The COVID Desk

Through in-depth text and video stories, Daraj and its network of media partners in the Middle East will focus on the impact of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable sectors, including refugees, prisoners, healthcare workers, the elderly, and students. Some stories will have an accountability angle, including the lack of government transparency on COVID-19 testing and statistics, and the use of the coronavirus crisis as an excuse to increase surveillance and other repressive techniques. We will also examine how the pandemic has been used by radical movements to intensify their attacks.

Photo Credit: Ammar Abd Rabbo

Stories

July 08, 2020 | Daraj

COVID-19 Exacerbates Syria’s Socioeconomic Collapse

Jihad Yazigi

COVID-19 has highlighted the deep structural weaknesses of the Syrian economy and destroyed what was left from its capacity to resist to new pressures.

June 19, 2020 | Daraj

Algeria: Authorities Use “Coronavirus” to Impose Political Quarantine

Lyas Hallas

The epidemic was an opportunity for the Algerian authorities to isolate everything they deemed to be “germs," the proliferation of that which poses a threat to the repressive system.

June 18, 2020 | Daraj

Iraq and COVID-19: Eliminating the Lethal Rivers First

Khaled Suleiman

Research has confirmed that coronavirus can spread through wastewater, which is a very dangerous indicator. The battle against the epidemic is more fragile in Iraq than elsewhere, since the country lacks the minimum required public health standards, such as clean, safe water.

June 16, 2020 | Daraj

After COVID: Feminist Policies Save Lives and Uphold Rights

Lina Abou-Habib

The patriarchal policies across MENA came into full play during COVID-19 as women’s vulnerability and burden increased exponentially against a system that was, even before the pandemic, broken and unable to protect women.

The project examines the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has on countries in the Middle East that were facing existential and often tragic realities, even before the virus imposed its own challenges.