Iraq – Power outage cripples Baghdad for more than 20 hours

Location: Baghdad – Iraq

Language: Arabic

Voice: Natural

Duration: 00:03:10

Source: A24

Restrictions: A24 Clients

Dateline: 25-01-2022

Storyline:

The Iraqi capital, Baghdad, has been going through the worst periods of power supply with the scheduled cut-off hours reaching around twenty hours. People use diesel generators despite their high cost amid the temperatures dropping to below zero Celsius,

Media people and citizens talked about the long and never-ending struggle with the corruption file, on which ten billion dollars were spent, pointing out that the issue behind the deterioration of the energy is political rather technical, and the people pay the price.

Shot list:

• (SOUNDBITE) Raya Assi – Media person:

“We face electricity outage with every election and political crisis, and then ISIS appears. It is a political crisis like all the crises we have gone through, it is a great suffering for the Iraqis. The government turned a deaf ear not knowing what is happening to us because they enjoy electricity 24/7”

• (SOUNDBITE) Omar Al-Shahmani – Citizen:

“They don’t feel the patients or people who can’t afford to subscribe with the diesel generator. We pay with generator owners but before the end of the month, they turn the generator off. They burdened the people. Yesterday I tried to take shower after I came from work, but I could not because the geyser is connected to the main electricity, and there is no hot water. The electricity comes for half an hour or an hour, not longer than that.”

• (SOUNDBITE) Saadi Hamid- Citizen:

“The electricity exists, but they cut it off for the poor people, whereas the presidents, deputies, officials, and rich people enjoy it always. Five people of a family died in these camps because of the chilly weather, they are not given a blanket even.”

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