csmonitor--2020-05-19--A helping hand? Amid pandemic, gangs cast themselves as protectors.

From medical access to economic safety nets , the effects of the pandemic have put inequality on display , says Ivan Briscoe , a Latin America expert at the International Crisis Group .
And that inequality “ fundamentally explains the ability to recruit and operate criminal groups.
” Gangs ’ quick response “ allows them to maintain control of the region and ingratiates the population , ” says Juan Cedillo , a journalist who covers organized crime in Mexico .
“ They don ’ t do it out of the kindness of their hearts .
It ... creates a circle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ illegal business without people reporting them.
” Meanwhile , organized crime took advantage of government leadership vacuums , setting curfews and handing out supplies .
Gangs are known for persecuting the communities where they operate , but they also cast themselves as protectors .
Amid the pandemic , such activities allow gangs to play up their role as pseudo-caretakers , positioning them to tighten their control , experts say .
Even where gangs ’ restrictions were short-lived , COVID-19 has highlighted underlying dynamics among governments , organized crime , and citizens .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Latin America , leaders in its two largest countries , Brazil and Mexico , stood out for their blasé approach .
The virus was just “ a little cold , ” Brazil ’ s President Jair Bolsonaro scoffed .
“ We ’ re not on vacation , we ’ re in quarantine , ” an announcement blasted from a car-mounted megaphone , bidding residents of a crowded Rio favela to remain indoors after 7:30 p.m. Thousands of miles north in the Mexican state of Guerrero , a banner told people to stay home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we ’ ll pick you up.
” Similar messages have been broadcast over the past two months in vulnerable communities across Latin America , from Colombia to El Salvador , Venezuela to Honduras .
But these aren ’ t government PSAs .
Leaders in Mexico and Brazil , in particular , have been late to react to the pandemic , and have denied its seriousness .
Local gangs and organized crime are taking advantage of government leadership vacuums , sometimes playing up their roles as pseudo-caretakers of forgotten citizens in marginalized neighborhoods @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to handing out boxes of food and face masks , the criminal underworld – long thriving here – is positioning itself to come out of this pandemic with increased control over territory , and more deeply entrenched loyalty from locals , experts say .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall .
Criminal groups are known for persecuting the communities where they operate , extorting businesses and exerting violence on civilians .
But they also frequently cast themselves as protectors .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , erase incomes , and slow remittances , state attention is increasingly focused on the pandemic – creating openings for criminals to step in and try to win over more hearts and minds .
Not all groups are looking for the same results .
Even in places like Brazil , where gangs quickly rolled back initial preventive measures in many Rio favelas , COVID-19 is highlighting the underlying dynamics among governments , organized crime , and citizens across the region .
“ In some territories where crime is a powerful actor , these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the moment to press themselves on local communities as the real guardians and providers , ” says Ivan Briscoe , the International Crisis Group ’ s program director for Latin America and the Caribbean .
“ It can provide a veneer of responsible public service .
And it ’ s a real factor of control.
” Latin American gangs have diversified and fragmented since the 1980s and ’ 90s .
They increasingly rely on businesses beyond drugs , like extortion , kidnapping , and human trafficking , which arguably hit local businesses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need social support – key in incentivizing locals to turn a blind eye to illegal activities .
In Mexico , winning that support might mean large-scale parties with big-ticket gifts .
Or , in the wake of natural disasters , handing out cooking supplies .
In April , the Gulf cartel in northern Mexico not only distributed boxes of basic goods stamped with its name , but also seemed to run a public relations campaign .
Videos and photos were disseminated online and to local media , showing towers of boxes filled with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ similar productions , a shift from past handouts that were typically carried out more quietly .
The daughter of convicted drug trafficker “ El Chapo ” Guzmán appeared in videos on Facebook pulling together “ El Chapo ” care packages , reportedly delivered in multiple Mexican states , including one controlled by a major rival cartel .
“ They often move faster than the government ” when delivering aid , says Juan Cedillo , author of “ The Hidden Narco Wars , ” who covers organized crime in Mexico for a national newsmagazine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The rush to acknowledge the difficult situation “ allows them to maintain control of the region and ingratiates the population , ” Mr. Cedillo says .
“ They don ’ t do it out of the kindness of their hearts .
It ... creates a circle of safety where they can conduct their illegal business without people reporting them.
” For decades , the Mexican government has fought unsuccessfully to quash organized crime .
Instead , groups have expanded their territories , and confrontations have led to an increasingly lethal landscape .
2019 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with some 34,500 people killed .
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador came into office promising to address the root causes of organized crime , like poverty and lack of opportunity .
But he ’ s been criticized for leaning on a militarized approach similar to his predecessors ’ .
Now with coronavirus in the mix , Mexico is diverting money earmarked for police training to the purchase of medical supplies , and the newly formed National Guard was moved to hospitals to protect medical professionals , opening up more opportunities for criminal groups @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would prefer to have the government supporting them , ” says Mr. Cedillo .
What ’ s at risk when it pulls back during COVID-19 is that small businesses are more likely to turn to criminals for financial lifelines .
“ They will end up in the hands of the crime bosses , who will consolidate their power and come out on top , ” Mr. Cedillo says .
“ Without a doubt organized crime is taking advantage of this moment.
” In many countries homicide and robbery rates are on the decline @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organized crime will emerge more powerful , even if border closures and curfews have weakened their business models .
This is a moment when nations struggling to overcome organized crime should be doubling down , according to Alejandro Hope , a security specialist in Mexico .
But for the most part , “ they are not even trying , ” he wrote in an April 20 opinion piece for the Financial Times .
The first coronavirus case in Rio ’ s City of God favela was registered in late March .
Soon after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lords via WhatsApp audio messages , banners on the street , and a truck blasting a recording : Stay inside after dark – or face consequences .
Brazil ’ s president , Jair Bolsonaro , has stood out globally for his blasé approach to the pandemic , which he ’ s referred to as “ a little cold.
” Brazil has more than 250,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 , and more than 16,000 deaths – one of the highest tallies in the world .
But despite the initial efforts – and scare tactics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gang-imposed measures didn ’ t last .
They continued for “ a week or two , maximum .
After that ... people went back out on the street , ” says Mayara , a resident who , like others in this story , asked to be identified only by her first name for security .
The owner of a barbershop continued trimming hair and shaping beards without a mask , a resident says .
A sweets vendor carried on selling sticky cakes on a busy street corner .
Bars and stores remained open @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the favela ’ s narrow streets .
“ Enforcing a lockdown doesn ’ t make any governing authority popular , ” formal or otherwise , says Benjamin Lessing , a professor and researcher who studies criminal governance in Rio ’ s favelas .
He says the crisis has brought into “ sharp relief the places where gang governance is strong and state governance is weak.
” In some favelas , criminal groups quickly returned to business as usual – with a discount .
In Rocinha , one of Latin America ’ s largest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to scale the steep streets , now pay roughly $ 10 in extortion payments per week instead of the usual $ 17 .
“ Everything is as normal , ” says José , a Rocinha resident .
“ They ’ re charging for a cut of the gas ; they are charging the mototaxis ; they ’ re charging the vans .
... And I see nothing here that has been done by the traffickers against coronavirus.
” In Brazil , many favelas already have a deeply entrenched criminal presence , which may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ solidify their hold through acts of leadership or goodwill , says Gabriel Feltran , author of a book about Primeiro Comando da Capital , Brazil ’ s largest criminal organization .
In other parts of the region , turf battles are frequently the norm , leading to more creative efforts to win civilians over .
Even in favelas that are under strong gang control , there ’ s traditionally some state presence .
Gangs rarely get involved in health care – why start now ?
Meanwhile , the gap is being plugged by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In Santa Marta , a favela that sits in the shadow of the Christ the Redeemer statue , a community organization is supporting needy families with food and monthly allowances .
In Rocinha , residents donated hundreds of masks to a government-run health clinic , reversing expected leadership roles by providing help to the state .
The pandemic is doing one thing universally , says Mr. Briscoe : exposing inequality .
Whether it ’ s access to medical attention or economic safety nets , the inequity put on display right now “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ operate criminal groups , ” even before COVID-19 .
There ’ s a realization that “ no country can ever claim to fully control the virus until the poorest , most vulnerable populations are also protected , ” he says .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall .

From medical access to economic safety nets, the effects of the pandemic have put inequality on display, says Ivan Briscoe, a Latin America expert at the International Crisis Group. And that inequality “fundamentally explains the ability to recruit and operate criminal groups.”
Gangs’ quick response “allows them to maintain control of the region and ingratiates the population,” says Juan Cedillo, a journalist who covers organized crime in Mexico. “They don’t do it out of the kindness of their hearts. It ... creates a circle of safety where they can conduct their illegal business without people reporting them.”
The dynamic between government and gangs has always been complex. But where officials don’t lead, organized crime often steps in. With states critically tested during the pandemic, that relationship is in the spotlight.
Meanwhile, organized crime took advantage of government leadership vacuums, setting curfews and handing out supplies. Gangs are known for persecuting the communities where they operate, but they also cast themselves as protectors. Amid the pandemic, such activities allow gangs to play up their role as pseudo-caretakers, positioning them to tighten their control, experts say. Even where gangs’ restrictions were short-lived, COVID-19 has highlighted underlying dynamics among governments, organized crime, and citizens.
As the COVID-19 pandemic started to spread in Latin America, leaders in its two largest countries, Brazil and Mexico, stood out for their blasé approach. The virus was just “a little cold,” Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro scoffed.
“We’re not on vacation, we’re in quarantine,” an announcement blasted from a car-mounted megaphone, bidding residents of a crowded Rio favela to remain indoors after 7:30 p.m. Thousands of miles north in the Mexican state of Guerrero, a banner told people to stay home: “If we find you outside, we’ll pick you up.”
Similar messages have been broadcast over the past two months in vulnerable communities across Latin America, from Colombia to El Salvador, Venezuela to Honduras. But these aren’t government PSAs. Leaders in Mexico and Brazil, in particular, have been late to react to the pandemic, and have denied its seriousness.
Local gangs and organized crime are taking advantage of government leadership vacuums, sometimes playing up their roles as pseudo-caretakers of forgotten citizens in marginalized neighborhoods. From setting curfews and enforcing them to handing out boxes of food and face masks, the criminal underworld – long thriving here – is positioning itself to come out of this pandemic with increased control over territory, and more deeply entrenched loyalty from locals, experts say.
Why We Wrote This The dynamic between government and gangs has always been complex. But where officials don’t lead, organized crime often steps in. With states critically tested during the pandemic, that relationship is in the spotlight.
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.
Criminal groups are known for persecuting the communities where they operate, extorting businesses and exerting violence on civilians. But they also frequently cast themselves as protectors. As government lockdowns stomp out informal employment, erase incomes, and slow remittances, state attention is increasingly focused on the pandemic – creating openings for criminals to step in and try to win over more hearts and minds.
Not all groups are looking for the same results. Even in places like Brazil, where gangs quickly rolled back initial preventive measures in many Rio favelas, COVID-19 is highlighting the underlying dynamics among governments, organized crime, and citizens across the region.
“In some territories where crime is a powerful actor, these [criminal] groups have taken advantage of the moment to press themselves on local communities as the real guardians and providers,” says Ivan Briscoe, the International Crisis Group’s program director for Latin America and the Caribbean. “It can provide a veneer of responsible public service. And it’s a real factor of control.”
Mexico: Gangs press their advantage
Latin American gangs have diversified and fragmented since the 1980s and ’90s. They increasingly rely on businesses beyond drugs, like extortion, kidnapping, and human trafficking, which arguably hit local businesses and communities hardest. But they still need social support – key in incentivizing locals to turn a blind eye to illegal activities.
In Mexico, winning that support might mean large-scale parties with big-ticket gifts. Or, in the wake of natural disasters, handing out cooking supplies. In April, the Gulf cartel in northern Mexico not only distributed boxes of basic goods stamped with its name, but also seemed to run a public relations campaign. Videos and photos were disseminated online and to local media, showing towers of boxes filled with aid. Cartels around the country orchestrated similar productions, a shift from past handouts that were typically carried out more quietly. The daughter of convicted drug trafficker “El Chapo” Guzmán appeared in videos on Facebook pulling together “El Chapo” care packages, reportedly delivered in multiple Mexican states, including one controlled by a major rival cartel.
“They often move faster than the government” when delivering aid, says Juan Cedillo, author of “The Hidden Narco Wars,” who covers organized crime in Mexico for a national newsmagazine. COVID-19 has been no different. The rush to acknowledge the difficult situation “allows them to maintain control of the region and ingratiates the population,” Mr. Cedillo says. “They don’t do it out of the kindness of their hearts. It ... creates a circle of safety where they can conduct their illegal business without people reporting them.”
For decades, the Mexican government has fought unsuccessfully to quash organized crime. Instead, groups have expanded their territories, and confrontations have led to an increasingly lethal landscape. 2019 was Mexico’s deadliest year, with some 34,500 people killed. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador came into office promising to address the root causes of organized crime, like poverty and lack of opportunity. But he’s been criticized for leaning on a militarized approach similar to his predecessors’.
Now with coronavirus in the mix, Mexico is diverting money earmarked for police training to the purchase of medical supplies, and the newly formed National Guard was moved to hospitals to protect medical professionals, opening up more opportunities for criminal groups to operate unchecked.
“Most people would prefer to have the government supporting them,” says Mr. Cedillo. What’s at risk when it pulls back during COVID-19 is that small businesses are more likely to turn to criminals for financial lifelines. “They will end up in the hands of the crime bosses, who will consolidate their power and come out on top,” Mr. Cedillo says. “Without a doubt organized crime is taking advantage of this moment.”
In many countries homicide and robbery rates are on the decline amid lockdowns. But most analysts agree organized crime will emerge more powerful, even if border closures and curfews have weakened their business models. This is a moment when nations struggling to overcome organized crime should be doubling down, according to Alejandro Hope, a security specialist in Mexico. But for the most part, “they are not even trying,” he wrote in an April 20 opinion piece for the Financial Times.
Brazil: Business as usual
The first coronavirus case in Rio’s City of God favela was registered in late March. Soon after, residents got clear messages from drug lords via WhatsApp audio messages, banners on the street, and a truck blasting a recording: Stay inside after dark – or face consequences.
Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, has stood out globally for his blasé approach to the pandemic, which he’s referred to as “a little cold.” Brazil has more than 250,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and more than 16,000 deaths – one of the highest tallies in the world.
But despite the initial efforts – and scare tactics – in City of God, the gang-imposed measures didn’t last. They continued for “a week or two, maximum. After that ... people went back out on the street,” says Mayara, a resident who, like others in this story, asked to be identified only by her first name for security.
The owner of a barbershop continued trimming hair and shaping beards without a mask, a resident says. A sweets vendor carried on selling sticky cakes on a busy street corner. Bars and stores remained open, with dozens of people weaving through the favela’s narrow streets.
“Enforcing a lockdown doesn’t make any governing authority popular,” formal or otherwise, says Benjamin Lessing, a professor and researcher who studies criminal governance in Rio’s favelas. He says the crisis has brought into “sharp relief the places where gang governance is strong and state governance is weak.”
In some favelas, criminal groups quickly returned to business as usual – with a discount. In Rocinha, one of Latin America’s largest favelas, motorcycle taxis, widely used to scale the steep streets, now pay roughly $10 in extortion payments per week instead of the usual $17.
“Everything is as normal,” says José, a Rocinha resident. “They’re charging for a cut of the gas; they are charging the mototaxis; they’re charging the vans. ... And I see nothing here that has been done by the traffickers against coronavirus.”
In Brazil, many favelas already have a deeply entrenched criminal presence, which may mean gangs don’t need to solidify their hold through acts of leadership or goodwill, says Gabriel Feltran, author of a book about Primeiro Comando da Capital, Brazil’s largest criminal organization. In other parts of the region, turf battles are frequently the norm, leading to more creative efforts to win civilians over. Even in favelas that are under strong gang control, there’s traditionally some state presence. Gangs rarely get involved in health care – why start now?
Meanwhile, the gap is being plugged by residents and activists, Mr. Feltran says.
In Santa Marta, a favela that sits in the shadow of the Christ the Redeemer statue, a community organization is supporting needy families with food and monthly allowances. In Rocinha, residents donated hundreds of masks to a government-run health clinic, reversing expected leadership roles by providing help to the state.
The pandemic is doing one thing universally, says Mr. Briscoe: exposing inequality. Whether it’s access to medical attention or economic safety nets, the inequity put on display right now “fundamentally explains the ability to recruit and operate criminal groups,” even before COVID-19.
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There’s a realization that “no country can ever claim to fully control the virus until the poorest, most vulnerable populations are also protected,” he says.
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.


csmonitor--2020-05-13--For refugees, a plea: You can’t beat a pandemic by leaving people out

Charlie Yaxley , spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency , reinforces the point .
“ You can not beat a pandemic by leaving people out , ” he says .
“ Only by protecting everyone ’ s health , including the displaced , ensures everyone survives this.
” The urgency in stopping COVID-19 ’ s spread to refugee populations should be clear , she says : “ The world can only be safe if each of us is safe.
” Deepmala Mahla , CARE ’ s regional director for Asia , oversees COVID-19 response for the world 's largest refugee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infection control needs to go beyond a call for social distancing in such impossible conditions and focus instead on what can be done .
Refugee experts are urging swift action , warning of a potentially cataclysmic spread of the disease among communities and in locations with little margin for error .
For the world ’ s 25.9 million refugees , the most vulnerable people on the planet , the pandemic has struck at a time they were already widely viewed with hostility .
Almost no one is looking out for their rights or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ urban areas or overcrowded camps where social distancing and access to medical care and steady work can feel like an impossible dream .
Eden Gebre spends every day crammed into a single room of a Tel Aviv apartment with her husband , their 6-year-old twins , and 4-year-old daughter .
In the same apartment live two fellow Eritrean asylum-seekers with whom Ms. Gebre is fearful to interact , because she says she is immunocompromised following a liver transplant .
She tries to strictly isolate , wary of adding to what is already a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infected with COVID-19 .
There is no safety net for Ms. Gebre – or for the 30,000 asylum-seekers from Eritrea and Sudan in Israel and many of their fellow refugees around the globe .
She and her husband have no medical insurance , nor have they unemployment insurance to compensate for the jobs they lost in this age of lockdown .
To earn money , the couple sews masks and Ms. Gebre crochets baskets to sell through Kuchinate , a Tel Aviv collective of asylum-seeking women .
The name means “ crochet ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Eritrea and Ethiopia .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall .
In Israel the asylum-seekers ’ hand-to-mouth existence working in restaurants and as cleaners has come mostly to a halt .
The coronavirus crisis has forced members of the community to rely on one another and relief groups for food and help with paying rent .
For the world ’ s 25.9 million refugees , the most vulnerable people on the planet , the pandemic has struck at a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hostility .
Almost no one is looking out for their rights or physical health .
Most live in dense urban areas or in overcrowded refugee camps where social distancing and access to hand-washing , medical care , and steady work can feel like an impossible dream .
David Miliband , the former British foreign secretary who now leads the International Rescue Committee ( IRC ) , says that makes “ seeking refuge from this virus doubly or triply difficult.
” Refugee experts are urging government and international agencies to act swiftly , warning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disease among communities and in locations with little margin for error .
“ They should use the small number of weeks that still exist before the disease goes rampant in the poorest part of the world in order to prevent its spread , ” Mr. Miliband says .
The next step , he advises , is building up access to basic health care so those who get the disease can survive it .
Also key , he says : distributing cash and food to mitigate potentially disastrous social and economic damage .
Keeping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , coordinated and collective effort , ” says Charlie Yaxley , global spokesman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR ) .
“ No country can overcome this pandemic alone , ” he says , adding that “ it ’ s not only about controlling transmission but ensuring we have equal distribution of vaccines and medicines when they come.
” The Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox ’ s Bazar , Bangladesh , is the world ’ s largest , sheltering some 860,000 people , many of them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is so densely populated that in some stretches 70,000 people live in a square kilometer in flimsy dwellings of bamboo and thatch .
Long lines are the norm – for the bathroom , hand-washing , or to clean a bucket for the day ’ s cooking .
As CARE ’ s regional director for Asia , Deepmala Mahla oversees COVID-19 response at the camp .
She says infection control needs to go beyond a call for social distancing in such impossible conditions and focus instead on what can be done .
More hand-washing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , requiring additional soap , water , and buckets .
Also critical : the distribution of cash and food so people are less likely to risk breaking curfews and closures to work outside the camp to feed their families .
She repeats a refrain she hears from refugees responding to action surrounding the virus : “ Can you also protect us from starvation ?
” To reduce crowding at the camp ’ s medical facilities , mobile clinics are being employed .
Also of help are volunteers among the refugees who receive training @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and girls are at special risk , Ms. Mahla warns , in need of protection from sexual and physical violence at all times , but even more-so during a crisis like this one .
The urgency in stopping COVID-19 ’ s spread to refugee populations should be clear , she says : “ The world can only be safe if each of us is safe.
” The UNHCR ’ s Mr. Yaxley reinforces the point .
“ You can not beat a pandemic by leaving people out , ” he says .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including the displaced , ensures everyone survives this.
” Jelda Yayi has faced many dangers in her 70 years , but never one like this .
In her experience , danger had always arrived loudly .
It sounded like gunshots and screaming .
It sounded like her own rasping breath , hiding from men with guns outside .
It ’ s that kind of danger that forced her from her home in South Sudan three years ago and led her to walk about 20 miles to the Ugandan border .
But now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Uganda face the stealthier threat of the coronavirus .
In Bidi Bidi , Africa ’ s largest refugee settlement , where Ms. Yayi lives , there have been no confirmed cases of the disease .
But the quarter million residents must adhere to the Ugandan government ’ s strict lockdown , which has shut nonessential businesses .
That includes millions of informal enterprises like Ms. Yayi ’ s , selling brooms she makes .
To help block the disease , programs for farming , improvements to water and sanitation , and the building @ @ @ @ @ @ @ halted .
And relief agencies have introduced social distancing in the lines for water and food in settlements like Bidi Bidi .
At a Bidi Bidi water pump one recent morning , 10 women sat with their plastic jerry cans inside large chalk circles sketched on the ground , two meters apart .
The scene contrasted with the busy , cramped lines that often stretched out from the same spot just last month .
Overhead , mobile loudspeakers broadcast the voices of workers belting out public health messages regarding the battle to halt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to door , making sure people are familiar with COVID-19 symptoms .
“ We just don ’ t have the option here for numbers to go up like they have in Europe and the U.S. , ” says Niek de Goeij , the representative for Catholic Relief Services in Uganda .
“ Prevention is really the only way.
” In Colombia , the pandemic has made things so dire that Snydenys Peña is contemplating a return to her native Venezuela .
She , her husband , and five children are among the estimated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s political and socio-economic convulsions , about a third of whom are in Colombia .
When she fled Caracas last May , driven by a mother ’ s desire to save her children from hunger and illness , she could not imagine a scenario in which she would return to its mayhem .
Today the family lives in a one-bedroom house on the outskirts of Cúcuta , a town on the Venezuelan border .
They sleep on the floor , the children on mattresses .
Her husband lost his work as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dolls for a foundation .
Over two months behind on rent , they fear eviction .
“ I ’ m terrified .
We stay here and we could be homeless in the midst of a pandemic , ” she says .
“ We return home [ to family support ] , but condemn our children to a life without a future.
” On a recent morning dozens of Venezuelans in Medellín came in shifts to sit six feet apart , in masks , in a line to receive cash transfers from the IRC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 250 Venezuelans and are intended for them to buy food and pay rent , the IRC said .
The coronavirus has wiped out their already precarious reliance on the informal economy , and now thousands are on the move home , sometimes by foot .
They are spurred on by the pandemic ’ s fallout and spooked by the rising death toll in Ecuador and Colombia .
Local governments are trying to organize their safe passage , in some cases arranging mobile health units , diverting people to routes that circumvent big cities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social distancing – to the Colombian-Venezuelan border .
The Catholic church , civil society , and international NGOs are trying to help .
The church has cafeterias near the Venezuelan and Ecuadorean borders that serve upward of 5,000 meals a day .
Small water stations were erected by dioceses along highways for hand-washing and showers .
At the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos , more than 20,000 asylum-seekers are living at a site intended for just 2,750 .
That translates to just one water station per 1,300 people , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one shower for every 630 .
There are also 5,000 people who have spilled out beyond the formal camp and are using makeshift shelters who have no access to showers , electricity , or water , says Apostolos Veizis , director of the medical operational support unit for Médecins Sans Frontières-Greece .
To date no coronavirus infections have been reported at the camp .
Trying to help keep it that way is a relatively new resident , Deen Muhammad Alizadah , a pharmacist from Afghanistan who arrived in Greece six months ago with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Turkey .
Mr. Alizadah is on a refugee-run committee that teaches residents about the disease and how to prevent it by staying in their tents and in the camp as much as possible .
Shopping , they are told , should be done by one member of the family .
A Greek police checkpoint outside the camp bolsters the guidelines .
Regular hand-washing remains difficult with running water available only intermittently throughout the day .
But people are doing their best to be hygienic and stay inside .
“ This is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ If the virus started in this camp it would be uncontrollable.
” At a time when most of the world seeks to keep refugees and asylum-seekers out because of the coronavirus , Germany is finding a way to let some in .
Fifty-seven children , all unaccompanied minors – the majority from Syria and the others from Iraq , Afghanistan , and Eritrea – were recently flown in from Moria .
They are the first refugees to leave the camp since 2015 , relief workers said .
Highlighting its unsanitary , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic , Kindernothilfe , a children ’ s rights and humanitarian assistance organization in Germany , lobbied the government for an airlift .
Frank Mischo , a Kindernothilfe advocacy officer , says his organization and partners provided a list of cities and states that , combined , could immediately provide around 5,000 unaccompanied minors with housing , care , and support .
“ We offer safe quarantine possibilities , we finance everything , ” Mr. Mischo says of his coalition of partners .
The hope is that this is just the beginning .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ eight countries in the European Union , including France , Croatia , and Belgium , have volunteered to take in underage , unaccompanied refugees from the camp .
The urgency of the pandemic seems to have worked where years of pressure failed .
Finally , Mr. Mischo says , “ there is some hope.
” Contributing to this story were Lenora Chu in Berlin , Whitney Eulich in Mexico City , Dominique Soquel in Basel , Switzerland , Christine Onzia Wani in Bidi Bidi , Uganda , and Ryan Lenora Brown in Johannesburg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall .

Charlie Yaxley, spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency, reinforces the point. “You cannot beat a pandemic by leaving people out,” he says. “Only by protecting everyone’s health, including the displaced, ensures everyone survives this.”
The urgency in stopping COVID-19’s spread to refugee populations should be clear, she says: “The world can only be safe if each of us is safe.”
Deepmala Mahla, CARE’s regional director for Asia, oversees COVID-19 response for the world's largest refugee camp, in Bangladesh. She says infection control needs to go beyond a call for social distancing in such impossible conditions and focus instead on what can be done.
If the coronavirus and its economic devastation are already straining the developed world, how can refugees – the world's most vulnerable – cope? There is no safety net, no margin for error. Six of our writers report.
Refugee experts are urging swift action, warning of a potentially cataclysmic spread of the disease among communities and in locations with little margin for error.
For the world’s 25.9 million refugees, the most vulnerable people on the planet, the pandemic has struck at a time they were already widely viewed with hostility. Almost no one is looking out for their rights or physical health. Most live in dense urban areas or overcrowded camps where social distancing and access to medical care and steady work can feel like an impossible dream.
Eden Gebre spends every day crammed into a single room of a Tel Aviv apartment with her husband, their 6-year-old twins, and 4-year-old daughter.
In the same apartment live two fellow Eritrean asylum-seekers with whom Ms. Gebre is fearful to interact, because she says she is immunocompromised following a liver transplant. She tries to strictly isolate, wary of adding to what is already a mountain of medical debt if she becomes infected with COVID-19.
There is no safety net for Ms. Gebre – or for the 30,000 asylum-seekers from Eritrea and Sudan in Israel and many of their fellow refugees around the globe. She and her husband have no medical insurance, nor have they unemployment insurance to compensate for the jobs they lost in this age of lockdown.
Why We Wrote This If the coronavirus and its economic devastation are already straining the developed world, how can refugees – the world's most vulnerable – cope? There is no safety net, no margin for error. Six of our writers report.
To earn money, the couple sews masks and Ms. Gebre crochets baskets to sell through Kuchinate, a Tel Aviv collective of asylum-seeking women. The name means “crochet” in Tigrinya, a Semitic language spoken in Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.
In Israel the asylum-seekers’ hand-to-mouth existence working in restaurants and as cleaners has come mostly to a halt. The coronavirus crisis has forced members of the community to rely on one another and relief groups for food and help with paying rent.
For the world’s 25.9 million refugees, the most vulnerable people on the planet, the pandemic has struck at a time they were already widely viewed with hostility. Almost no one is looking out for their rights or physical health.
Most live in dense urban areas or in overcrowded refugee camps where social distancing and access to hand-washing, medical care, and steady work can feel like an impossible dream.
David Miliband, the former British foreign secretary who now leads the International Rescue Committee (IRC), says that makes “seeking refuge from this virus doubly or triply difficult.”
Refugee experts are urging government and international agencies to act swiftly, warning of a potentially cataclysmic spread of the disease among communities and in locations with little margin for error.
“They should use the small number of weeks that still exist before the disease goes rampant in the poorest part of the world in order to prevent its spread,” Mr. Miliband says.
The next step, he advises, is building up access to basic health care so those who get the disease can survive it. Also key, he says: distributing cash and food to mitigate potentially disastrous social and economic damage.
Keeping refugees safe, “requires a massive, coordinated and collective effort,” says Charlie Yaxley, global spokesman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
“No country can overcome this pandemic alone,” he says, adding that “it’s not only about controlling transmission but ensuring we have equal distribution of vaccines and medicines when they come.”
Courtesy of Eden Gebre View caption Hide caption Eden Gebre's husband, Isyiah, sews masks to make money as his three children, twins age 6 and a daughter age 4, join him, in Tel Aviv, April 2020.
860,000 in one camp
The Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, is the world’s largest, sheltering some 860,000 people, many of them Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar. The camp is so densely populated that in some stretches 70,000 people live in a square kilometer in flimsy dwellings of bamboo and thatch.
Long lines are the norm – for the bathroom, hand-washing, or to clean a bucket for the day’s cooking.
As CARE’s regional director for Asia, Deepmala Mahla oversees COVID-19 response at the camp. She says infection control needs to go beyond a call for social distancing in such impossible conditions and focus instead on what can be done.
More hand-washing stations are needed, Ms. Mahla says, requiring additional soap, water, and buckets. Also critical: the distribution of cash and food so people are less likely to risk breaking curfews and closures to work outside the camp to feed their families.
She repeats a refrain she hears from refugees responding to action surrounding the virus: “Can you also protect us from starvation?”
To reduce crowding at the camp’s medical facilities, mobile clinics are being employed. Also of help are volunteers among the refugees who receive training to spread public health information.
Women and girls are at special risk, Ms. Mahla warns, in need of protection from sexual and physical violence at all times, but even more-so during a crisis like this one.
The urgency in stopping COVID-19’s spread to refugee populations should be clear, she says: “The world can only be safe if each of us is safe.”
The UNHCR’s Mr. Yaxley reinforces the point. “You cannot beat a pandemic by leaving people out,” he says. “Only by protecting everyone’s health, including the displaced, ensures everyone survives this.”
Prevention is “the only way”
Jelda Yayi has faced many dangers in her 70 years, but never one like this.
In her experience, danger had always arrived loudly. It sounded like gunshots and screaming. It sounded like her own rasping breath, hiding from men with guns outside.
It’s that kind of danger that forced her from her home in South Sudan three years ago and led her to walk about 20 miles to the Ugandan border. But now she and the other million refugees in Uganda face the stealthier threat of the coronavirus.
Courtesy of Christine Onzia Wani View caption Hide caption Refugees practice safe distancing while in line for a water pump, in Bidi Bidi, Uganda, May 2020.
In Bidi Bidi, Africa’s largest refugee settlement, where Ms. Yayi lives, there have been no confirmed cases of the disease. But the quarter million residents must adhere to the Ugandan government’s strict lockdown, which has shut nonessential businesses. That includes millions of informal enterprises like Ms. Yayi’s, selling brooms she makes.
To help block the disease, programs for farming, improvements to water and sanitation, and the building of houses and schools have all been halted.
And relief agencies have introduced social distancing in the lines for water and food in settlements like Bidi Bidi.
At a Bidi Bidi water pump one recent morning, 10 women sat with their plastic jerry cans inside large chalk circles sketched on the ground, two meters apart. The scene contrasted with the busy, cramped lines that often stretched out from the same spot just last month.
Overhead, mobile loudspeakers broadcast the voices of workers belting out public health messages regarding the battle to halt the virus. Village leaders walk door to door, making sure people are familiar with COVID-19 symptoms.
“We just don’t have the option here for numbers to go up like they have in Europe and the U.S.,” says Niek de Goeij, the representative for Catholic Relief Services in Uganda. “Prevention is really the only way.”
On the move
In Colombia, the pandemic has made things so dire that Snydenys Peña is contemplating a return to her native Venezuela.
She, her husband, and five children are among the estimated 5 million Venezuelans who fled the country’s political and socio-economic convulsions, about a third of whom are in Colombia.
When she fled Caracas last May, driven by a mother’s desire to save her children from hunger and illness, she could not imagine a scenario in which she would return to its mayhem.
Courtesy of the International Rescue Committee, Colombia View caption Hide caption Nearly 250 Venezuelans in Medellín, Colombia, received cash transfers from the International Rescue Committee, April 30, 2020. The aid is meant to help them pay rent and put food on the table during the pandemic.
Today the family lives in a one-bedroom house on the outskirts of Cúcuta, a town on the Venezuelan border. They sleep on the floor, the children on mattresses. Her husband lost his work as a day laborer and she hers, sewing dolls for a foundation. Over two months behind on rent, they fear eviction.
“I’m terrified. We stay here and we could be homeless in the midst of a pandemic,” she says. “We return home [to family support], but condemn our children to a life without a future.”
On a recent morning dozens of Venezuelans in Medellín came in shifts to sit six feet apart, in masks, in a line to receive cash transfers from the IRC. The funds were designated for nearly 250 Venezuelans and are intended for them to buy food and pay rent, the IRC said.
The coronavirus has wiped out their already precarious reliance on the informal economy, and now thousands are on the move home, sometimes by foot. They are spurred on by the pandemic’s fallout and spooked by the rising death toll in Ecuador and Colombia.
Local governments are trying to organize their safe passage, in some cases arranging mobile health units, diverting people to routes that circumvent big cities, or arranging transportation – with no social distancing – to the Colombian-Venezuelan border.
The Catholic church, civil society, and international NGOs are trying to help. The church has cafeterias near the Venezuelan and Ecuadorean borders that serve upward of 5,000 meals a day. Small water stations were erected by dioceses along highways for hand-washing and showers.
A camp’s grim conditions
At the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, more than 20,000 asylum-seekers are living at a site intended for just 2,750.
That translates to just one water station per 1,300 people, one toilet for every 200, and one shower for every 630. There are also 5,000 people who have spilled out beyond the formal camp and are using makeshift shelters who have no access to showers, electricity, or water, says Apostolos Veizis, director of the medical operational support unit for Médecins Sans Frontières-Greece.
To date no coronavirus infections have been reported at the camp. Trying to help keep it that way is a relatively new resident, Deen Muhammad Alizadah, a pharmacist from Afghanistan who arrived in Greece six months ago with his wife and 4-year-old son via Iran and Turkey.
Courtesy of Deen Muhammad Alizadah View caption Hide caption Deen Muhammad Alizadah, an asylum-seeker from Afghanistan, holds his 4-year-old son inside a makeshift tent in the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos.
Mr. Alizadah is on a refugee-run committee that teaches residents about the disease and how to prevent it by staying in their tents and in the camp as much as possible. Shopping, they are told, should be done by one member of the family. A Greek police checkpoint outside the camp bolsters the guidelines.
Regular hand-washing remains difficult with running water available only intermittently throughout the day. But people are doing their best to be hygienic and stay inside.
“This is the only chance,” Mr. Alizadah says. “If the virus started in this camp it would be uncontrollable.”
Some good news
At a time when most of the world seeks to keep refugees and asylum-seekers out because of the coronavirus, Germany is finding a way to let some in.
Fifty-seven children, all unaccompanied minors – the majority from Syria and the others from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Eritrea – were recently flown in from Moria. They are the first refugees to leave the camp since 2015, relief workers said.
Highlighting its unsanitary, crowded conditions as especially dangerous during the pandemic, Kindernothilfe, a children’s rights and humanitarian assistance organization in Germany, lobbied the government for an airlift.
Frank Mischo, a Kindernothilfe advocacy officer, says his organization and partners provided a list of cities and states that, combined, could immediately provide around 5,000 unaccompanied minors with housing, care, and support.
“We offer safe quarantine possibilities, we finance everything,” Mr. Mischo says of his coalition of partners.
The hope is that this is just the beginning. About 20 cities across Germany, alongside eight countries in the European Union, including France, Croatia, and Belgium, have volunteered to take in underage, unaccompanied refugees from the camp.
The urgency of the pandemic seems to have worked where years of pressure failed.
Finally, Mr. Mischo says, “there is some hope.”
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Contributing to this story were Lenora Chu in Berlin, Whitney Eulich in Mexico City, Dominique Soquel in Basel, Switzerland, Christine Onzia Wani in Bidi Bidi, Uganda, and Ryan Lenora Brown in Johannesburg.
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.


csmonitor--2020-05-19--Trump praises malaria drug and India ups its production

President Donald Trump 's declaration that he was taking a malaria drug of dubious effectiveness to help fend off the coronavirus will likely be welcomed in India .
Mr. Trump 's previous endorsement of hydroxychloroquine catalyzed a tremendous shift in the South Asian country , spurring the world 's largest producer of the drug to make much more of it , prescribe it for frontline health workers treating the virus and deploy it as a diplomatic tool , despite mounting evidence against using the drug for COVID-19 .
Mr. Trump said on Monday that he was taking hydroxychloroquine as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The U.S. Food and Drug Administration , however , has cautioned against using it outside of hospitals because of the risk of serious heart problems .
Suhhil Gupta , a pharmacist in New Delhi , said on Tuesday that Mr. Trump 's announcement should n't carry any weight in India .
`` He 's not a pharmacist .
His statements are not relevant to the field , '' Mr. Gupta said .
Still , India 's policy on the decades-old drug , used to prevent malaria , drastically changed after Mr. Trump tweeted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ together with an antibiotic , could be `` game changers '' in the fight against the pandemic .
India 's health ministry quickly approved it as a prophylactic for health care workers and others at high risk of infection , and as a treatment for critically ill patients .
Officials in Mumbai even drew up a plan to administer hydroxychloroquine to thousands of slum dwellers as a preventive measure against the virus .
Indian health officials have declined repeated requests for comment , limiting communications to daily health briefings , the last of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say that drugs such as hydroxychloroquine be used only after a rigorous scientific and ethical review , continued oversight by an ethics committee , and ensuring informed consent – none of which happened with hydroxychloroquine , according to Dr. Amar Jesani , a medical ethics expert .
The Mumbai proposal was ultimately shelved amid questions of the ethics of administering the malaria drug without first subjecting it to clinical trials .
Still , the Indian government has recommended more and more people use it , contravening 2017 rules for emergency use of untested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ initially banned hydroxychloroquine exports , but lifted the ban after Mr. Trump threatened `` retaliation . ''
At the same time , India 's government ordered manufacturers to ramp up production from 1.2 million to 3 million pills a month – causing company shares to skyrocket .
From the U.S. to Australia , sales jumped .
Officials have even said that Indian plantations could increase the growing capacity of cinchona trees , whose bark contains the compound quinine , which has been used to treat malaria since the 1860s .
Quinine can also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ itself purchased 100 million hydroxychloroquine pills , according to government data , to distribute to states and donate to countries including Afghanistan , Myanmar , and the Dominican Republic .
India is the world 's largest producer of generic drugs , a fast-growing industry that has brought down pharmaceutical prices globally .
During the HIV/AIDS crisis , India played a similar role as in the coronavirus pandemic , boosting global supplies of life-saving drugs .
The problem this time , experts say , is that the hydroxychloroquine hype is based on a flimsy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that it prevents or treats COVID-19 .
India 's hurried guidance has also impeded scientific trials that could determine whether the benefits of taking hydroxychloroquine outweigh the risks .
`` We should do a trial .
I think that is the right way to come to answer on this question .
But the [ government ] made our job harder , '' said Dr. Bharath Kumar , whose team has proposed a trial .
Meanwhile , evidence against using hydroxychloroquine for the coronavirus is growing .
A U.S. study of 368 patients in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet examining the malaria drug 's value as a coronavirus antidote , found no benefits and even more deaths among those given the drug .
The Indian government 's own assessment of 19 drugs found that hydroxychloroquine was n't the most promising .
A task force noted that while HCQ was readily available , the strength of scientific evidence for the mechanism of action was fairly low .
With more than 101,000 cases and 3,163 deaths , the coronavirus has n't yet overwhelmed India 's limited health care system .
But that 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a stringent weeks-long nationwide lockdown begins to ease , allowing for greater mobility of the country 's 1.3 billion people .
Nowhere is this clearer than in Maharashtra , the coastal state in central India bearing a third of India 's virus caseload .
The state 's medical education and research agency has been administering hydroxychloroquine to patients in public hospitals and clinics , according to court records .
Agency chief Dr. Tatyarao P. Lahane said protocols set by India 's government were being followed and declined to answer further questions .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Institute of Medical Sciences in Maharashtra said the government was recommending hydroxychloroquine for `` off label , '' or unapproved use , meaning that patients must be told that `` there is a small but significant risk that it might harm you . ''
`` If there is no evidence backed by solid clinical trials , then why are the scientific bodies pushing this drug and giving an impression to the public that this is a magic bullet and this is your last hope ? ''
Mr. Kalantri said .
This story was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ writers Biswajeet Banerjee in Lucknow , India , contributed to this report .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage .
It ’ s free .

President Donald Trump's declaration that he was taking a malaria drug of dubious effectiveness to help fend off the coronavirus will likely be welcomed in India.
Mr. Trump's previous endorsement of hydroxychloroquine catalyzed a tremendous shift in the South Asian country, spurring the world's largest producer of the drug to make much more of it, prescribe it for frontline health workers treating the virus and deploy it as a diplomatic tool, despite mounting evidence against using the drug for COVID-19.
Mr. Trump said on Monday that he was taking hydroxychloroquine as a measure of protection against the virus. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, however, has cautioned against using it outside of hospitals because of the risk of serious heart problems.
Suhhil Gupta, a pharmacist in New Delhi, said on Tuesday that Mr. Trump's announcement shouldn't carry any weight in India.
"He's not a pharmacist. His statements are not relevant to the field," Mr. Gupta said.
Still, India's policy on the decades-old drug, used to prevent malaria, drastically changed after Mr. Trump tweeted in March that the drug, used together with an antibiotic, could be "game changers" in the fight against the pandemic. India's health ministry quickly approved it as a prophylactic for health care workers and others at high risk of infection, and as a treatment for critically ill patients.
Officials in Mumbai even drew up a plan to administer hydroxychloroquine to thousands of slum dwellers as a preventive measure against the virus.
Indian health officials have declined repeated requests for comment, limiting communications to daily health briefings, the last of which occurred May 11.
The rules say that drugs such as hydroxychloroquine be used only after a rigorous scientific and ethical review, continued oversight by an ethics committee, and ensuring informed consent – none of which happened with hydroxychloroquine, according to Dr. Amar Jesani, a medical ethics expert.
The Mumbai proposal was ultimately shelved amid questions of the ethics of administering the malaria drug without first subjecting it to clinical trials. Still, the Indian government has recommended more and more people use it, contravening 2017 rules for emergency use of untested drugs, Mr. Jesani said.
India initially banned hydroxychloroquine exports, but lifted the ban after Mr. Trump threatened "retaliation." At the same time, India's government ordered manufacturers to ramp up production from 1.2 million to 3 million pills a month – causing company shares to skyrocket. From the U.S. to Australia, sales jumped.
Officials have even said that Indian plantations could increase the growing capacity of cinchona trees, whose bark contains the compound quinine, which has been used to treat malaria since the 1860s. Quinine can also be made synthetically.
The Indian government itself purchased 100 million hydroxychloroquine pills, according to government data, to distribute to states and donate to countries including Afghanistan, Myanmar, and the Dominican Republic.
India is the world's largest producer of generic drugs, a fast-growing industry that has brought down pharmaceutical prices globally. During the HIV/AIDS crisis, India played a similar role as in the coronavirus pandemic, boosting global supplies of life-saving drugs.
The problem this time, experts say, is that the hydroxychloroquine hype is based on a flimsy study, with little to no evidence that it prevents or treats COVID-19.
India's hurried guidance has also impeded scientific trials that could determine whether the benefits of taking hydroxychloroquine outweigh the risks.
"We should do a trial. I think that is the right way to come to answer on this question. But the [government] made our job harder," said Dr. Bharath Kumar, whose team has proposed a trial.
Meanwhile, evidence against using hydroxychloroquine for the coronavirus is growing.
A U.S. study of 368 patients in veterans' hospitals, the largest study yet examining the malaria drug's value as a coronavirus antidote, found no benefits and even more deaths among those given the drug.
The Indian government's own assessment of 19 drugs found that hydroxychloroquine wasn't the most promising. A task force noted that while HCQ was readily available, the strength of scientific evidence for the mechanism of action was fairly low.
With more than 101,000 cases and 3,163 deaths, the coronavirus hasn't yet overwhelmed India's limited health care system. But that's starting to change in some hot spots as a stringent weeks-long nationwide lockdown begins to ease, allowing for greater mobility of the country's 1.3 billion people.
Nowhere is this clearer than in Maharashtra, the coastal state in central India bearing a third of India's virus caseload. The state's medical education and research agency has been administering hydroxychloroquine to patients in public hospitals and clinics, according to court records.
Agency chief Dr. Tatyarao P. Lahane said protocols set by India's government were being followed and declined to answer further questions.
Dr. Shriprakash Kalantri of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in Maharashtra said the government was recommending hydroxychloroquine for "off label," or unapproved use, meaning that patients must be told that "there is a small but significant risk that it might harm you."
"If there is no evidence backed by solid clinical trials, then why are the scientific bodies pushing this drug and giving an impression to the public that this is a magic bullet and this is your last hope?" Mr. Kalantri said.
Get stories that
empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP writers Biswajeet Banerjee in Lucknow, India, contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: As a public service, the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It’s free.


csmonitor--2020-05-13--Tracing the origins of COVID-19: Three questions

Scientists say tracing exactly how the novel coronavirus made the leap is key to combating the pandemic and preventing future ones .
It will allow scientists and policymakers to prioritize steps to prevent this virus from being reintroduced into the population , and also to guard against the transmission of new coronaviruses .
The World Health Organization says the novel coronavirus likely originated in bats .
But how exactly it made its way to humans in late 2019 is unclear .
Most scientists think the virus was first transmitted to humans in an area where people and animals are in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have also been proposed , including a laboratory origin for the virus .
In the past 30 years , more than 50 novel viruses have made the leap from animals to humans .
Scientists say that better understanding this complex crossover between animal and human health is vital to saving lives .
As governments work to contain COVID-19 and reopen their economies , scientists are racing to trace the novel coronavirus ’ s origin with the hope of not only improving the world ’ s ability to fight this pandemic , but also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to contain COVID-19 and reopen their economies , scientists are attempting to trace the novel coronavirus ’ s origin with the hope of not only improving the world ’ s ability to fight this pandemic , but also preventing future outbreaks .
In the past 30 years , more than 50 novel viruses have made the leap from animals to humans .
Scientists say that better understanding this complex crossover between animal and human health is vital to saving lives .
Here ’ s a brief synopsis of their efforts so far .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall .
Why is discovering when , where , and how the virus originated considered so important ?
The World Health Organization ( WHO ) says the novel coronavirus likely originated in bats .
But how exactly it made its way to humans in late 2019 is unclear .
Scientists say tracing how the novel coronavirus made the leap is key to combating the pandemic and preventing future ones .
It will allow scientists and policymakers to prioritize steps to prevent this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and also to guard against the transmission of new coronaviruses .
“ The public health importance of this is critical , because without knowing where the animal origin is , it ’ s difficult for us to attempt to prevent this from happening again , ” says Maria Van Kerkhove , the American infectious disease epidemiologist serving as the WHO ’ s technical lead for COVID-19 .
“ This happens with all emerging pathogens , because most emerging pathogens come from animals , ” she said in a May 6 press briefing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ severe acute respiratory syndrome ( SARS ) and Middle East respiratory syndrome ( MERS ) – relatively rapidly from bats to the animals that infected humans : civets ( SARS ) and camels ( MERS ) .
So far , scientists have yet to confirm the direct transmitter of this virus to humans , though pangolins are a key suspect – or perhaps it was bats themselves .
What do we know about the origins of the virus ?
Most scientists believe the virus was first transmitted to humans in an area where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Chinese officials said it originated in the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market , a wet market in Wuhan where live animals were sold .
But months after animals from the market were reportedly tested , China has yet to reveal those test results .
A Lancet study found two-thirds of early patients were exposed to the market ; the rest , including the first known patient , were not .
Those discrepancies have led some to speculate about other possible scenarios .
One : that the virus was engineered in a lab .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a paper in the journal Nature , writing that the characteristics of the virus do not fit that scenario .
The Trump administration has backed another idea : that the virus escaped from a lab studying such diseases in bats , jumping straight to humans .
Such an accident is not unimaginable .
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has detailed numerous instances of pathogens escaping from labs .
A 2018 State Department cable reportedly warned of safety concerns at Wuhan Institute of Virology ( WIV ) , the first biosafety level 4 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have said there was “ enormous evidence ” supporting the lab accident theory .
But they have not revealed details .
Scientists , while not outright dismissing that scenario , have said that it is highly unlikely based on the lack of evidence and what is known so far about how bat coronaviruses are transmitted .
Additionally , WIV researchers have said the novel coronavirus isn ’ t a genetic match to the coronaviruses studied in their labs .
To what extent are scientists able to stay above the political fray ?
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a follow-on research mission focused on animal origins of COVID-19 , as recommended by the WHO in February , Dr. Van Kerkhove said in early May .
The mission , supported by the WHO , would take an “ academic ” approach and “ really focus on looking at what happened at the beginning in terms of the exposures with different animals , ” she said .
Despite the U.S.-China political tensions , some U.S. scientists are reportedly already working with Chinese scientists to investigate the virus origins .
Ian Lipkin , director @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University , said he is cooperating with a Chinese team to research whether this novel coronavirus existed in other parts of China before it was discovered in Wuhan in December , according to a Financial Times report .
Dr. Lipkin worked on the 2003 SARS outbreak and has close professional ties in China , through which he is seeking access to key Chinese data important for international collaboration on the virus .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

Scientists say tracing exactly how the novel coronavirus made the leap is key to combating the pandemic and preventing future ones. It will allow scientists and policymakers to prioritize steps to prevent this virus from being reintroduced into the population, and also to guard against the transmission of new coronaviruses.
The World Health Organization says the novel coronavirus likely originated in bats. But how exactly it made its way to humans in late 2019 is unclear. Most scientists think the virus was first transmitted to humans in an area where people and animals are in close contact, but other possible scenarios have also been proposed, including a laboratory origin for the virus.
Scientists are working to trace the origins of the novel coronavirus. Their aim is not to point fingers. Rather, it's about preventing this from happening again.
In the past 30 years, more than 50 novel viruses have made the leap from animals to humans. Scientists say that better understanding this complex crossover between animal and human health is vital to saving lives.
As governments work to contain COVID-19 and reopen their economies, scientists are racing to trace the novel coronavirus’s origin with the hope of not only improving the world’s ability to fight this pandemic, but also preventing future outbreaks.
As governments work to contain COVID-19 and reopen their economies, scientists are attempting to trace the novel coronavirus’s origin with the hope of not only improving the world’s ability to fight this pandemic, but also preventing future outbreaks.
In the past 30 years, more than 50 novel viruses have made the leap from animals to humans. Scientists say that better understanding this complex crossover between animal and human health is vital to saving lives.
Here’s a brief synopsis of their efforts so far.
Why We Wrote This Scientists are working to trace the origins of the novel coronavirus. Their aim is not to point fingers. Rather, it's about preventing this from happening again.
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.
Why is discovering when, where, and how the virus originated considered so important?
The World Health Organization (WHO) says the novel coronavirus likely originated in bats. But how exactly it made its way to humans in late 2019 is unclear.
Scientists say tracing how the novel coronavirus made the leap is key to combating the pandemic and preventing future ones. It will allow scientists and policymakers to prioritize steps to prevent this virus from being reintroduced into the population, and also to guard against the transmission of new coronaviruses.
“The public health importance of this is critical, because without knowing where the animal origin is, it’s difficult for us to attempt to prevent this from happening again,” says Maria Van Kerkhove, the American infectious disease epidemiologist serving as the WHO’s technical lead for COVID-19. “This happens with all emerging pathogens, because most emerging pathogens come from animals,” she said in a May 6 press briefing.
Scientists traced two earlier coronaviruses – severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) – relatively rapidly from bats to the animals that infected humans: civets (SARS) and camels (MERS). So far, scientists have yet to confirm the direct transmitter of this virus to humans, though pangolins are a key suspect – or perhaps it was bats themselves.
What do we know about the origins of the virus?
Most scientists believe the virus was first transmitted to humans in an area where people and animals are in close contact. Chinese officials said it originated in the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, a wet market in Wuhan where live animals were sold. But months after animals from the market were reportedly tested, China has yet to reveal those test results. A Lancet study found two-thirds of early patients were exposed to the market; the rest, including the first known patient, were not.
Those discrepancies have led some to speculate about other possible scenarios. One: that the virus was engineered in a lab. A team of researchers rejected that idea in a paper in the journal Nature, writing that the characteristics of the virus do not fit that scenario.
The Trump administration has backed another idea: that the virus escaped from a lab studying such diseases in bats, jumping straight to humans.
Such an accident is not unimaginable. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has detailed numerous instances of pathogens escaping from labs. A 2018 State Department cable reportedly warned of safety concerns at Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), the first biosafety level 4 lab in China.
Trump administration officials have said there was “enormous evidence” supporting the lab accident theory. But they have not revealed details.
Scientists, while not outright dismissing that scenario, have said that it is highly unlikely based on the lack of evidence and what is known so far about how bat coronaviruses are transmitted. Additionally, WIV researchers have said the novel coronavirus isn’t a genetic match to the coronaviruses studied in their labs.
To what extent are scientists able to stay above the political fray?
The WHO is in discussions with China about a follow-on research mission focused on animal origins of COVID-19, as recommended by the WHO in February, Dr. Van Kerkhove said in early May. The mission, supported by the WHO, would take an “academic” approach and “really focus on looking at what happened at the beginning in terms of the exposures with different animals,” she said.
Despite the U.S.-China political tensions, some U.S. scientists are reportedly already working with Chinese scientists to investigate the virus origins.
Ian Lipkin, director of the Center for Infection and Immunity at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, said he is cooperating with a Chinese team to research whether this novel coronavirus existed in other parts of China before it was discovered in Wuhan in December, according to a Financial Times report. Dr. Lipkin worked on the 2003 SARS outbreak and has close professional ties in China, through which he is seeking access to key Chinese data important for international collaboration on the virus.
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Staff writer Christa Case Bryant contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.


csmonitor--2020-05-07--Home theater: From ‘Brooklyn’ to ‘Little Women,’ settle in with Saoirse Ronan

Saoirse Ronan is the most prodigious young actress in movies .
If you only know her from her recent turn in “ Little Women , ” then you ’ re missing out .
Now 26 , she started acting when she was 9 , but broke through in a big way in 2007 with “ Atonement , ” adapted from the Ian McEwan novel .
She was 13 at that time and her performance brought her the first of her four Oscar nominations .
She plays the upper-crust Briony , circa 1935 , who lives a sheltered , privileged life @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Out of spite and confusion , she ends up giving false testimony in a criminal case that convicts the housekeeper ’ s son , whom she fancies , as a predator .
The avidity that Ronan brings to the part is shattering .
She becomes the dramatic center of every scene she ’ s in .
Beneath her tight mask of righteousness we can see how she suffers for the consequences of her lie .
( Rated R ) Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the hallmarks of Ronan ’ s acting is her astonishing versatility .
With equal force , and sometimes within the same moment , she can project both a fierce intelligence and a winsome passivity .
But the passivity often conceals a powerful core .
The Oscar-nominated performance that perhaps best captures Ronan ’ s versatility is her Eilis Lacey , the Irish immigrant , in “ Brooklyn ” ( 2015 ) , based on Colm Tóibín ’ s bestselling novel .
Eilis has left behind her beloved mother and sister in County @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It takes some time before she finds it , and even then , her homesickness eats into her happiness .
Few films express as well as this one how an immigrant ’ s sadness at leaving one ’ s homeland is countered by the prospect of a revivifying renewal .
And for this full credit is due to Ronan , who brings to Eilis , with the utmost delicacy , the full range of her emotional conflicts .
When Eilis meets Tony ( Emory Cohen ) , an Italian American plumber , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are .
He invites her to dinner with his family – a big step .
There ’ s a classic scene where her boardinghouse girlfriends , in preparation for the big night , teach her to slurp spaghetti without spattering the sauce .
Ronan can play comedy with the best of them .
What she also does that most actors can not is express the rue and befuddlement and delight undergirding the laughs .
( Rated PG-13 ) In the underrated “ On Chesil Beach ” ( 2017 ; Rated R ) , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ronan plays Florence , a well-to-do classical violinist in the early 1960s who falls for Edward ( Billy Howle ) , a working-class history student .
Their tremulous , tentative courtship leads to a disaster of a wedding night .
The scene where the two of them berate each other on the beach and break apart is a harrowing example of acting and writing at its best .
I would say that Ronan is cast against type in this role , except that she has no type .
Besotted by love or terrified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( In 2018 , Ronan again played opposite Howle in an adaptation of Chekhov ’ s “ The Seagull , ” where her Nina held her own against Annette Bening ’ s Irina . )
Ronan ’ s two most popular roles are the janglingly self-confident high school senior Christine “ Lady Bird ” McPherson in Greta Gerwig ’ s “ Lady Bird ” ( 2017 ; Rated R ) and her definitive Jo March , the centerpiece of Gerwig ’ s “ Little Women ” ( 2019 ; Rated PG ) .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ these performances , both Oscar nominated , created such a stir .
They show off Ronan in the full maelstrom of her emotions .
Christine , rebellious , bollixed by adolescence , wants to discover her true identity .
Her equally headstrong mother ( Laurie Metcalf ) tells her , “ I want you to be the very best version of yourself that you can be , ” to which Christine replies , “ What if this is the best version ?
” It ’ s a good line , delivered perfectly .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ – her eyes , her body – is always on the go .
When Jo exclaims that “ women have souls and minds , as well as just hearts , ” it ’ s not just a sentiment ; it ’ s a clarion call .
These films are available to rent on Amazon ’ s Prime Video , YouTube , Google Play , and iTunes .

Saoirse Ronan is the most prodigious young actress in movies. If you only know her from her recent turn in “Little Women,” then you’re missing out.
Now 26, she started acting when she was 9, but broke through in a big way in 2007 with “Atonement,” adapted from the Ian McEwan novel. She was 13 at that time and her performance brought her the first of her four Oscar nominations. She plays the upper-crust Briony, circa 1935, who lives a sheltered, privileged life and dreams of becoming a novelist. Out of spite and confusion, she ends up giving false testimony in a criminal case that convicts the housekeeper’s son, whom she fancies, as a predator. The avidity that Ronan brings to the part is shattering. She becomes the dramatic center of every scene she’s in. Beneath her tight mask of righteousness we can see how she suffers for the consequences of her lie. (Rated R)
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.
Why We Wrote This Is it possible to watch creativity unfold? For a mini-festival at home, follow the roles of Oscar-nominated actress Saoirse Ronan, who most recently played Jo March in “Little Women.” Film critic Peter Rainer praises the range of her talent.
One of the hallmarks of Ronan’s acting is her astonishing versatility. With equal force, and sometimes within the same moment, she can project both a fierce intelligence and a winsome passivity. But the passivity often conceals a powerful core.
The Oscar-nominated performance that perhaps best captures Ronan’s versatility is her Eilis Lacey, the Irish immigrant, in “Brooklyn” (2015), based on Colm Tóibín’s bestselling novel. Eilis has left behind her beloved mother and sister in County Wexford to seek a better life. It takes some time before she finds it, and even then, her homesickness eats into her happiness. Few films express as well as this one how an immigrant’s sadness at leaving one’s homeland is countered by the prospect of a revivifying renewal. And for this full credit is due to Ronan, who brings to Eilis, with the utmost delicacy, the full range of her emotional conflicts.
When Eilis meets Tony (Emory Cohen), an Italian American plumber, he is as smitten with her as we are. He invites her to dinner with his family – a big step. There’s a classic scene where her boardinghouse girlfriends, in preparation for the big night, teach her to slurp spaghetti without spattering the sauce. Ronan can play comedy with the best of them. What she also does that most actors cannot is express the rue and befuddlement and delight undergirding the laughs. (Rated PG-13)
Anthony Behar/Sipa USA/AP View caption Hide caption Saoirse Ronan, nominated for best actress for "Little Women," walks the red carpet at the 92nd Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Feb. 9, 2020.
In the underrated “On Chesil Beach” (2017; Rated R), another adaptation of a McEwan novel, Ronan plays Florence, a well-to-do classical violinist in the early 1960s who falls for Edward (Billy Howle), a working-class history student. Their tremulous, tentative courtship leads to a disaster of a wedding night. The scene where the two of them berate each other on the beach and break apart is a harrowing example of acting and writing at its best. I would say that Ronan is cast against type in this role, except that she has no type. Besotted by love or terrified by it, she convinces equally. (In 2018, Ronan again played opposite Howle in an adaptation of Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” where her Nina held her own against Annette Bening’s Irina.)
Ronan’s two most popular roles are the janglingly self-confident high school senior Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson in Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird” (2017; Rated R) and her definitive Jo March, the centerpiece of Gerwig’s “Little Women” (2019; Rated PG). It’s easy to see why these performances, both Oscar nominated, created such a stir. They show off Ronan in the full maelstrom of her emotions.
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empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
Christine, rebellious, bollixed by adolescence, wants to discover her true identity. Her equally headstrong mother (Laurie Metcalf) tells her, “I want you to be the very best version of yourself that you can be,” to which Christine replies, “What if this is the best version?” It’s a good line, delivered perfectly. As Jo March, everything about Ronan – her eyes, her body – is always on the go. When Jo exclaims that “women have souls and minds, as well as just hearts,” it’s not just a sentiment; it’s a clarion call.
These films are available to rent on Amazon’s Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, and iTunes.


csmonitor--2020-05-19--Why Iranian stocks are up 225% this year

Even as U.S. sanctions , unemployment , inflation , and low oil prices batter the Iranian economy , there seems to be at least one refuge for investors .
The Tehran Stock Exchange has seen gains of 225 % in the last year , with sharp increases even as the country struggled with one of the first serious coronavirus outbreaks outside of China .
Encouraged by a government eager to privatize state-owned firms , average people now have access to the market and can trade shares , earning returns they 'd never see in a savings account or a certificate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ increasingly have analysts and experts worried about a growing stock market bubble , one that could be particularly dire and wipe away the earnings of the average people flooding into the market .
`` We have witnessed a very strange incident , '' said Hossein Tousi , a member of Iran 's Chamber of Commerce , speaking to 90eghtesadi.com , an Iranian economic review website .
`` As all markets have fallen , crude prices have fallen sharply , but in our market , the situation is upside-down .
It is clear that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stock markets have seen rapid swings amid the coronavirus pandemic .
The crisis has sent U.S. unemployment surging to 14.7 % , a level last seen during the Great Depression .
Benchmark Brent crude prices , trading over $ 70 a barrel a year ago , now hovers just over $ 20 a barrel as demand collapses amid an oversupplied market .
But that has n't slowed in the Tehran Stock Exchange .
Founded in 1967 , the market lists some 1,000 companies , including major firms like car manufacturer Iran Khodro .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of more than $ 200 billion .
And its daily 5 % gains have n't gone unnoticed by ordinary Iranians .
`` I visited the related office for several days to receive my Sejam code to get able to trade , '' said Mohammad Reza Mansouri , who makes deliveries using his personal van .
`` The office was crowded with people like me . ''
The exchange lists a half-million active traders out of some 12 million people who registered to buy and sell stocks .
`` An everyday 5 % percent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rahmani , a retired bank employee who trades stocks .
`` What other market makes such a profit ? ''
Even President Hassan Rouhani , beleaguered since U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from his 2015 nuclear deal with world powers , has pointed to the market as a rare bright spot for the country .
Iran 's rial currency has fallen to 160,000 to 1 against the U.S. dollar , as opposed to the 35,000 to $ 1 in 2015 .
`` As Iran 's bourse has developed , [ our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the market is developing while markets in the world are in chaos , '' Mr. Rouhani said at a Cabinet meeting last month .
This rise `` is because of efforts by all companies , business people , and fortunately offering shares of big companies to the stock market . ''
The stock market rise in part takes root in how Iran 's economy has changed in the decades since its 1979 Islamic Revolution .
Immediately after taking power , Iran 's Shiite theocracy seized large private industries , putting them in large @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1980s war with Iraq saw Iran further nationalize its economy .
In the 1990s , Iran began a privatization effort .
The stock market became one way to accomplish this , with former hard-line populist President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad giving out so-called `` Justice Shares '' in firms to the poor .
Some 50 million Iranians now hold those shares .
But Mr. Ahmadinejad 's efforts at privatization also saw firms sold off to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and its allies , further empowering the hard-line force answerable only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali @ @ @ @ @ @ @ private ownership have seen the businesses stripped and later collapse , leaving workers without pensions and fueling sporadic protests .
Lower returns in other investments also are sending people to the stock market .
`` The rise in liquidity in Iran 's financial market has made people expect high inflation in future , '' said Reza Khanaki , a Tehran-based financial analyst and manager .
`` Their bank deposits are yielding profits less than the inflation rate , and so they are shifting their investments to the stock market .
This change is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Squeezed by U.S. sanctions , Mr. Rouhani 's government hopes to raise money through selling assets on the exchange .
His government in January also allowed firms to recalculate their values , something critics warn masks the true worth of their production by instead inflating the price of land they own , for instance .
`` The Iranian financial press as well as foreign economists have raised concerns that the meteoric rise of the market is detached from the underlying value of the assets traded there and that bubbles have formed , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the Eurasia Group .
`` The government 's decision to focus privatization attention on the market has elevated these risks .
A loss of confidence in the market could lead to a destabilizing crash . ''
Iranian political analyst Akbar Mokhtari warns it could be even worse , comparing the `` Justice Shares '' to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi 's so-called `` White Revolution '' in the 1960s that broke up the control of feudal land barons and saw the poor rush into cities .
Those poor became the backbone of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` The other side of this very important economic development can be the impatience of shareholders about possible crashes that can cause instability in the government , '' he was quoted as saying by Rahbord , an Iranian political review channel on Telegram .
Already , the exchange has seen some stumbles .
On Saturday , the market closed at 987,475 points , down some 60,300 points compared to last Monday , when it reached a record high of over 1 million points .
But some , like Mr. Mansouri , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't bother them .
`` I do not care about the analysis as long as I profit day by day , '' he said .
This story was reported by The Associated Press .
Mehdi Fattahi in Tehran , Iran , and Jon Gambrell in Dubai , United Arab Emirates , contributed .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage .
It ’ s free .

Even as U.S. sanctions, unemployment, inflation, and low oil prices batter the Iranian economy, there seems to be at least one refuge for investors.
The Tehran Stock Exchange has seen gains of 225% in the last year, with sharp increases even as the country struggled with one of the first serious coronavirus outbreaks outside of China.
Encouraged by a government eager to privatize state-owned firms, average people now have access to the market and can trade shares, earning returns they'd never see in a savings account or a certificate of deposit.
But these rapid gains increasingly have analysts and experts worried about a growing stock market bubble, one that could be particularly dire and wipe away the earnings of the average people flooding into the market.
"We have witnessed a very strange incident," said Hossein Tousi, a member of Iran's Chamber of Commerce , speaking to 90eghtesadi.com, an Iranian economic review website. "As all markets have fallen, crude prices have fallen sharply, but in our market, the situation is upside-down. It is clear that it is a bubble."
Global stock markets have seen rapid swings amid the coronavirus pandemic. The crisis has sent U.S. unemployment surging to 14.7%, a level last seen during the Great Depression. Benchmark Brent crude prices, trading over $70 a barrel a year ago, now hovers just over $20 a barrel as demand collapses amid an oversupplied market.
But that hasn't slowed in the Tehran Stock Exchange. Founded in 1967, the market lists some 1,000 companies, including major firms like car manufacturer Iran Khodro. The bourse now has a market cap of more than $200 billion. And its daily 5% gains haven't gone unnoticed by ordinary Iranians.
"I visited the related office for several days to receive my Sejam code to get able to trade," said Mohammad Reza Mansouri, who makes deliveries using his personal van. "The office was crowded with people like me."
The exchange lists a half-million active traders out of some 12 million people who registered to buy and sell stocks.
"An everyday 5% percent is very sexy," said Abdollah Rahmani, a retired bank employee who trades stocks. "What other market makes such a profit?"
Even President Hassan Rouhani, beleaguered since U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from his 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, has pointed to the market as a rare bright spot for the country. Iran's rial currency has fallen to 160,000 to 1 against the U.S. dollar, as opposed to the 35,000 to $1 in 2015.
"As Iran's bourse has developed, [our enemies] become nervous and asked why the market is developing while markets in the world are in chaos," Mr. Rouhani said at a Cabinet meeting last month. This rise "is because of efforts by all companies, business people, and fortunately offering shares of big companies to the stock market."
The stock market rise in part takes root in how Iran's economy has changed in the decades since its 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Immediately after taking power, Iran's Shiite theocracy seized large private industries, putting them in large trusts, or bonyads. The bloody 1980s war with Iraq saw Iran further nationalize its economy.
In the 1990s, Iran began a privatization effort. The stock market became one way to accomplish this, with former hard-line populist President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad giving out so-called "Justice Shares" in firms to the poor. Some 50 million Iranians now hold those shares.
But Mr. Ahmadinejad's efforts at privatization also saw firms sold off to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and its allies, further empowering the hard-line force answerable only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Some firms that moved into private ownership have seen the businesses stripped and later collapse, leaving workers without pensions and fueling sporadic protests.
Lower returns in other investments also are sending people to the stock market.
"The rise in liquidity in Iran's financial market has made people expect high inflation in future," said Reza Khanaki, a Tehran-based financial analyst and manager. "Their bank deposits are yielding profits less than the inflation rate, and so they are shifting their investments to the stock market. This change is causing the rise in the index."
Squeezed by U.S. sanctions, Mr. Rouhani's government hopes to raise money through selling assets on the exchange. His government in January also allowed firms to recalculate their values, something critics warn masks the true worth of their production by instead inflating the price of land they own, for instance.
"The Iranian financial press as well as foreign economists have raised concerns that the meteoric rise of the market is detached from the underlying value of the assets traded there and that bubbles have formed," said Henry Rome, an analyst at the Eurasia Group.
"The government's decision to focus privatization attention on the market has elevated these risks. A loss of confidence in the market could lead to a destabilizing crash."
Iranian political analyst Akbar Mokhtari warns it could be even worse, comparing the "Justice Shares" to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's so-called "White Revolution" in the 1960s that broke up the control of feudal land barons and saw the poor rush into cities.
Those poor became the backbone of the protests that later drove him from power.
"The other side of this very important economic development can be the impatience of shareholders about possible crashes that can cause instability in the government," he was quoted as saying by Rahbord, an Iranian political review channel on Telegram.
Already, the exchange has seen some stumbles. On Saturday, the market closed at 987,475 points, down some 60,300 points compared to last Monday, when it reached a record high of over 1 million points.
But some, like Mr. Mansouri, the stock-trading deliveryman, say those fears don't bother them.
"I do not care about the analysis as long as I profit day by day," he said.
Get stories that
empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. Mehdi Fattahi in Tehran, Iran, and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.
Editor’s note: As a public service, the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It’s free.