By Dilsoz Youssef
HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – Fahima Awad, a displaced woman, is busy lighting a fire for cooking on a kerosene cooking stove in the yard of her house in the village of Tel Maghas, in the countryside of Hasakah governorate, northeast Syria.
Despite being warned by doctors about the negative effects of using a kerosene stove and experiencing respiratory allergies from its smoke, she persists in using it.
Like many residents in Hasakah governorate, Awad, an IDP from the countryside of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain), had to resort to using traditional kerosene cook stoves due to the high prices of household gas cylinders, which have costed 150,000 Syrian pounds ($10) in local markets, compared to the previous price of 7,500 SYP ($0.5).
Northeast Syria is experiencing a severe shortage of gas, oil, and electricity following a series of Turkish airstrikes in mid-January. Turkish drones targeted power plants and oil facilities, rendering them out of service. As a result, the availability of gas cylinders has significantly decreased, leading to a surge in the use of kerosene stoves as an alternative cooking method.
“We recently had no choice but to use kerosene cooking stoves, despite its risks, due to the high prices of household gas cylinders,” Fahima Awad told North Press.
Turkish drones targeted with seven strikes the power plants in Kobani, Ain Issa, Amuda, Tirbe Spiyeh (al-Qahtaniya), Qamishli, and Derbasiyah. As a result, these stations went out of service, according to statistics released by the AANES on Jan.15.
Turkey also carried out seven airstrikes on oil facilities. The targeted locations included the Sweidiya gas plant, the Awda oil field, the Taflah Refinery station, and another oil facility in the village of Gire Pire, near the town of Tirbe Spiyeh. Furthermore, warehouses used for oil field maintenance in northeastern Syria were also hit.
Agid Abdulmajid, director of the Sweidiya gas plant, told North Press that the initial cost of repairing the facility is estimated at $1 billion.
Profession recovery
The shortage of gas, oil, and electricity has also had an unexpected consequence in the city of Hasakah. The profession of kerosene stove maintenance has seen a resurgence due to the great demand.
In one of the popular neighborhoods of Hasakah, Muhammad Abbas has returned to his former profession of stove maintenance after abandoning it for many years.
Abbas, an IDP from Deir ez-Zor, said that he had quit repairing kerosene cooking stoves a long time ago, but he had to resume it due to the overwhelming demand.
“I repair between six to seven stoves on a daily basis, as people have lost access to household gas and have resorted to using traditional kerosene stoves that had been long forgotten,” Abbas explained.
However, Abbas faces numerous challenges in his work. The lack of available spare parts and the high costs of essential materials like tin and others required for welding make it difficult to provide efficient repairs.
Ticking bomb
While many residents have no choice but use kerosene stove as a viable alternative to domestic gas, numerous people describe them as a time bomb due to their danger and the frequent incidents of explosions, which sometimes result in fatalities, in addition to other health hazards.
Statistics from the National Hospital in Hasakah indicate that around 50 people were admitted to the hospital in the January due to respiratory difficulties or burns caused by the use of stoves in the area.
Abdulbast al-Khanafer, a doctor in Hasakah, said that the number of respiratory infections has recently increased due to the use of kerosene stoves, along with environmental pollution, vehicle emissions, and other factors.
He further explained that the use of kerosene stoves has a negative impact on health, especially for asthma patients.
The hospital has received several cases of suffocation or severe respiratory distress after these stoves were used in the closed spaces, according to the doctor.
He emphasized that prolonged use of these stoves can lead to respiratory diseases and chronic lung diseases such as cancer.
The doctor recommends users of this type of cooking stove users to minimize stove usage whenever possible, wear protective masks to cover the mouth and nose while using the stove to reduce inhalation of toxic substances, and use the stoves in open areas.