visiting them when the tragedy occurred. When patients and their families enter hospitals in Iraq, it feels as if they are heading towards death, as these places have turned into ticking time bombs, lacking the most basic elements required for hospitals to treat and accommodate patients."
He further expressed, "We are tired, and the country is tired of all this crime and corruption. If there was a minimum level of responsibility, professionalism, and focus on the health sector, and we had high-standard hospitals, our loved ones would not have simply become victims like this. This is not just negligence; it is murder and a disregard for human lives."
There is widespread anger and agitation across Iraq, particularly in Thi Qar province, due to the recurrence of such tragedies in various Iraqi provinces. The Thi Qar health directorate announced on Tuesday that the death toll from the fire at Al-Hussein Hospital, designated for COVID-19 patients, has risen to 92, with over 30 charred bodies still unidentified, according to health sources who spoke with "Sky News Arabia."
After the incident, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi announced the dismissal of the Thi Qar health director, the managers of Al-Hussein Hospital, and the civil defense in the province, ordering them to be investigated following the fire. Ironically, these victims were patients already weakened by the deadly virus, who ultimately perished due to an incident stemming from negligence, chaos, the absence of oversight and accountability, deficient healthcare infrastructure in Iraq, and the lack of advanced medical standards regulating the operations of health facilities and ensuring their safety.
Iraqi observers believe that corruption has become a beast consuming everything in the country, permeating various aspects of governmental and administrative institutions.
