Two months after the earthquake in East Azerbaijan, a glance at the horrible living conditions of women in Varnakesh.
November 8, 2019: A strong earthquake of magnitude 5.9 struck northwestern Iran, killing at least six people and injuring more than 300.
Varnakesh village was one of the areas worst hit by the quake where four women and girls got killed. They included Zahra Abedi, 10, Reyhaneh Ghorbani, 13, Goli Jalili, 47, and, Khatoun Rezazadeh, 78.
Two months after the earthquake, the residents of these areas are still living in temporary tents despite freezing cold.
A woman who had just returned from chemotherapy said, “We need food, we need a warm place.”
People have electric heaters but cannot use them since the village’s power network was not built for using so many electric heaters.
Bathing children is very difficult in this situation, especially that many survivors still have no access to hygienic restrooms and showers.
Many children, women and elderly have contracted skin diseases because they cannot bathe regularly.
Member of the mullahs’ parliament, Fardin Farmand, said: “We face severe winter cold in these areas. Currently, some villages are covered by 9 meters of snow. It is not possible to travel by car. Tents are worthless in this cold weather and people are freezing. Electrical heaters cannot respond to the needs of people, because the power system in this village was not built for using this number of electrical heaters.” He also added that no baths had been made for the people in this village and that they are deprived of taking showers. (The state-run ILNA news agency, December 14, 2019)
This situation is particularly difficult for pregnant women and mothers who have infants. Poverty, poor hygiene, and psychological stress creates a lot of problems for them.
Every natural disaster means the end of life even for the survivors, since the corrupt and incompetent rulers of Iran are incapable of solving the problems of even a small village.
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