Driver Ali Nasser is trying to take a rest for at least two hours, and then prepare early to transport another meal of the dead bodies of the dead corona virus, from the city of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq to the new cemetery designated for them in the city of Najaf, to which the dead are transported around the clock from various cities Iraq.
Ali Nasser, 31, an ambulance driver from Nasiriyah and an affiliate of the Popular Mobilization Authority, joined the Dhi Qar Health Department as a volunteer to transport the bodies of the deceased in Corona, and he is the only one who is on a daily basis at the forensic medicine department, the place from which the deceased is transported.
While on the face there are traces of the mask and mask he always wears, Ali remembers well the road he crosses every day, since joining this mission at the end of April 2020, and how he transported more than 300 deceased persons to Corona, during that period alone, without receiving the support of drivers Others only months later.
Unattended
Ali says to Al-Jazeera Net, "I travel daily, approximately (350 km) from Nasiriyah to Najaf, with a time that reaches more than 10 hours back and forth. I carry more than one body with me, and no one accompanies me, as the dead bodies are all that I carry."
He added, "The scene was not strange to me. I used to accompany the military units in the war against the Islamic State and move between shells and rockets, carrying the wounded and the dead who are killed in the fighting."
And he confirms that he saw difficult scenes throughout the war years, and subsequently lost his father while he was also serving the injured, as he was killed while performing his duty, and he thought about me to continue and complete the mission, whether in time of war or confrontation against Corona.
"I was infected twice with the Coronavirus, and I felt symptoms, but I did not leave the job and continued my work, risking my life, and the goal is to bury the deceased as quickly as possible," he tells, according to what happened to him.
No one accompanies me, except orange juice, which is always in the car, as it is an energy drink, which I have not abandoned, he says, and I believe that my immunity improved with it, and that was why I had a slight injury and continued my work, but more than a month ago a new ambulance driver was assigned With me to transfer the bodies to reduce the burden on my shoulders a little.
He stresses that he is ready at any time to take the bodies of the deceased, and at all times tirelessly, and every time he goes to the cemetery for burial there, he usually carries four or five bodies, and sometimes returns again to transport new bodies to Najaf.
Road hazards
In conjunction with the dangers of the Coronavirus and dealing with the bodies of the deceased, Ali feared road obstacles, difficulty in walking, crowded streets, carrying the corpses and indifference accompanying drivers on public roads, and even control points were delaying their procedures at first to allow us to pass.
Dhi Qar Health spokesman Dr. Salah Ghayyad explains to Al Jazeera Net that the transfer of the deceased in Corona is carried out in coordination and cooperation between Dhi Qar ambulance and the department of Health Department of the Governorate and the Popular Mobilization Authority.
Dhi Qar has recorded 455 deaths since Corona, at the end of February, which is the highest rate after the capital Baghdad and compared to other provinces.
The transfer of the dead bodies of the dead in Coruna was suspended on July 27, after the Ministry of Health decided to bury the dead with the disease in regular graves and there is no need for them to be buried in private graves.
Despite this decision, he affirms his readiness to return again in the event that the number of deaths does not increase, stressing that he is always present, and he may move to transfer the deceased to their ablution instead of to transfer them to the Najaf cemetery.
Ali finally ends the journey of a long journey with the bodies of the dead, reminiscent of all the difficult situations and scenes that passed by him, while standing at the door of the forensic medicine department, where mothers, fathers and children cry about losing their loved ones, as they are transported without funeral or funeral or even burials held by the family .